Tablet characterisation methods for PM
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Pharmaceuticals and PM are closer than you think: A new approach to understanding powder compaction and tablet characterisation While the pharmaceutical and Powder Metallurgy industries both work with the compaction of expensive, specially formulated powders, beyond this basic similarity they are not typically seen as having a great deal of overlap. However, a recent study by Chris Freemantle, Pilot Tools (Pty) Ltd, and Henry Kafeman, HDK Solutions Ltd, found that the use of pharmaceutical tablet characterisation methods could benefit the Powder Metallurgy industry. In this case study, the authors share how their use of a Gamlen powder compaction analyser, initially designed for pharmaceutical application, helped them to better measure and understand metal powder compaction for cemented carbide tool manufacture.
The Powder Metallurgy industry has a great deal in common with the pharmaceutical industry, in that both industries work with specialised and expensive powders, which are precisely formulated for their specific application. Powders can be notoriously difficult materials to handle, due to their complexity, and are frequently compacted into tablet form in both these industries. In the case of pharmaceutical applications, of course, tablets are frequently packaged and sold in the compacted, tableted state, while, in Powder Metallurgy, compressed powder ‘tablets’, aka green compacts, undergo further processing to form dense, metallic or ceramic final products. Regardless of the material, it is easy to appreciate how the nature of a powder can directly impact its compaction behaviour. Particle size, shape, morphology, hardness, density, porosity and the presence of entrapped air in the mixture, to name but a few, can all affect the way in
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which the powders form a tablet. The topic of powder compaction is a very important one for both industries and has been the subject of a great many scientific publications. In this article, we will describe a case study using a relatively new technique for measuring and characterising tablet formation, namely the Gamlen powder compaction analyser.
Could pharmaceutical tablet characterisation methods benefit PM? A chance encounter during a powder rheology webinar led to the suggestion by Henry Kafeman (the co-author of this article) that pharmaceutical tablet characterisation methods could perhaps help the Powder Metallurgy industry. This suggestion
Fig. 1 The Gamlen powder compaction analyser, used to characterise tablet manufacture and properties
Winter 2021
Powder Metallurgy Review
107