In the words of one blister packing equipment supplier, "in an ideal world everybody would produce round tablets". However, in the real world, with manufacturers introducing intricate shapes to prevent counterfeiting, the variety of formats is only going to increase. "The number of product shapes has grown dramatically, from standard, round bi-convex tablets, to flat or elliptical and multi-faceted shapes," says Brian Hansford, joint managing director of feeding systems specialist Electro-mec. This trend clearly has major implications for the feeding and filling operation. Historically, the most common method of filling blisters was the brush box, whereby product is deposited on the web and brushed along into the forms. However, this method relies on product finding its own way into the form, so while it is still acceptable for standard-shaped tablets and capsules, this 'free for all' approach is far from perfect for irregularly shaped products.
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