Tablet Module
Following the delivery of the Pharmacy on Demand (PoD) Workup and Isolation Modules, Eagle Lake was entrusted with managing the integration of all four PoD systems, including the Synthesis and Tablet Modules developed by other research teams.
The PoD Upstream Synthesis Module transforms raw materials and precursor chemicals into the Crude API, which is subsequently processed into purified Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) by the PoD Workup and Isolation modules.
The PoD Tablet Module combines API powder with excipients and other ingredients, mixes them, and presses the mixture into tablets.
Our primary objective was to assist the systems startup activities in the new research facility, triage urgent issues, and evaluate and assess the three different LabVIEW platform architectures.
Mechanical, electrical, and software engineering teams collaborated with researchers and external domain experts to identify regulatory gaps, propose system enhancements, and incorporate additional functionalities, features, and system updates.
The Tablet Module’s LabVIEW Real-time software and FPGA architecture were refactored using proven Eagle Lake design patterns to improve performance, safety, and reliability.
Measurement systems were redesigned to ensure device parameter settings, communication baud rates, error handling, string parsing and conversion to numerics, and signal processing methods were implemented correctly, accurately, and consistently.
Linear motion controllers and other Modbus serial devices underwent refactoring using action engines and state machines to enhance error recovery, and predictability.
Rotary motion control was upgraded to utilize CANbus hardware and the Eagle Lake CANopen hardware abstraction layer, ensuring precise, repeatable control with real-time feedback on velocity, position, and torque. Our CANopen drivers were extended to dynamically switch between position and velocity modes, offering unparalleled motion control flexibility.
Operations sequencers were replaced with deterministic state machines created using the NI State Diagram toolkit.
The video below demonstrates the choreography of the tablet machine “downstairs” operations:
- Precise dispensing and weighing operations of the rotary Tap Feeder
- Controlled movement of the die sled from the weigh platform to the tablet press
- Two-stage compression of the powder by the press, with load cell feedback control
- Ejection of the finished tablet