What is Alu Alu packing?

Alu alu packing may be described as “on the outside, cold forming foil is made of aluminum, and on the inside, it is made of polymeric films. It is suitable for blister packaging to escape from moisture, oxygen, light, and chemically sensitive tablets and capsules.

The word “ALU” indicates the aluminum material used for the bottom layer and lid of the blister pack, another side the term “ALU-ALU” indicates that both the bottom and lid layers are made of aluminum in alu alu packing so it is called Alu Alu packing.

Aluminum foil is impermeable to all gases, moisture, light, bacteria, and other substances. Due to its capacity to keep out moisture and bacteria in particular packs, it helps the medications live longer than if they were wrapped in PVC foils.

Alu Alu packing is a developed version of blister packaging in the pharmaceutical industry that provide an extra layer of protection to the product and increases the shelf life of tablets or capsules by protecting it from direct light and heat.

What is Alu Alu blister?

Tablets and capsules are two pharma doses that usually come packed in blister strips. However, injection ampoules and vials are also packed in blisters but these are very low quantities in comparison to tablets and capsules. The machine blister is the machine that allows tablets and capsules to be packed in aluminum foils from both sides. Blister uses aluminum foil from one side and another side PVC, and sometimes both sides are aluminum to wrap the tablets and capsules, which protects the tablet from moisture and light in alu alu.

Working principle of alu alu machine

Alu alu machine is a popular packaging machine used in the pharmaceutical industry for the packing of tablets and capsules. In this machine, two servo motors are used for operating the indexing and feeding the materials to the machine. The working principle of alu alu machine follows the following principle:

Feeding of material: The machine has two moving rolls that feed the aluminum foils and Aluminum films to the machine’s stations.
Foil Forming: The aluminum foil is supplied to forming stations where it is heated and then shaped into the required shape according to the change part shape.
Filling of products: After the formation of cavities in the base foil, the machine moves to the filling stations where tablets or capsules are filled in the cavities with the help of a mechanical hopper.
Lidding of printed foil: After filling with tablets or capsules the base foil film moves to the lidding station where printed foil gets sealed onto the formed blister cavities, and creates a seal around each tablet or capsule on the strip.
Sealing: Then the machine moves to seal stations where blister packs formated are sealed with printed foil. It is the step where it creates a tamper-evident and secure leakage-proof packaging.
Cutting: Finally, alu alu packs strips are cut into individual strips, and fall into the basket from the machine.

See the Video of the full process of alu alu packing machine;

Alu-Alu blister packaging; Jornen Machinery

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Best ALU ALU packing machine in India?

In India, there are many good blister alu alu packing machine companies that produce high-quality machines. Elmach, Mak, and Apro Pack are some top three brands that are used in the Indian pharmaceutical industry for the packing of tablets and capsules.

The capacity and quality also depend on the cost of the machine you are willing to purchase. Excell-44 alu alu double-track machine is a high-cost and high-capacity machine that can give the output of lakhs of tablets per hour.

Otherside, a BLK Pharmatech, Ahmedabad product, 3 Phase Double Track Alu Alu Blister Packing Machine, 220-380V is also a high capacity alu alu machine which is around 14 lakh price.

What is the difference between Alu Alu and blister packing?

The basic difference between blister pack and alu alu packing is the material used in packaging, in Blister packing Aluminum is used on the top side of the strip and PVC on the bottom side, in blister, the product is visible in most cases. On the other hand, in Alu Alu packing the material used in packing, remains aluminum on both sides, however, both foils are different in thickness. There is no visibility of tablets or capsules in alu alu packing. The product remains safer in alu alu packing in comparison to blister packing.

Aluminum-Plastic Packing is less expensive than Alu-Alu Packing. The size of Alu-Alu Pack blisters is larger than that of Aluminum-Plastic Pack blisters. As a result, more of the same product can be loaded into a single container when packed with Aluminum-Plastic Pack.

What is the advantage of Alu Alu packing?

Alu alu packing machine packing is more efficient instead of the aluminum PVC blister pack. The life of tablets and capsules increases in alu alu packing because there are no chances of entering moisture

Types of Alu-Alu packing machines.

