Smart solutions for pharmaceutical primary packaging

• Realisation of a cycle time of 10 - 105 vials per minute
• High overall system availability of 96
• Electric gripper, infinitely adjustable for formats from 2R - 50R
• Systems run with a total of 10 robots
• Buffering of the vials without glass-to-glass contact

Realisation

At its Müllheim site in the Markgräflerland region, speciality glass pioneer SCHOTT primarily produces high-quality glass vials for the pharmaceutical industry. The handling system implemented there is part of a production line for the internal coating of vials (pharmaceutical vials) from ISO 2R to 50R. The annual production volume is several million vials.

The joint development focus of SCHOTT and HEITEC on overall system availability and the avoidance of glass-to-glass contact ensures the economic efficiency of the system. It runs in four-shift operation 24 hours a day, 330 days a year in accordance with the Good Manufacturing Practic (GMP) guidelines for pharmaceuticals.

What's more, the plant has a completely modular design and can be modified or expanded at any time if market conditions change. This means that SCHOTT's vial production is future-proof.

1. Automatic transport: The system automatically transports the vials to be coated through the line and brings them to the coating stations after washing and drying.
2. Intelligent quality assurance: Our vials are placed in position, coated and removed by robots to be transported to the inspection system. A specially installed quality assurance system monitors the process and forwards the data to the downstream lines.
3. Maximum availability: As each coating module is located in its own safety circuit and the entire system is not stopped every time there is a fault, maximum availability is guaranteed.
4. The vials are also transported without glass-to-glass contact and are buffered in the process. Production losses are therefore kept to an absolute minimum.

Customer benefits

• Development and implementation of a customised, fully automated handling system for medical vials
• Integration into an ISO 14644-1 class 9 grey room
• Compliance with GMP and GEP requirements
• Different types of vials in the ISO range from 2R to 50R
• Many millions of high-quality vials per year
• Maximum flexibility with minimum space requirements
• Intermediate conveyor belt with transfer technology

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