Tablet Counting Machine

1. What Is A Tablet Counting Machine?

A tablet counting machine is a kind of machine that is widely used in the pharmaceutical industry for counting and filling medicines. It is used in counting tablets, pills, soft and hard capsules, and coated tablets. High-degree sensors fitted in the machine can help it accurately counts the number of tablets in very less time.

An amazing feature of a tablet counting machine is that it counts tablets of different sizes and shapes. This machine has also been used in other industries like the food industry, chemical industry, and agriculture industry.

2. What Are The Main Types Of Tablet Counting Machines?

As a matter of fact, there are different types of tablet counting machines, according to different designs and automatic degree, they can be divided into four types, which are as follows:

Manual tablet counting machine

The manual tablet counting machine is designed very simply, as the picture shows, it looks like a small shovel, and there are some hole sites on it. The manual tablet counting machine is made of old technology, it consists of some handheld devices which need to be run by employees.

The accuracy of counting by this machine is good because the counting number of this machine is fixed per turn, but the counting speed of the manual tablet counting machine is slow. When the machine works, it makes very less noise, it is convenient for small batches production, and is easy to use.

Semi-automatic tablet counting machine

The semi automatic tablet counting machines looks more advanced than manual tablet counting machine,it is designed compact,will occupy little space.This machine is equipped with a smart display screen,the operation of it is quite simple,the operator need to click the buttons to let the machine work.

But, since this machine is semi-automatic, during the working process, it also needs some manual intervention. The counting speed of a semi-automatic tablet counting machine is faster than that of a manual tablet counting machine but slower than the fully automatic one. This type of tablet counting machine is more suitable for small to medium-scale production.

Fully automatic tablet counting machine

The fully automatic tablet counting machine is the most advanced of these types, it has high efficiency, high working speed, and high accuracy. This machine is equipped with a large PLC touch screen and many high-speed counting sensors, because of these high-level components, the machine can count thousands of tablets per minute.

In addition, the automatic degree of this machine is pretty high, it can totally complete the whole working process by itself as long as you set the parameters in advance. The automatic tablet counting machine is suitable for medium to high-scale production.

Tabletop Tablet Counting Machine

As the picture shows, tabletop tablet counting machines are designed compact, and it is easy to operate, the size of this type of machine is small, therefore, it is convenient to be carried and doesn’t occupy too much space. The tabletop tablet counting machine is usually used in hospitals, small laboratories, food factories, and so on.

3. What Are The Differences Between Manual & Semi-automatic & Fully Automatic Tablet Counting Machines?

In the last part, you have learned the four types of tablet counting machines, in this part, it will show you the differences between manual tablet counting machines, semi-automatic tablet counting machines, and fully automatic tablet counting machines.

In terms of accuracy

It is evident that the accuracy of a fully automatic tablet counting machine is of the most high level, the error of this machine is quite small, even less than 1%. Compared with the fully automatic one, the manual tablet counting machine and semi-automatic tablet counting machine may occur errors in different degrees.

In terms of speed

As you can see, a manual tablet counting machine depends on total human labor to count tablets so the speed will be very slow. The speed of the semi-automatic tablet counting machine will be higher than the manual one, but it also needs some human operations during the working process.

Therefore, the fully automatic tablet counting machine is the most high speed of the three types because it realizes all operations by itself.

In terms of cost

The manual tablet counting machine is the most cost-saving among the three types, then the semi-automatic tablet counting machine follows. The fully automatic tablet counting machine is the most expensive because of its high-level configuration, so the cost is relevantly high.

In terms of size

This point is the most intuitive, look at the picture, the size order from the largest to the smallest is a fully automatic tablet counting machine, semi-automatic tablet counting machine, and manual tablet counting machine.

4. What Are The Main Parts Of A Tablet Counting Machine?

If you want to learn about a machine, you must know its structure of it, it consists of how many components, and what are the functions of these components. The tablet counting machine consists of a vibrating feeder, counting system, bottle feeding system, and control system.

Vibrating feeder

The vibrating feeder consists of many parts, such as a hopper, vibrator, tablet feeding track, and dust cap system. The vibrating feeder is the entrance and channel of tablets, the tablets are put into a hopper, and then go through the other parts of the vibrating feeder, the function of this part is to fill tablets to the counting system.

Counting System

As the name shows that the counting system counts the number of tablets that are fed by the vibrating feeder. It consists of a guide plate, dropper, and counting sensors. The guide plate plays a role in guidance, letting the tablets fill into the counting chamber, the dropper is to fill the tablets into bottles, and the counting sensors are the main counting device of the whole machine.

Bottle feeding system

The bottle feeding system consists of a transmission section, conveyor, and bottle hold bar.  The function of the bottle-feeding system is to deliver the bottles during the tablet filling process.

