Teva came into contact with Minebea Intec Mechatronics through the Hungarian subsidiary, Sartorius Membran. Teva Pharmaceutical Works Ltd. is one of the leading manufacturers of pharmaceutical products in Hungary, and belongs to Teva Pharmaceutical, a large international group. In Hungary, Teva produces and develops active ingredients, finished pharmaceutical products such as tablets, capsules and other liquid and solid pharmaceuticals, and sterile products.
Inside the plant, raw materials and finished products are stored in hoppers in the production area. Until recently, the fill quantities contained in the hoppers were subjected only to visual checks using a glass tube, a highly inaccurate method. Teva decided to search for a solution with greater accuracy that could be implemented inside the production area, in conjunction with Sartorius Mechatronics.
The pharmaceutical manufacturer was enthusiastic about the suggested solution, which involved the use of weighing equipment. It was important to Teva that the installation be carried out quickly and smoothly, and handled directly by Sartorius.
The requirements consisted of equipping ten hoppers, located inside in a hazardous, potentially explosive area, with weighing equipment and having weight values both transferred to a computer system and displayed where the hoppers are located, in the hazardous area.
Sartorius supplied weighing transmitters and installed them in a control panel. The transmitters send the weight values both to the PC and to a remote display located directly next to the hoppers in the hazardous area. The load cells are provided with an intrinsically safe power supply to prevent voltage peaks. To meet the various requirements of the existing hoppers, two different types of load cells were required. PR6241 and PR6211 load cells were installed directly in the hazardous area. These two load cells differ in design and maximum capacity.
Following successful installation of the system, the hoppers were adjusted to capacities of 500 to 30,000 liters. Thanks to the Smart Calibration feature, which entails direct input of load cell specifications from the factory in Hamburg, calibration and adjustment were fast and precise. The requirement for an accuracy level of 2% was readily fulfilled.
The accuracy, which is documented in the calibration report, has the customer’s whole-hearted approval, as does the exceptionally high quality of the system. For Teva, the fast and easy installation of the Sartorius products was an impressive result.
