Browse our clientsratiopharm Group, Europe’s foremost generics manufacturer and the most prescribed pharmaceutical brand in Germany, is fulfilling its requirements for efficient precision coding of aluminium tubes thanks to Domino’s pioneering industrial scribing laser systems.
Continuous investment in the most advanced technology has played its part in ratiopharm’s success, enabling the Group to optimise production and increase the performance efficiencies of its manufacturing operations. Product marking has become a core function as legislation around the world becomes ever more stringent.
Tube coding made simple ratiopharm first teamed with world-leading total coding, marking and traceability solutions supplier, Domino in the early 1990’s and the partnership has developed such that Domino equipment is now used to fulfil a range of coding applications at ratiopharm’s Merckle GmbH manufacturing sites in the German cities of Ulm and Blaubeuren-Weiler.
A key benefit of the installation for Merckle is that a single coding technology can now be used to reproduce variable data. Because of the large amount of variable information required on some very small tubes, the company’s previous coding arrangements involved multiple coding technologies.
Merckle's Oystar IWK tube filling machine has now been equipped with Domino's scribing laser to code aluminium tubes ranging from 2 – 150g capacity. In order to ensure absolute traceability, the tube crimps are marked with both the batch number and expiry date.
The system marks two tubes per cycle in stationary mode, with a maximum cycle time of 412ms (three lines of 15 characters). Precise characters of any size are produced at full production speeds. Along with greater availability and the creation of a first-class print image, the laser also guarantees a higher degree of flexibility thanks to low maintenance and cleaning requirements, plus the capability to print unlimited lines of text in any orientation.
Despite the wide range of tube sizes, very little adjustment to the Domino system is required at changeover. Its modular construction facilitates installation even where space is at a premium and a minimal consumables requirement contributes to low operating costs. The increased availability of the system helps minimise downtime, while maximising performance, thereby effectively improving Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) and contributing to improved efficiency throughout the plant. Merckle ratiopharm has also installed a Domino DPX extraction system to remove dust, fumes and other particles generated during the marking process.
Commenting on the installation, Dietrich Schmucker, head of Merckle ratiopharm’s electrical workshop, said that, “The Domino laser has been the best investment the company has made in a very long time, and we would take the same decision again if need be.”
Established ink jet technology for marking secondary packaging
Merckle has also deployed Domino’s A-Series continuous ink jet printers at both sites to ensure traceability of its products through the supply chain. Typically, the coding of outer packaging with required information – such as expiry dates and batch numbers – is carried out immediately after checkweighing, or during manual assembly. The automatic self-cleaning function and the unique nozzle seal system incorporated in Domino’s A-Series ensure that the equipment is clean and ready for immediate operation – even after lengthy periods of shutdown.
Thanks to both an excellent supplier/customer relationship and advanced marking technology, Domino has successfully contributed towards the increased product quality and economic efficiency at Merckle/ratiopharm, which has helped ensure that excessive operating costs are a thing of the past.