Control system

The control system refers to all the electric components of the machine,for example,the PLC touch screen,the system contains in built cameras which detects the damaged tablets and don’t allow them to be filled into bottles.This part helps people operate the machine,it controls the whole working process of the machine.

5. Explain The Working Process Of The Tablet Counting Machine?

Actually, most of people will be interested in how a machine works, which can help them a more intuitive understanding of the machine. Therefore, in this part, you will learn the working process of the tablet counting machine to have a deeper knowledge of it.

When the tablet counting machine is powered on, the first step is feeding, the operator should add tablets to the hopper of the machine. The tablets will enter the hopper, and go through a vibrator, then being guided by the tablet feeding track, at the end they are put on the feeding tray.

After feeding, it is going to the counting step, the tablet counting machine is equipped with many sensors, when the tablets are going through the counting system by the convey belt, the sensors will sense the tablets and then realize the counting function.

The next step of the machine is to separate the broken tablets. It is obvious that broken tablets are regarded as waste material, they can not be put into medicine bottles. So, during the counting process, the machine will separate away the broken tablets at the same time.

When the counting process is at the end, the machine begins to fill tablets into medicine bottles, it can fill an accurate number of tablets into bottles or other containers. When the machine finishes filling, the whole working process is completed.

6. What Are The Advantages Of Tablet Counting Machines?

As a widely used pharmaceutical equipment, tablet counting machine has many advantages, which are as follows:

High Accuracy

The tablet counting machine has high accuracy, it can count the amount of tablets without any errors. To a certain degree, you can even say that the tablet counting machine can work with high precision than human labor.

High Speed

And, the working process of the tablet counting machine is highly efficient, it counts the tablets at a quite high speed, which is much faster than human labor, by using a tablet counting machine, you can pack the tablets in much less than the estimated time.

Easy To Operate

The tablet counting machine is easy to operate, you can use it without too much professional knowledge, just need to click some buttons.

Cost Effective

In addition, tablet counting machine has high cost-effective, and it has high productivity even at less cost. By possessing a tablet counting machine, you can save many costs in time, money and human labor.

Durable

The frame of the tablet counting machine is made of hard and high-quality stainless steel, so the machine is not easy to be damaged when it works or is delivered. And the other components of the machine are also made of advanced materials, so the tablet counting machine is very durable.

7. Explain The Applications Of Tablet Counting Machines?

Tablet counting machine has applications in different fields. They have importance in many other industries not only in pharmaceuticals. This machine has the applications in following sectors:                                  

Pharmaceutical industry

Tablet counting machine has been widely used in pharmaceuticals in counting different types of pills. This machine helps in counting tablets rapidly with a very less chance of mistakes and your pills remain safe from any damage.

Chemical industry

Chemical reactions require an accurate amount of chemical materials. Any minor changes in the products lead to a disaster. Therefore, a tablet counting machine is also used in the chemical industry for counting chemical concentrations.

Food industry

Tablet counting machines can also help in the food industry, there is some food that needs to be counted and filled into containers, for instance, candy, with the help of a machine, you can quickly finish the operation, which saves your time and labor.

Healthcare department

Healthcare products, such as vitamins, liver tablets, melatonin, and others, are generally in the form of capsules or tablets, so they also need to be counted and filled. So, tablet counting machines are widely used in the healthcare product industry.

8. How To Operate The Tablet Counting Machine?

After learning the main parts and working process of a tablet counting machine, next you need to know how to actually operate this machine.

At the beginning,you need to turn on the machine,click the switch to power on the tablet counting machine,in this step,you need to set up all kinds of parameters in advance,to let the machine work according to your requirements.

And then feed the tablets into the machine, after feeding, you need to adjust the distance of the hopper and vibrator, the distance can not be larger than the diameter of your tablets. And then adjust the dropper and conveyor according to the diameter of the bottles.

After you finish these adjustments, you just need to wait for the machine to count and fill automatically. When all the working steps of the tablet counting machine are finished, don’t forget to turn off the machine, and clean it.

9. How To Deal With The Malfunctions Of Tablet Counting Machine?

To be honest, each machine will occur problems when they are used for a period of time, what should you do when there is a problem with the tablet counting machine? Reading the next part and then you will know the answer.

Errors of Counting&Filling

If there are errors during the counting or filling process, it may be because the operator set the wrong counting time and ending time. So you need to adjust them on the control panel.

Occurs Alarm

When the machine occurs alarm during the working process, you need to check whether the bottles are not sufficient in quantity, you need to add empty bottles. Or, there is dust on the sensors, which results in low sensitivity of them, so you need to clean the sensors.

