There is no overstating the importance of proper capsule filling in today’s pharmaceutical industry. With the right capsule filling technique, manufacturers can ensure optimal product quality, as well as accuracy in dosages across the board.
To help make this possible, most drug manufacturers tend to choose between the dosator or the dosing disc. In this article, we will look into how both work, as well as the differences that lie between them.
Understanding Dosator Technology
Before we go ahead to itemize the diverging lines between dosators and dosing discs, let’s take a moment to understand what they are. Starting with the dosator.
Basically, a dosator is a device that works in different packaging processes – although as you’d imagine, much of its work has been displayed in the pharmaceutical space. With dosators, the goal is to ensure that tablets and capsules have an accurate amount of powdered drugs.
As we all know, one of the most critical parts of making medications is filling tablet dies or capsule shells with the right quantity of the powdered drug material. With dosators, this can be done accurately and without much product wastage – hence making them especially popular.
Typically, dosators have simple ways of working. Their mechanisms usually operate using this pattern:
Load The Material: You first fill the dosator with the powdered drug material you are trying to dispense. In most cases, the material itself is kept in a hopper that’s connected to the dosator.
Measurement For Accuracy: Every dosator comes with a dosing chamber where you measure the powdered material. Once it’s loaded, the material goes in here.
Piston Movement: Dosators also operate with the use of a piston mechanism. As it gets activated, the piston goes downward, making a vacuum in the dosing chamber.
Picking The Material: The movement of the piston creates a vacuum, which sucks in the powdered material and moves it to the dosing chamber.
Powder Compression: Once you’ve been able to get the right amount of the powdered material into the dosing chamber, the piston heads back up, compressing the material accurately.
Material Sharing: With the dosator now at the right position above the container, the piston makes a final movement downwards, shooting out the compressed powder into the drug container.
Going Over Again: Dosators are programmed to repeat the filling process as many times. So, if you are looking to fill multiple containers with accurate powder material volumes, you’re able to.
The Different Types Of Dosators
The drug manufacturing space is one that’s filled with a lot of variety. And as a manufacturer, knowing the right type of dosator to use along with your process makes all the difference in the world.
Generally, drug manufacturers can choose from any of the following dosator variations:
Volumetric Dosators: These dosators take measurements of the ideal material volume to be dispensed. They usually come with a chambed with a set volume, as well as a piston that helps to fill and dispense the powdered material based on what you’ve set.
Gravimetric Dosators: The gravimetric dosators take measurements of the weight of the material that they need to dispense. They mostly come with load cells or other weight sensors, thus ensuring that you can get precise weight-based dosing.
Auger Dosators: An auger dosator makes use of a spinning auger or a screw mechanism to transport the powdered material. As the auger spins, it feeds a set amount of the material to the dosing chamber, and the dispensing can be done from there.
Piston Dosators: Also known as cylinder dosators, these ones make use of pistons to attract and push out the powder. The vacuum made by the piston’s movement does all the work, pulling the powder in and expelling it into the drug container.
Rotary Dosators: Unlike pistons, these dosators use rotating mechanisms to fill the material and dispense it. In most cases, you’d find them with different dosing chambers, each attached in a rotary configuration and making it easier to achieve high-speed dosing.
Peristaltic Dosators: While they might not be so popular, these dosators apply a flexible tubing system and different rollers to compress the material before pushing it out. The rollers move along the tubing, conducting the compression and making precise control possible.
Exploring Dosing Disc Technology
On the other side of this, we have the dosing disc.
Some call it a dosing wheel, others call it the dosing plate. Whatever you call it, the dosing disc is an accuracy component that has found a lot of use in the pharma space. Like dosators, they also focus a great deal on powdered drug formulations, helping to ensure that the right materials are dispensed into capsules or tablets.
A dosing disc usually works in this manner:
Fill The MAterial: As you’d imagine, it all starts with loading the drug formulation into the disc. With the help of a hopper or some other feeding mechanism, this can be done easily.
The Spinning Action: Once loaded, the dosing disc starts to rotate as part of the capsule filling operation. This spinning is carefully synchronized with other parts of the machine to ensure precision in dosing.
Transferring The Material: As the disc rotates, every pocket or component passes through a filling station where you have the empty capsule shells. The rotating action aligns every component with the capsule shells, creating a simple and effective sequence.
Dispensing The Material: As soon as a compartment that has the powdered material gets to the filling station, the material is dispensed into the capsule shell, which is already waiting at the end. Thanks to the disc’s precision, you can rest assured that only the right amount of the powdered material will be put into every capsule.
Compression & Covering: Once the material is placed in the shell or tablet, it might be subjected to compression – just to ensure that you achieve the right levels of consistency and uniformity. Then, you seal the filled capsule so the powdered formulation stays shut.
Repeat The Process: Interestingly, the dosing disc doesn’t stop rotating. This way, you can fill as many shells or tablets as you possibly want, while maintaining accuracy across the board.