In India, there are hundreds of blister-packing machine manufacturers. Working as a plant head in different companies, I got opportunities to use several companies’ alu alu machines, on the basis of my personal experience I can recommend machines on their performance basis. Some top alu alu packing machine brands used in the pharmaceutical industry are:

Elmach Engineering
Mak cold form Alu blister Packing machine-Price-6.5 Lakh.
Pari Engineering Double track. Alu-Alu machine.
Make Automatic Alu alu blister machine- Price 8.5 Lakh.
Rotopack India; Shankarpur (UK).
Desain Engineering
Mak Engines
Accurate Machines.
Packline Machines, UP.
Delight Engineers & Ltd.
Foil Engineering.
VM services blister Packing Machine Alu-Alu machine-Ahmedabad
Helios Concrew Pvt Ltd.
Helios Double track Alu Alu Packing machine Price:17.5 Lakh. (Costlier)

Top 3 Alu Alu packing machines in India

1. Elmach- EPI-3522 GRAND

Technical Specification

Model: EPI-3522 Grand
Forming Material: Thermoforming PVC, PVC with PE/PVC, COC, ACLAR cold forming tri-laminated Aluminium foil
Lidding Foils: Hard-tempered Aluminium, medical grade paper
Reel Size: Base film 440mm diameter X 350mm width. Lid Foil: 250mm Diameter X 350mm width
Speed: 40 cycles per minute
Punch Cycle: 160 cuts per minute

Price: About INR 38 Lakhs

2. Mak Double track fully Automatic Alu Alu Machine

Fully Automatic Double Track ALU Blister Packaging Machine manufactured by Mak Engineers in Vadodara. It has a capacity of 40 Blister/Min and is used in the pharmaceutical industries

Technical specifications of the Fully Automatic Double Track ALU Blister Packaging Machine manufactured by Mak Engineers, as per the official website of company :

Capacity: 40 Blister/Min
Phase: 3 Phase
Voltage: 380-415 V
Brand: Mak Engineers
Usage/Application: Pharmaceuticals Industries
Material: MS, SS
Pack Length: 140 mm
Model Name/Number: ALUMAK-D
Pack Width: 130 mm
Power: 15 kW
Country of Origin: Made in India
Approx Net Weight: 1500 Kg
Air consumption: 200 liters/minute
Cold water: 80 liters/hour
Sealing foil width: 220 mm
Sealing foil Thickness: 0.04 mm
Sealing foil diameter: 210 mm
Floor Space Dimension: 2900x900x1600 mm

Price: About INR 29 Lakhs

3. Rapid Pack Ultra 900 alu alu machine

According to the official website of the company,[RapidPack] the technical specifications of the Rapid Pack Ultra 900 Alu Alu Machine are listed below:

Capacity: 300 Packs Per Minute
Phase: Single Phase
Voltage: 240V
Brand: Rapid Pack
Usage/Application: For Packing Capsule And Tablet
Maximum punching speed: 300 punches/min
Maximum forming speed: 70 cycles/min
Maximum forming area: 200×300 mm
Maximum base foil width: 300 mm
Maximum lidding foil width: 296 mm
Maximum forming depth: 13 mm
Connected Load: 30 KW
Average power consumption: 15 KW (Approx.)
Cooling water consumption: 250 Ltr/hr
Net weight: 3200 Kg (Approx.)

Price: About INR 31 Lakhs

What is the cost of the packaging machine?

The cost of alu alu packing machines varies from Rupees 7 lakh to 40 lakhs in India, it depends on the capacity of the machine and quality of the machine. If you have small-scale production of tablets and capsules then you should go for a cheap machine that starts from 7 lakhs. If you are going to manufacture lakhs of tablets per day, then you should go for a high-cost and capacity machine that can cost you more than 20 lakhs.

What are the disadvantages of blister packaging?

The blister packing machine is very popular for packing tablets and capsules. Blister packing is usually known as Alu-PVC packing. In this packing, tablets are prone to get in contact with light which can reduce the life of the product. The weight of this packing is higher than alu-alu packing. The look of this strip is not so attractive in comparison to alu alu strip.

References:

Book: “Pharmaceutical Blister Packaging, Capsules, and Tablets” by Peter A. Brodhecker and Thérèse A. Peffer, published by Marcel Dekker, Inc.
Journal article: “Evaluation of moisture barrier properties of different types of blister packaging materials for solid dosage forms” by A. E. Gad, et al. published in Saudi Pharmaceutical Journal, 2015.
Packaging Materials and Containers” by-U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Book: “Pharmaceutical Packaging Technology” by D. A. Dean, published by CRC Press, See here