ESS Technology's (esstechnologies.com)  Model MB 25 Monoblock Filler/Capper for vials provides a compact, high performance solution for filling and capping micro vials and small bottles. Micro vials are manually fed to the MB 25, or the filler/capper can be integrated with an automatic micro vial feeding system. The MB 25 employs No Bottle-No Fill-No Cap sensors to prevent filling in the case of a missed micro vial. Optionally, the system can be ordered with net weigh filling that assures extremely precise amounts of product. In a net weigh system, the micro vial is weighed before it is filled and again after filling. The tare and gross weights are compared to pre-programmed values in the weigh cell HMI, and incorrect weights are rejected as bad fills. After the filling process, a two-stage servo driven capping system first picks and places a cap and applies a slight amount of pre-torque to seat it. The starwheel then indexes the micro vial to the final torque station where a pre-programmed amount of torque is applied.

ESS will integrate the vial filling and capping system with a TaskMate® Robotic Tray Loading System to demonstrate at the Pharma Expo show in Las Vegas, Nevada September 28-30 in booth N-623. The TaskMate uses a FANUC M-1iA robot fitted with ESS-designed end-of-arm tooling (EOAT) to create the robotic tray loading system. Custom vacuum-style EOAT picks two micro vials at a time and loads them into any standard laboratory tray. The high speed robotic system allows both the Monoblock Filler/Capper and the tray loader to run at the desired production speed. The complete system occupies only 7’ x 11’ of space, creating a compact and cost-effective automated solution.