Revolutionizing Pharmaceutical Dosing with Precision 3D Printing

Accurate, compliant, and efficient tablet production tailored for pharmaceutical standards.

  • Lab-Grade Accuracy
  • 1mg Precision Dosing
  • Zero Material Waste

Project Overview

The Pharma Printer was designed to address a key challenge in pharmaceutical manufacturing: the precise dosing of gelatin-based materials to produce legally compliant tablets. Partnering with a team of experts in material science and software, we developed a lab-grade 3D printing solution tailored to meet strict dosing requirements while minimizing waste and enhancing efficiency.

 

 

Our solution integrates a high-precision printhead and scale with a custom user interface and backend, creating a seamless 3D printing process that accurately deposits materials within a 1mg tolerance.

 

Project Goals:

  • Improve Patient Outcomes: Ensure every tablet meets exact dosage requirements.
  • Minimize Material Waste: Eliminate excess material use common in traditional manufacturing.
  • Enhance Production Efficiency: Reduce labor and increase automation for large-scale production.

Why This Solution?

Our mission is to improve patients’ lives by creating tablets with consistent, precise dosages. By replacing traditional manufacturing methods with 3D printing, this project achieves several key benefits:

  • Accurate Dosage Compliance: Each tablet is dosed within a precise range, ensuring that it meets legal standards.
  • Reduced Material Waste: 3D printing uses only the required amount of material, resulting in nearly zero waste.
  • Increased Production Efficiency: Automated printing reduces the need for manual intervention, allowing for continuous production.

This technology enables our client to produce tablets that are not only accurate and compliant but also environmentally responsible.

How We Built the Pharma Printer

The Pharma Printer is built on the FELIX Pro L/XL platform, customized to handle gelatin-based materials with high precision. To meet laboratory-grade requirements, we enhanced the design with additional features for compliance, safety, and reliability. Here’s how each aspect of the printer contributes to achieving our client’s goals:

Features

  • FELIX Pro L Platform with Food Printhead: A stable, adaptable base platform paired with a single-head food-grade printhead.
  • Precision Gelatin Dosing: A specialized printhead capable of handling 100CC Luer lock syringes, fabricated from stainless steel to ensure food-grade quality.
  • Heated Extrusion: Maintains gelatin at an optimal temperature of 80°C to ensure a smooth, accurate flow.
  • CoreXY Motion System: A high-precision, stable motion system with Z-axis mounted on the X-axis beam for exact positioning.
  • Fixed Print Bed with Precision Scale: Integrated 1mg-accuracy scale on the print bed to verify tablet weight and ensure compliance.
  • Laboratory-Grade Materials: Interior housing made from food-grade stainless steel and a durable anodized aluminum exterior.
  • Operational Safety: Includes CB certification, UL readiness, and actuated door locks for added protection.

OEM Partnership: As the OEM partner for this project, we manufacture the Pharma Printer on demand, stock replacement parts, and provide ongoing support to maintain consistent performance.

Customization Process

Feasibility Study

  • Objective: Demonstrate that our technology could accurately dose gelatin-based materials.
  • Solution: Using the FELIX food printers, we heated gelatin to 45°C and precisely dosed tablets on a scale. Each extrusion produced tablets with a consistent weight, well within the legal range of 5mg per dose.
  • Outcome: The successful feasibility test led to a quick prototype development, enabling us to produce a demonstration unit for the client’s showcase event within one month.

2. Prototype Phase

  • Objective: Integrate lab-grade requirements and refine specifications for precise tablet production.
  • Solution: We consulted a laboratory equipment institute to ensure the printer met all regulatory standards. A detailed specification document guided the design and allowed us to create a prototype that withstood rigorous testing.
  • Outcome: The prototype exceeded the client’s expectations, meeting all accuracy and regulatory requirements.

3. 0-Series Production (30 Units)

  • Objective: Gather feedback from the client and end-users to finalize design adjustments.
  • Solution: Using insights from initial testing, we redesigned key components, reordered parts, and produced a 0-series batch of 30 units, each incorporating improvements for optimal performance.
  • Outcome: The 0-series batch was completed in four months, serving as a reliable model for scaling up production.

4. Final Product Stage

  • Objective: Transition to full production as an OEM partner.
  • Solution: With the last updates finalized, we now deliver the Pharma Printers on demand, built to meet the client’s ongoing requirements.
  • Outcome: A fully developed, lab-grade pharma printer now in consistent production, supporting precise, compliant tablet manufacturing.

Client Success & Long-Term Impact

Our Pharma Printer has already shown significant benefits in the client’s production environment:

  • Enhanced Patient Safety: Each tablet is accurately dosed, ensuring patient safety and dosage compliance.
  • Reduced Environmental Impact: Near-zero waste from manufacturing.
  • Improved Efficiency: Automated, precise printing reduces labor and increases production speed.

This project exemplifies how customized 3D printing technology can streamline pharmaceutical production, improve environmental sustainability, and meet strict regulatory standards.

Aftercare & Support

Our commitment extends beyond production. We collaborate closely with the client’s software developer and quality manager to ensure the Pharma Printer continues to perform at its best. While the client manages frontline customer support, we provide second-line support to address any technical questions or updates that may arise.

See It in Action

Start Your Custom Project

Are you looking for a tailored 3D printing solution to meet your unique needs? Contact us today to discuss your project, and let’s create a high-performance, compliant printing solution together.