Start with the product, not the catalogue.
Every format has a fixed sequence of stages. A capsule line prepares and mixes the powder, fills it, polishes and inspects the capsules, counts them and packs them. A tablet line adds granulation before compression and coating after it. A softgel line is a different chain again.
Write that sequence down for the product you actually intend to make, with the batch size and the number of batches a week you need. That single page decides most of what follows, and it is the page most people skip.
It also tells you what you do not need. A line built to a catalogue tends to include stages that look professional and sit idle; a line built to a product does not.
Size the stages to each other.
Each machine has a throughput, and the line runs at the pace of the slowest. A capsule filler that makes 90,000 capsules an hour feeding a counter that handles 30,000 is a filler running a third of the time, and the money spent on its speed is wasted.
Balance the stages around the throughput you need, with the bottleneck placed where it costs least. It is often better to have a fast, simple filler and to invest in inspection and packaging, which is where quality problems are caught and where labour goes.
Leave room to grow at the stage that is hardest to change. Packaging can be added to; a compression machine is usually replaced.
Then the machines, and the room.
With the stages and their sizes settled, the machine choice is mostly about compatibility: the same capsule sizes, the same container formats, the same controls and the same documentation. A line of machines that each work and do not work together is a common and expensive result.
Plan the room alongside the machines. Product flow, dust extraction, cleaning access and the space to move a container between stages all decide whether the line runs at the speed it was bought for.
We help compare machinery, connect the stages and build the setup around your product, from a single machine to a complete line. Tell us what you want to make and what you already have, and we start from there.
