Vial Powder Filling Machine

A Vial Powder Filling Machine (also known as an Injectable Powder Filling Machine or Sterile Powder Filler) is a specialized piece of pharmaceutical equipment designed for the precise, automated filling of sterile dry powders into glass vials. These machines are essential in the production of injectable medications, such as antibiotics, vaccines, and lyophilized drugs, ensuring sterility, accuracy, and compliance with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and FDA standards. They operate in aseptic environments to minimize contamination risks and are often integrated into complete vial processing lines that include washing, sterilization, stoppering, capping, and labeling.

Vial Powder Filling Machine Video

Key Features and Components

• Powder Dosing System: Utilizes vacuum-driven powder wheels or servo-controlled pistons for volumetric filling. Powder is stored in a hopper agitated by mechanical stirrers to maintain uniform density. Dosing ranges from 50mg to 1500mg per vial, with options for multiple doses via changeable parts.

• Filling Accuracy: Typically ±2% (or better, up to ±0.05% in advanced servo models), depending on powder characteristics, humidity, and environmental conditions.

• Stoppering Mechanism: Built-in rubber bunging or stoppering system inserts sterile stoppers immediately after filling to preserve integrity.

• Turntables and Conveyor: Infeed and outfeed turntables with independent drives for smooth vial handling and speed control. Vials are transported via a synchronized conveyor or indexing system.

• Safety and Controls: Includes clutch systems for vial breakage prevention, tool-less blade adjustments, PLC interfaces with graphical user interfaces (GUI), and optional in-process weight checking or rejection systems. Many models support IQ/OQ validation documentation.

• Sterility Enhancements: Options for inbuilt laminar airflow (Class 100), autoclavable SS316 contact parts, and integration under isolators or RABS (Restricted Access Barrier Systems).

• Customization: Servo motors for powder wheel rotation and vial transport; adaptable for different vial sizes . Advanced models allow split-filling of multiple powders in one vial with 100% check-weighing.

How It Works

1. Vial Preparation: Empty sterile glass vials enter via infeed turntable after upstream washing and depyrogenation (using hot air ovens or tunnels).

2. Powder Filling: Vials are positioned under the powder wheel. Vacuum/pressure draws and dispenses a precise powder dose into each vial. Agitators ensure consistent flow.

3. Stoppering: A vibrating feeder drops rubber stoppers, which are pressed into place.

4. Outfeed and Integration: Filled and stoppered vials exit to capping/sealing stations. The entire line can achieve up to 19,200 vials per hour in high-speed models.

5. Inspection: Inline checks for fill weight, stopper placement, and defects.

Applications and Benefits

• Industries: Primarily pharmaceuticals, biotech, and cosmetics for sterile powders like cephalosporins or lyophilized biologics.

• Production Speeds: Ranges from 30–200 vials per minute (VPM) in compact GMP models to 300+ VPM in automated lines.

• Advantages: High precision reduces waste, minimizes human intervention for sterility, and supports scalability. Compact designs fit under containment systems, and servo technology ensures repeatability.

Salient Features of Vial Powder Filler Machine

• Compact cGMP model.

• “No Vial, No Filling” system eliminates wastage of costly powder.

• Multiple Dosing System.

• High Volumetric Filling Accuracy of ±2% of uniform density Injectable powder can be ensured by setting the depth of piston in the port of powder wheel.

• Built-in Rubber Stoppering Unit saves lot of space in the Sterile Area & reduces the length of Laminar Flow.

• Individual drive for the filling & sealing to match the speed of filling & sealing.

• All motors are provided with appropriate contractors and relays for the protection against any overload or jamming.

• Safety clutch system to avoid Vial breakage.

• Variable AC Frequency Drive for speed adjustment.

• All contact parts are easily removable for mandatory Autoclaving/ Sterilization.

• Digital counter for counting production output.

Working Principle of Vial Powder Filler

The sterilized powder is stored in powder hopper is agitated by pair of mechanical agitators for maintaining consistency and uniform bulk density. The powder wheel having eight ports rotates at the pre determined speed below the powder hopper with practically no clearance. Powder wheel consist of Piston in each port and behind the powder wheel vacuum plate is provided there is no clearance between powder wheel and vacuum plate due to back spring pressure. Precise volume of powder is sucked in to the port of powder wheel during vacuum according to the piston length different fill size can be achieved. The excess powder is doctored off by a doctor blade. Doctor blades can be adjusted from outside also without removing powder hopper. When powder wheel indexes further and remain in the port due to the vacuum till it reaches just vertically above the container. The time dose of Compressed air (Nitrogen Gas), sterilized low pressure air sequentially flushes out powder from the port of powder wheel in to the container one by one. The filled containers are immediately separated on the conveyor by vial separator and moves further for stoppering operation. (Different grooves separator can be used which depends on the container diameter or multiple dosing systems). The sterilized, siliconised, rubber stoppers stored in the vibrator bowl moves to vibratory bowl and stacked vertically in the rubber stopper chute. The container is hold firmly between pair or timing belt to pickup rubber stopper from exit end of the chute. Further the container is passed between two pressing roller for tight fit fixing of rubber stopper.

Technical Specification of Vial Powder Filling Machine

* Power voltage can be adjusted as per customer’s domestic power voltage requirements.
* Rights of technical improvements & modification reserved.
* Illustrations & dimensions are shown for information purpose only.