German processing and packaging machinery supplier Romaco is offering tube filling systems for effervescent tablets for the first time. The move is a result of the firm's acquisition of Swedish tube filling machine manufacturer Medipac last November.
These systems, which offer gentle filling of fragile effervescent tablets according to the rotation principle, will in future be sold worldwide under the umbrella brand Romaco Siebler.
Three tube filling systems in different performance classes are currently available in the Siebler MF series. With a maximum output of 120 tubes per minute, the Siebler MF 120 is for very high production speeds. The mid-range MF 70 is currently the top-selling model. The semi-automatic Siebler MF 20 fills up to 20 tubes per minute.
When filling is carried out according to the rotation principle, the effervescent tablets are first guided through up to eight channels, where they are counted still lying flat and thus fed to the filling station. They then pass through filling tubes which rotate at high speed. The resulting forces cause the tablets to stand up automatically and slide upright into the waiting tubes, which are also rotating fast. The suction effect of this rotation creates air cushions, which centre the tablets and prevent them from hitting the tube walls. The fragile effervescent tablets are thus processed extremely gently. Both the tablet erection speed and the filling speed can be adjusted by altering the number of rotations per second. The products can be packed in either plastic or aluminium tubes. A wide range of products in different sizes and shapes can be handled.
All machines in the Romaco Siebler MF series have a modular architecture and can be upgraded with numerous options
Romaco says only a small number of format parts – which are easy to install and clean – are required to equip the basic machines. There is no need to change the format parts in order to fill tablets into different tube lengths; only a few minor adjustments have to be carried out.
The same applies to the filling volume, which varies from 5 to 30 tablets and can easily be adapted according to the tube size. Downtime and retooling times due to product changes are therefore reduced to a minimum.
All machines in the Romaco Siebler MF series have a modular architecture and can be upgraded with numerous options if desired. Various 'integration friendly' extras are available for feeding the tablets, tubes and caps. The level of automation for controlling the system is also individually configurable. Diverse instruments can be implemented for monitoring the process. Inkjet coding and integral print inspection are offered as marking options.
With its Innojet, Kilian, Siebler and Promatic product lines, Romaco manufactures all-in-one solutions for the effervescent sector – spanning coatings for taste masking and granulation, tableting, packing in tubes or strips and a wide range of cartoning systems.
