CLEANING PROCEDURE FOR GRANULATOR

Before starting the granulator check that all the parts comes in contact with the product are clean and also see that the machine is free from the previous batch particles.
Switch off the mains of the granulator and remove the old product labels.
Detach all the pars which have come in contact with the product and take them to the washing area.
Soak the mesh and other parts in water for about 15 minutes.
Use a nylon brush to remove the particles adhering to the mesh.
Clean the hopper, hopper lid, propeller and hopper ring with a plastic scrubber using 5 gms of Sodium Lauryl Sulphate solution in 1 litre of water as a cleaning agent.
Clean the above parts with a jet and rinse them with purified water, finally dry them by using air blower.
Clean the undetatchable parts with a nylon brush and wipe with wet cloth followed by dry cloth.
Assemble the parts on to the machine and affix a label stating that the machine is “CLEAN”
Check the oil in the gear box fortnightly and fill it with SAE – 40 oil if necessary.
Check the parts which come in contact with product for clean and clear the previous batch/product particles and dust from the room.
Fix the desired screen and tension it by tightening necessary knobs on to the hopper ring.
Fix hopper and stirrer in their position and fix the screen hopper ring by tightening the knobs.
Ensure that stirrer is not touching the screen under any circumstances. The clearance betwenn stirrer bottom surface to the screen must be about 1 mm for effective granulation.
Granulator is used for wet granulation, dry granulation and for tablet crushing.
For wet granulation 6# or 8# mesh are used, preferably with small size paddle type stirrer.
During wet granulation, there are chances of wet mass sticking to the stirrer joint, which Blocks the granulation. Under this circumstances remove the stirrer, clean it well and fix it in its position and continue the process.
Place clean and dry aluminium trays on the shelf rod to collect the wet granules for drying.
For dry granulation, and tablet crushing, use appropriate mesh (depending upon the size of the tablets) with big size paddle type stirrer.
In dry granulation process collect the granules into, clean labelled polylined drum for lubrication purpose.