Noisy

If there is a vibrating noise during the working process of the machine, firstly, check whether the screw is loose, if it is, just tighten it. Next, check if the outlet of the vibrating tray is connected to discharging channel, if they are not connected, you need to adjust the position of the vibrating tray.

Tablets Spilling Out

If the tablets are too many so that they are spilling out from the medicine bottles, the reason is that the distance between the dropper and the mouth of the bottle is too large, you need to adjust the distance between them, in general, the distance needs to be smaller than the diameter of the tablet.

10. What Kind Of Medicines Can Be Counted By Tablet Counting Machine?

Tablet counting machines are widely used in the pharmaceutical industry, these machines can count various kinds of medicines, in the next part, the categories of these medicines will be introduced.

00~5# Hard Capsules

The tablet counting machine can count and fill hard capsules, the models of these capsules need to be 00~5#, the sizes of these capsules are as the following table.

Capsule Size	00	0	1	2	3	4	5
Length(mm)	20	18	16	15	13	12	9.3
Diameter(mm)	8.2	7.4	6.6	6.1	5.6	5.1	4.7

Soft Gel Capsules

Except for hard capsules, soft gel capsules can also be counted by tablet counting machines, in common situations, the machine can count all kinds of soft gel capsules.

Irregular Shaped Tablets

In general, capsules and tablets are in regular shapes, and there are also some irregular-shaped tablets, these tablets can also be counted by tablet counting machines.

Coated Tablets

Besides, you can also use a tablet counting machine to count and fill coated tablets, the counting and filling process of coated tablets are the same as other medicines.

Φ5.5~20 Plain Tablets

Also, tablet counting machine can count plain tablets whose sizes are Φ5.5~20, perhaps many people don’t know what the symbol Φ means, it refers to the external diameter of the medicines, in other words, the machine can count plain tablets whose diameters are in the range of 5~20mm.

Φ3~12 Pills

The same as the last one, Φ refers to the diameter of the pills, the pills whose diameters are in the range of 3~12mm can be counted by tablet counting machine.

11. How Many Quality Standards The Tablet Counting Machine Should Conform To?

As a widely used machine, tablet counting machine should conform to a series of quality standards, which can make it more trustworthy, the standards are as follows:

cGMP

cGMP is the abbreviation of current good manufacturing practice, this standard is suitable for pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical technology industries, the purpose of it is to increase the quality of products. As a type of pharmaceutical equipment, of course that tablet counting machine should conform to cGMP.

CE Certified

And the tablet counting machine should conform to CE Certified, this standard means that this product is safe and it can be sold in European areas.

FDA Compliant

Because the machine will close contact with the tablets, it needs to conform to the FDA-compliant, FDA, which refers to the Food and Drug Administration, the FDA compliant means the grade and safety of food or drug.

12. What Is The Development Prospect Of Tablet Counting Machine?

Nowadays, technology has been constantly innovated and improved, and various kinds of machines have been used in diverse industries, tablet counting machine is not an exception. In the past decades of years, the medicine industry has developed rapidly, and people’s demands for medicines has been largely increased.

Where there are demands, there is production, and the production volume of medicines gets larger and larger year by year. To keep such a large amount of production, it can not only depend on human labor, so there are demands for tablet counting machines.

And besides capsules and tablets, tablet counting machines can also count many other things, they are also widely applied in the food industry, chemical industry, healthy care department, and so many other industries.

Because tablet counting machines have a large range of applications, and they are quite helpful for production, their development of them is better and better. What’s more, with the growth and constant mature of modern technology, tablet counting machines will be more advanced.

13. How To Select The Right Tablet Counting Machine?

When you need to buy a tablet counting machine, you need to consider many things, in terms of the machine itself, or in terms of your requirements.

Production Capacity

At first, the most basic thing you need to think about is the production capacity of a tablet counting machine, it is very vital for your business. The production capacity of your machine determines your production scale, the higher the production capacity is, the larger your production scale is, so you need to consider this point carefully.

Brand

Another factor you need to consider before purchasing a tablet counting machine is brand, it is better to choose big brands which have good reputations. In common, the quality of the machines of big brands is good, and they will give you reliable customer service and warranty.

Budget

In addition, you need to consider your budget, and how much money can you invest in the tablet counting machine, the suggestion is that you can choose the most expensive one in your affordable range.

Real Requirement

Last but not least, you should combine your real requirements, and what you want to get by using a tablet counting machine, you don’t need to follow others’ choices, just make it clear what do you really need.

Conclusion

Tablet counting machine has been used in various industries. It has tremendous advantages in the pharmaceutical industry in counting tablets. If you are looking for a high-end tablet counting machine, ALLPACK is providing the best machinery in the market. They have all the latest designs with new in-built technology. Do contact us anytime if you need a user-friendly tablet counting machine.