Top 6 Robotics Applications In Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

Pharmaceutical companies are into integrating robots into their operations at a pace surpassing other industries. However, determining which robot applications to implement in your company and identifying tasks suitable for automation can be challenging tasks overall! The pharmaceutical sector has undergone significant transformations lately, which is definitely triggered by rapid global developments, prompting companies to adjust their processes accordingly.

And one of the primary technologies that pharmaceutical companies are making use of is “Robots” so that they can stay ahead of the curve! According to some studies, the introduction or growth of robotics in the pharmaceutical industry is higher when compared to other industries.

You might also be considering whether your company should implement robots into our operations! Whether you've utilized robots previously or this is your first time you are thinking of implementing them, determining the optimal application for maximizing your investment can be a daunting task!

The importance of discovering a suitable robot application lies in prioritizing those that promise to deliver great outcomes! At first, you must consider the advantages that the robotics technology will deliver, focusing on those most valuable to you and your business! 

The Benefits Of Robotics Implementation In Pharmaceutical Manufacturing!

So, before we move forward to the applications part, let's quickly read about the advantages that are brought by robotics in pharmaceutical manufacturing!

a) Enhanced Productivity — Robots are helpful in enhancing the production process by performing the specific tasks in a rapid and better way.

b) Decreased Downtime — When compared to manual labour tasks or an employee, a robot has the potential to run 24 hours and it doesn't call for any breaks.

c) Consistency — Robots are consistent in doing their assigned tasks and they perform every single task in the same way which eventually helps in improving the consistency of the end results.

d) Quick Market Introduction — Robots have the potential to provide great help in various tasks within the pharmaceutical industry such as performing tests, trials, enabling the R&D department to do their tasks quickly, etc. therefore, it results in quicker introduction of the products into the market.

e) Great Flexibility — Robots, in particular, are highly programmable, enabling swift adaptation to various tasks and rapid responsiveness to alterations, facilitating efficient task-switching and agility.

So, what's next? Well, now you must contemplate which of the benefits listed above will be most effective for your business! And what are the tasks that would receive more advantages from these impacts? Moreover, it is also useful to think about the tasks that will enable you to obtain a faster ROI (Return On Investment) with the minimal amount of disturbance!

What Are The Applications Of Robotics In Pharmaceutical Manufacturing?

1. Packaging

Each and every product must be packed in such a way that it remains protected and generally, there are various possibilities to conduct packaging tasks using robotics in the pharmaceutical industry. A few examples of packaging tasks encompasses packing the products into different bags, stacking boxes into pallets and loading the products into their specific trays.

2. Dispensing

Dispensing might not be the first thing that comes into the mind of people when it is related to robots, but it's actually quite common and is utilized in different scenarios, ranging from applying glue to manufacturing food. This can involve attaching a dispensing tool directly to the robot or having the robot move containers beneath a dispensing machine. For example, filling syringes with medication is one example of a dispensing task.

3. Inspection

Inspection has always been a daunting task in any type of industry all over the globe and the outcomes of inconsistent inspections might be disastrous for the pharmaceutical industry. However, robots are one of the best solutions in order to enhance consistency in the inspection tasks. For example, when it comes to inspection tasks, it might include reviewing whether every compartment of the blister pack is filled or not! 

4. Pick & Place

As implied by its name, pick and place include transferring objects from one location to another! This might involve relocating items from a conveyor belt to a designated workspace, organizing objects for subsequent processing, or performing comparable assignments. A few instances of pick & place tasks encompasses arranging syringes for packaging process, sorting bottles for medicaments, eliminating defective products at the time of inspection, and more.

5. Capping Bottles

One of the most common tasks in the pharma industry is none other than capping bottles which is tried & tested using robotic application. Having the right robotic technology, end effector & sensors, the process of capping bottles can be made more simpler and a faster process. One example of capping bottle tasks is placing caps on the medicine bottles.

6. Machine tending

There are a lot of partially automated machines present within the pharmaceutical sector. Typically, a human operator handles the loading as well as unloading of these types of machines, yet this is not the most efficient utilization of their time and effort! Utilizing a robot for machine tending tasks, such as feeding samples into a testing machine, is a superior alternative that helps the operators to focus on more value-added activities.

Summing It Up!

In conclusion, the implementation of robotics technology in pharmaceutical manufacturing has undoubtedly revolutionized various aspects of the industry! From enhancing precision and efficiency in drug production to ensuring safety and compliance, robotics applications have significantly impacted pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. The future holds even greater potential for robotics to further optimize operations and accelerate the development of life-saving medications.

FAQs

1) How Will A Company Know From Where To Begin Implementing Robotics In Their Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Processes?

— Pharmaceutical companies must focus on identifying the manufacturing processes that would obtain most of the benefits from several factors such as consistency, enhanced productivity, decreased downtime, better flexibility, and more. Companies can begin with automating their tasks that acquire the highest ROI with zero to less internal modifications. Once it's successful, they can apply this automation technique to different processes.

2) What Are The Advantages Of Implementing Robotics In Pharmaceutical Manufacturing?

— There are several advantages of robotics in this specific industry such as quick market introduction, increased efficiency, great flexibility, reduction of downtime, etc. Robots can enormously boost the production process by conducting tasks in a more efficient way which results in improving the consistency of the end product.

3) What Are The Applications Of Robotics In Pharmaceutical Manufacturing?

— Some of the common applications of robotics in this industry include inspection, machine tending & packing, bottle closing, dosing, etc. All this work can range from sorting the bottles of medicine & arranging syringes to reviewing sealing bottles, blister packs, packing drugs into boxes and beyond.