Dosing Disc Variations & Design Types
Just as you have with the dosator, there are generally several types of dosing discs available for drug manufacturers. Each of these is designed to accommodate specific production needs, so making the right choice definitely comes in handy here:
Multi-Track Dosing Discs
Probably the most popular of the dosing discs are the multi-track options. These ones come with different concentric tracks of compartments, making it possible for you to fill different capsules at the same time.
Even better, you can program them in a way that each track dispenses a different dosage or material. That’s how flexible they are.
Adjustable Dosing Discs
As the name suggests, these discs come with compartments that you can customize in size, so they accommodate different materials and dosages. With this flexibility, you can achieve sharp changes in dosing without having to replace the entire disc.
Specialized Dosing Discs
Manufacturers can also choose some specialized discs that are built for specific applications – precision dosing, micro-dosing, you name it. As long as accuracy is the goal, these ones have you covered.
Vacuum Dosing Discs
These dosing discs make use of a vacuum system to fill compartments, making it possible to achieve precision and consistency in dosing. They are especially ideal when you’re working with fine powders or materials that don’t flow so well.
Perforated Dosing Discs
The uniqueness of perforated dosing discs comes in the perforations or openings in their compartments, which allow controlled material release. When working with modified-release formulations, the perforated dosing discs come in especially handy.
Customized Dosing Discs
Finally, there are cases where discs can be customized to meet particular production needs – such as when you need to accommodate special capsule sizes and shapes.
Similarities Between Dosator and Dosing Disc Technologies
When building a drug manufacturing setup, makers need to carefully consider which option to go for between dosing discs and dosators. However, before looking at the divergent lines, let’s also consider where these devices converge and what makes them so similar. Here are a few points to note:
Enabling Precision In Dosing
Before anything else, the accuracy with which both devices work should be pointed out. Dosators and dosing discs are built to dispense a set amount of powdered material with optimal accuracy. And in a field like pharmaceuticals where precision is everything, they are invaluable parts of the manufacturing process
The Infusion Of automation
Of course, both technologies can also be built to be integrated into production lines. Their job is to fill capsules, and with their impressive automation, you can significantly improve productivity and reliability across your entire process.
You Can Customize Them
Both dosators and dosing discs can be adjusted to accommodate the requirements of your setup. Thanks to their flexibility, manufacturers can easily adapt their dosing processes to different production volumes and formulations, and they can do so with great turnaround times too.
Operating At High Speeds:
Regardless of what you choose, you can count on its ability to work at high speeds. In manufacturing processes where high throughput is required, dosators and dosing discs easily achieve the types of speeds you require.
As you can imagine, their high speeds help to improve production efficiency and meet the massive demands of several production schedules significantly.
Quality Control For Accuracy
Both devices are actually subject to significant quality control measures – all to make sure they can achieve accuracy in dosing and compliance with regulatory standards. From regular calibration to validation and more, there is a need to ensure reliable quality control processes.
Working As Part Of A System
Dosators and dosing discs usually don’t work alone. You can integrate them with other equipment in the drug making process, from tablet presses to capsule filling machines and more.
With this integration, you can achieve higher seamlessness in operations and coordination between the different production stages.
Dosator vs Dosing Disc: Differences In Key Components
Now, let’s take a look into dosators and dosing discs, as well as the major difference between them. To kick things off, let’s examine the major components in the deice setups and how they differ:
For dosators, you have a primary piston mechanism that helps to draw in the powdered material and also dispense it. The piston’s job is to create a vacuum, where the material is pulled into the dosing chamber and is then pushed back out into the container.
You also have a dosing chamber, which holds the material and helps with measurement. Add in a hopper that’s connected to the dosator and helps to store the powdered material, as well as nozzles and valves that help to control the flow of the powdered material as it goes in and out of the dosing chamber.
On the flip side, the dosing disc works with a rotating disc being its primary component. The disc comes with different compartments or pockets, which are placed around its circumference. These pockets hold the powdered material, with each of them usually corresponding to a singular dosage of it.
Moving on, you have a regular filling station that interfaces with the dosing disc and holds the empty tablet dies or capsule shells. As the disc spins, each compartment is able to align with a corresponding filling station, thus making the dispensing possible.
Finally, there is a material feed mechanism that includes a hopper or a conveyor belt. It feeds the material into the disc, and it generally ensures that there’s a constant supply of material to fill the components.
Dosator vs Dosing Disc: Differences In Operating Dynamics
Another major distinction between dosators and dosing discs comes in the form of their general operating dynamics. Sure, both are used to precisely fill medications and drugs. However, how they go about things differs on several fronts:
Dosator Operating Dynamics
Sequential Dosing
Typically, dosators operate sequentially, dosing each individual container one at a time. The dosator will move above each container, fill it with the right amount of the material needed, and then move on to the next.
