Capsule filler Troubleshooting

Symptoms: In-process weight checks trend wide or bimodal, rejects rise, assay variability follows. Likely causes: Powder flow inconsistency; Tamping pins worn or misadjusted; Dosing disc height wrong; Hopper level fluctuating. Fixes: Review blend flow properties and hopper level control; segregation or rat-holing upstream shows up as weight scatter. Inspect pins and springs, reset tamping depths per the setup card. Verify disc thickness and clearance for the recipe; renew worn discs. Keep powder level in the working band with level control; head pressure changes dosing density. Prevention: Blend flow characterisation, tamping-station PM, setup verification with first-piece weights each batch.

Symptoms: Split or telescoped capsules in the outfeed, dented caps, poor lock lengths at QC. Likely causes: Shell moisture out of range; Rectification block wear; Closing force or length misadjusted; Worn segment bores. Fixes: Store capsules at the maker's humidity spec; dry shells crack, damp shells dent and stick. Inspect orientation components; mis-oriented capsules jam and split at joining. Set the closing station to the shell maker's lock dimensions; verify with a gauge, not by eye. Replace worn segments; sloppy bores misalign cap and body at closing. Prevention: Shell storage humidity control, closing-length checks per batch, rectification and segment wear PM.

Symptoms: Empty capsules found downstream at the checkweigher, separation faults alarm, yield drops. Likely causes: Weak vacuum separation; Capsule lot quality; Static in dry conditions; Worn separation components. Fixes: Check vacuum pump, filters and per-bore vacuum ports; blocked ports fail to pull bodies from caps. Audit incoming shells for dimensional variance and pre-locked units; quarantine bad lots. Control room humidity and add ionisation where shells cling and misfeed. Replace worn separation fingers and bushings that skip capsules under speed. Prevention: Vacuum port cleaning cadence, incoming shell inspection, checkweigher reconciliation to catch drift early.