PROCESSING | TECHNOLOGY
Take control of production with in-line measurement
Digital tools are the way of the future for compounding extrusion. Jennifer Markarian finds out about advances in in-line measurement from technology providers
Industry 4.0 technologies promise to improve efficiency of compounding processes, but these new tools require access to large amounts of data. In addition to conventional machine parameter data, in-line measurement offers a way to provide new streams of data that can more fully character- ise a continuous compounding process and the quality of the product. “Increasing quality requirements for compound-
ers, along with initiatives like Industry 4.0, digital twins, and artificial intelligence [AI], have increased the popularity of inline systems,” said Fuat Eker, Director of Sales, Marketing and Customisation at ColVisTec, which supplies spectroscopy-based inline monitoring systems with fibre optical probes. The company is working with eight equipment suppliers and ten institutes and universities that are using ColVisTec in-line spectrometers in their laboratories for research and customer trials. The
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in-line analytical systems are used for a range of extrusion processes, including compounding, recycling, reactive extrusion, and hot melt extrusion in pharmaceutical manufacturing. “In-line measurement is designed to deliver
comprehensive, real-time information about the ongoing process and product quality,” said Eker. “This ensures that the entire production process is continuously visible, allowing for immediate corrective actions in case of any deviations. Sporadic lab samples, which offer only random snapshots, are not suitable for continuous monitor- ing or control and do not accurately represent the quality of an entire production run with outputs of several tons. As the industrial world moves in a digital direction, the monitoring of production output has to move in the same direction.” Eker continued: “While machine parameter monitoring focuses on the operational aspects of
August 2024 | COMPOUNDING WORLD 15
IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK/POPTIKA
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