The Movement Of The Piston:
Every dosator relies on the movement of a piston mechanism to bring the powdered material in and then dispense it. As we said earlier, the piston creates a vacuum that sucks the material in, then pushes it out into the drugg’s container.
Shifting Cycle Times
Generally, the time taken for a dosator to complete one dosing cycle can vary. Factors such as the material volume, the speed of the piston, and the amount of precision can all affect times, so being careful is important here.
The Dynamics Of Dosing Discs
Simultaneous Dosing:
Unlike dosators, dosing discs are built to dose different containers at the same time. In most cases, this dosing is done with a singular disc rotation. Every compartment on the disc will push out its contents into a separate container, making the process relatively quick.
Rotating Continuously:
In most cases, dosing discs rotate intermittently all through the process. With this continuous rotation, you ensure that every pocket is filled with the powdered material, then aligned with the appropriate filling station.
Generally Heightened Speed
Dosing discs are unique in the fact that they can achieve high-speed operation. With their simultaneous dosing and ability to rapidly fill different containers, they can significantly improve the efficiency of the overall dosing process.
Challenges and Solutions in Pharmaceutical Dosing
The landscape for drug dosing is one that requires a significant amount of sophistication. Anything that goes wrong here can significantly affect the quality and efficacy of the drugs being produced, and manufacturers need to be especially careful going forward.
With that in mind, having plans for some of these challenges will definitely go a long way in ensuring efficiency:
The Accuracy Problem
As you can imagine, the biggest issue is with maintaining accuracy in dosing. This ensures that the final product is safe and effective, and any inaccuracies can be fatal.
This is why you need to ensure access to the right dosing mechanisms. Consider the needs of your setup, and choose the device that’s in a better position to help you achieve the precision you seek.
Uniform Dosages In All Products
Having one tablet or capsule that’s appropriately dosed is great. But, how do you ensure that every other one also has the right dosages?
The trick here is to ensure that you have appropriate quality control processes across the board. From in-process sampling to blend uniformity testing and more, ensure that dosed units are able to meet the appropriate specifications across the board.
Contact With Difficult-to-Dose Materials
We should also point out the fact that some pharmaceutical materials – poorly flowing granules, powders with sticky features, etc. – can be challenging to dose on their own. And if you don’t take care, you could end up with inconsistent dosing.
The solution to this will be to find specialized dosing tools that have been rigged to handle these materials squarely. These devices will help to optimize the flow properties of these materials, ensuring that dosing is as smooth and as seamless as possible.
Compliance With The Laws
The pharmaceutical industry – unlike any other – is faced with significant regulatory requirements. And dosing is one step that is especially under the microscope.
To ensure proper compliance, make sure to implement automated dosing systems with audit trail and data-logging capabilities. This way, you can document your dosing procedures, keep exhaustive reports, and ensure that everything you do is up to code.
Dosator vs Dosing Disc: Choosing the Right Technology for Pharmaceutical Production
So you understand the differences that lie between dosators and dosing discs. Now, let’s consider what you might want to keep in mind as you make a decision between both devices and mechanisms:
Consider The Accuracy Of Dosing
Before anything else, you need to make sure that whatever you choose is able to offer the right levels of accuracy for your dosing operation. Both are pretty solid on this front, although the fact that they offer excellent control over dosing volumes and can dispense small material quantities means that dosators might just have the edge here.
What Are Your Throughput Requirements?
Dosing discs are usually favored for their high throughput. When you need quick and continuous dosing for multiple containers, they are most likely the device of choice. So, consider them if your production process requires filling many tablets or capsules in quick time.
General Material Properties
We recommend that you also consider the flow properties and general characteristics of the materials you are working with.
Dosators are usually more versatile, working with everything from powders to pellets and granules. However, if your material has solid flow properties and you need efficiency in filling, dosing discs might be the better option.
Ease Of Making Changes
Look into your need for flexibility and ease in switching between different dosing requirements or material formulations.
Thanks to their relatively higher adjustability, dosators offer some flexibility, allowing you to tweak dosing volumes in real time. However, when it comes to accommodating different capsule sizes, dosing discs appear to have that on lock.
Levels Of Automation & Integration
Consider how much automation you will need in your production process – as well as how each of these devices will work as part of your broader setup. Like we said earlier, dosators and dosing discs can indeed be integrated into production lines. However, you also need to remember that they differ in how seamlessly that can be done.
Examine The Cost Implications
As it is with everything else, you need to know you are financially capable of adding any of these to your production setup.
For this, you need to consider both the initial cost of the dosator or dosing disc, as well as running costs for maintenance and others. Dosing discs tend to cost more upfront, but dosators also require much more maintenance for their components. So, be careful when considering this factor.
Conclusion
Dosators and dosing discs are two mechanisms that have become invaluable to most drug manufacturers. As the all-important dosing process carries on, these tools help ensure that you can achieve the needed accuracy levels to improve your drug’s efficiency.
If you need any more information about which of these devices to engage, feel free to reach out to us at Sainty Tec.
