A laboratory coater is a compact, fully automatic perforated pan coater with interchangeable drums mounted on a single drive and air-handling chassis. Covering 0.5–40 kg, it serves formulation development, scale-up studies, and clinical trial batches. Its pan geometry and process parameters mirror production coaters, so film coating recipes transfer to commercial scale with minimal re-development.
The operator selects a drum matched to batch mass; drum change takes under 15 minutes without tools. An integrated blower, heater, and exhaust fan deliver 30–85°C air through the perforated pan. One or two spray guns fed by a micro-flow peristaltic pump apply coating while load cells track weight gain. The PLC logs inlet, exhaust, and bed temperature, spray rate, and airflow for scale-up modelling.
Challenges
Scale-Up Mismatch
Lab bed depth and spray zone differ from production, altering coating uniformity.
Small Batch Losses
Wall and gun overspray form a larger share of applied coating on small batches.
Low Spray Rate Control
Gram-level spray rates are hard to meter and atomize consistently.
Thermal Behaviour Differences
Small pans heat and cool quickly, masking production drying limits.
Data Integrity
Development records must support regulatory filing and technology transfer.
Solutions
- Geometric Similarity Design: Pan L/D, baffle profile, and gun distance scaled from production models.
- Coating Efficiency Monitoring: Load cells quantify actual coating efficiency for each trial.
- Micro-Flow Pump + Mass Flow Meter: Accurate 1–100 g/min delivery with closed-loop correction.
- Thermodynamic Scale-Up Model: Matches exhaust temperature and humidity between lab and production scale.
- 21 CFR Part 11 SCADA: Audit trail, electronic batch records, and recipe export to production coaters.
Applications
- Pharmaceutical R&D: Formulation development, clinical supplies, and stability batches.
- Generic Tech Transfer: Exhibit and bioequivalence batch coating ahead of scale-up.
- CRO & Academic: Process research and QbD / DoE coating studies.
- Nutraceutical Development: New product trials and coating system evaluation.
Models & Capacities: Laboratory to Large Production
| Model | Scale | Pan Ø [mm] | Batch Size [kg] | Brim Vol. [L] | Pan Speed [RPM] | Spray Guns | Inlet Air [CMH] | Heater [kW] | Overall L×W×H [mm] | Weight [kg] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LBC-0.5 | Lab | 260 | 0.3–0.5 | 1 | 6–30 | 1 | 40 | 1.5 | 850×650×1350 | 80 |
| LBC-001 | Lab | 310 | 0.6–1 | 2 | 5–27 | 1 | 60 | 1.5 | 950×750×1400 | 110 |
| LBC-002 | Lab | 380 | 1.5–2 | 4 | 5–24 | 1 | 100 | 2 | 1050×800×1500 | 170 |
| LBC-003 | Lab | 420 | 2–3 | 6 | 5–23 | 1 | 140 | 3 | 1100×850×1500 | 210 |
| LBC-005 | Lab | 490 | 3–5 | 9.5 | 4–22 | 1 | 200 | 4 | 1250×900×1600 | 290 |
| LBC-008 | Lab/Pilot | 560 | 5–8 | 15 | 4–20 | 1 | 290 | 6 | 1350×1000×1650 | 390 |
| LBC-010 | Lab/Pilot | 590 | 6.5–10 | 19 | 4–20 | 1 | 340 | 7 | 1400×1000×1700 | 430 |
| LBC-015 | Lab/Pilot | 670 | 9.5–15 | 30 | 4–18 | 2 | 460 | 9 | 1500×1100×1750 | 570 |
| LBC-020 | Pilot | 720 | 13–20 | 40 | 4–18 | 2 | 570 | 11 | 1600×1150×1800 | 660 |
| LBC-025 | Pilot | 770 | 16–25 | 50 | 3–17 | 2 | 670 | 13 | 1700×1200×1850 | 760 |
| LBC-030 | Pilot | 810 | 19–30 | 60 | 3–17 | 2 | 770 | 15 | 1750×1250×1900 | 850 |
| LBC-040 | Pilot | 880 | 25–40 | 75 | 3–16 | 2 | 950 | 19 | 1850×1300×2000 | 1,000 |