Stripfoil Deblistering Technologies’ deblistering systems for the pharmaceutical industry offers effective methods for removing blisters from cartons, as well as individual tablets form blister. Three main models have so far been introduced by the company to meet this objective.

Stripfoil: from manual to automatic

The Stripfoil deblisterer opens all types of cartons and is suitable for all types of blisters, with speeds of up to 40 cartons per minute: the machine works by cutting the flaps of the outer packaging before ejecting the blister from the carton.

Once this is done, the next step in the deblistering process is to recover the unit doses of medicines, using manual, semi-automatic or even automatic deblisterers. Here too Stripfoil offers its customers a wide range of solutions for this task.

First up is the Stripfoil Mini, which is a manual, portable deblisterer that offers a relevant and cost-effective solution for small facilities that need to recover small batches of drugs from most types of blister packs. A pro version is also available.

The company is also producing the Moto Stripfoil, a semi-automatic deblisterer which, unlike the Mini, will be motorised to provide a processing capacity of up to 30 blisters per minute via a press-out system.

The fully automatic option: Stripfoil Pharma

Used and approved by leading pharmaceutical centres, pharmacies and packaging centres around the world, the Stripfoil Pharma is the benchmark in its field: this fully automated, high-speed machine offers a perfect solution for the recovery of large batches of drugs from most types of blister packs up to 120×160 mm used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Capable of processing both all-aluminium and PVC/aluminium blisters, the machine achieves speeds of up to 150 blisters per minute, with a high average of 80. It will take no more than 2-3 minutes to clean the machine and change the blister format. The unit is also rather compact in design, with dimensions of 1000 mm wide, 1220 mm high and 550 mm thick, weighing 155 kg.

The Stripfoil ribbon, the major contribution of the Pharma model

In addition to the ease of cleaning and rapid changeover that has made this machine so successful in the pharmaceutical sector, it is also worth noting that it operates without compressed air: powered by 110v/220v, it does not require any type of power supply and can simply be plugged into the mains.

The Stripfoil Pharma has been designed to overcome the shortcomings of traditional deblistering systems by providing a much higher level of drug integrity than that achieved with conventional press-out systems. Here, no aggressive pressure is exerted to force the product out of the cells where it is stored, and the drugs fall out by gravity alone, without any damaging pressure being applied.

The patented adhesive tape has enabled this major breakthrough: the lid sheet on the underside of the blister pack is hooked on and then removed by the adhesive tape, with no special tools required and, most importantly, with no potentially contaminating contact with the processed medicines, either by human hands or by the materials of the removed blister pack.

This is a huge flexibility, allowing manufacturers to recover any batch size without worrying about the cost of tooling, and allowing clinical trial companies to unpack their customers’ products efficiently and without contamination.