I Holland Helps Tablet Manufacturers to View their Punches and Dies in a Different Way

The pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries generally view their tablet tooling as a replaceable item, but since launching the PharmaCare 7 Step Process, I Holland has changed this thought and saved many companies time and money.

The PharmaCare 7 Step Process was designed by I Holland, manufacturer of tablet tooling, after many years of research into the life of tablet tooling and how it could be optimised. By adopting a simple 7 step planned maintenance programme as a standard operating procedure, both pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies world-wide have maintained their tooling so it delivers its maximum potential.

Andy Dumelow, PharmaCare Equipment Manager said: “"Having talked to customers over the years and researched the subject, we found that rather than investing in the maintenance of tablet tooling, many companies would simply replace the item, but this is not necessary. By adopting the PharmaCare 7 Step Process, the life of punches and dies can be maintained resulting in improved profitability by limiting tablet press downtime.

“"Since launching the programme we have visited many companies globally to help in the implementation of the process, which includes 7 key stages; clean, assess, repair, measure, polish, lubricate and store. Correct maintenance is critical in obtaining maximum life from punches and dies, with a high proportion of problems being traced to poor handling and maintenance procedures.

“"I Holland make a site visit to audit and review tool maintenance procedures, methods and the equipment used. We then introduce the PharmaCare 7 Step Process, resulting in a presentation of recommendations and a full audit report.

"“We find out the root cause of a customer’s problem, for example it could be down to a poor cleaning regime. We then advise on an informed and working solution, or the optimisation of current maintenance techniques. This simple procedure has helped to save not just money but also time for punch and die users and has given us the opportunity to deliver a service that offers a diagnosis to a problem, and ultimately a solution.”"

When visiting a customer, all tooling maintenance procedures are assessed by the I Holland specialists and the essential 7-step programme is examined. This includes

Step 1 –— Clean: – An essential start to the process to ensure tooling is free from contamination.
Step 2 –— Assess: – Following cleaning, punches and dies must be inspected to determine general condition.
Step 3 —– Repair: – Rectify any damage to the tooling including any light corrosion and damage through polishing and repairing.
Step 4 —– Measure: – This is essential after polishing and repair to ensure critical tooling dimension have stayed within tolerance.
Step 5 –— Polish: – Automated polishing is recommended to ensure an even polish and consistent finish.
Step 6 —– Lubricate: – This step is important to protect, preserve and aid the smooth operation of tooling in the tablet press.
Step 7 —– Store: – The final step is important to protect and minimise damage of tooling. Correct storage facilitates good tooling management. It is recommended specially designed storage cabinets are used.