Mechatronics in pharmaceutical engineering: Advanced control to upgrade a tablet coating machine

Abstract

Maintaining a state of compliance with Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMP) remains a challenge for manufacturing automated processes within pharmaceuticals industries. The challenge lies in dealing with integrated control systems and easy, user friendly and reliable monitoring approach that reduces the problem of manufacturing faults, which can lead to cost the organization a lot. This paper presents a mechatronics automated system for upgrading a tablet coating machine in pharmaceutical plant, in order to achieve a powerful control processing system, process monitoring and reporting while concerning in increasing process productivity and quality. The approach used in the mechatronic automated system, to Upgrade the tablets coating machine, based on investing in the power of two, relatively novel, technologies; Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) and Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA). The integration of both technologies provided a real powerful upgraded design that increases the efficiency, reliability and robustness of the control and monitoring process, and reduces time, cost and rework.