Tablet Coating Systems

Tablet coating systems coat pills and tablets with an even layer of film. The film may serve a variety of purposes, including to mask a taste, color, or odor, protect the active ingredient from decomposition, reduce dissolution time in the body, or color code different doses. Sugar coatings are common for legacy and pediatric drugs, immediate-release films for pain relievers, enteric films for NSAIDs and acid-sensitive APIs, and controlled or modified release for once-daily chronic therapies.

A tablet coater is made up of a coating drum that tumbles tablets, a spray system to coat tablets with liquid as they are moving, an air handling system to dry the liquid and remove moisture, and a control platform that manages the tablet coating equipment. A typical system has a drum capacity of between 5 liters to 600 liters with a pan rotation speed of 2 RPM to 30 RPM (most have variable frequency drive).