Types of robots in the pharmaceutical industry, uses, applications, and benefits

In recent years, the use of robots by pharmaceutical companies has increased due to multiple factors such as the pandemic, labour shortages, and a greater need for quality and safety.

The market for robots in the pharmaceutical industry is expected to continue growing in the coming years. This growth can be attributed to the ability of automated systems to quickly and safely perform repetitive tasks such as moving test tubes and fluids, counting and packaging pills, and inspecting for quality control.

The pandemic caused a huge acceleration in the pace of robot adoption in the pharmaceutical industry. The increase in demand came from a massive need to process test samples and produce test kits and protective equipment such as masks and gloves.

Other factors, such as personalised medicine, are influencing the demand for pharmaceutical robots. Personalised medicine is based on the idea that some people will respond better to a particular treatment than others, depending on their genetic makeup. This concept leads to a much greater need to analyse patient samples and medical formulas. Personalised medicine involves many more tailor-made medicines, which increases packaging and labelling requirements and means that batch sizes can be reduced to a single dose. Therefore, lower volumes of medicines, combined with a greater variety of medicines, increase the labour intensity of producing these pharmaceutical products and, as a result, the use of robots in the pharmaceutical industry becomes necessary.

Benefits of using robots in the pharmaceutical industry

Next, we will look at the use of robots in the pharmaceutical industry and some use cases for pharmaceutical robots and their benefits.

• Collect and place

  Delta robots are the most commonly used type of robot for pick-and-place applications. They are known for their speed, but are limited by the amount of weight they can carry. Since most medicines are quite small and lightweight, Delta robots are ideal for many of the packaging applications found in pharmaceutical production. SCARA robots are also fast and, for many pick-and-place operations involving pharmaceutical products, they are excellent choices. When greater load capacity is needed, articulated arm robots and Cartesian robotic arms are used.

  Packaging robots are responsible not only for placing pills and vials in blister packs and boxes, but also for printing and applying labels. Robots equipped with vision systems can remove primary packaging from a conveyor belt and place it in secondary packaging, such as cardboard boxes.

• Mixing and dosing

  Some liquid medicines need to be shaken in a vial or bottle as part of the production process, or a powder may need to be dissolved in a liquid. A robotic arm can gently pick up a vial and rotate it according to very strict movement specifications: pendulum motion, vertical or horizontal rotation, or shaking. The repeatability of the movement is crucial for the reliability of the results, and robots excel at these tasks.

  For large-scale production of tablets and other types of medicines, conventional automation in the form of fixed mixers and dosing equipment is most commonly used. However, robotics can assist in the process. For example, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) can supply bulk materials to fixed equipment. An AGV or automated mobile robot (AMR) can transport the ingredients of a medicine from the warehouse to the dosing machine with minimal human intervention.

• Inspection and quality control

  Testing or assaying samples may involve breaking tablets into powder. An assay may require dispersing a powder in a liquid. It may be necessary to mix solid and liquid ingredients to achieve uniformity and activate chemical reactions.

  In the case of large-volume testing on a production line, a machine can perform the mixing and testing tasks. Traditional automation is very useful in these types of situations, and robots can be used as a complement. For example, a robot can load the samples into the testing machine and also remove the samples when the test is complete.

• High volume versus low volume

  Low-volume tasks have different requirements than high-volume production. When a company develops a new drug, the process involves low volume and high variability. At the beginning of the process to create a new drug, several million different drug candidates must be tested. At each stage of the testing process, most leads are eliminated until one or two promising candidates emerge.

  In this scenario of low volume and high variability, pipetting automation is used, as well as industrial collaborative robots (cobots).

  Cobots work well alongside people because they are designed to limit their speed and force. Cobots detect when people are nearby and can slow down or stop for safety. Cobots not only have vision sensors to avoid collisions, but also sensors to limit the force of their movements and prevent people from being injured.

  People usually train the cobot what to do by manually moving the robot into the different poses required, and in this way, it can be programmed without the need for code.

  The adaptability and ease of use of a cobot is especially valuable when there are many different tasks to perform. The robot's ability to perform repetitive tasks in collaboration with a person's individual skills represents a powerful combination.

• Packaging and palletising

  At the end of the production process, finished products must be packaged for shipment to customers. Palletising robots automate this task by picking up boxes or cartons and placing them on pallets.

  Palletising robots can optimise stacking to maximise the number of boxes on each pallet. Ensuring stability during shipping is another optimisation criterion. Palletising robots can also perform automatic shrink wrapping, which helps to secure valuable cargo.

  Given that boxes, cartons and pallets weigh more than in the early stages of the production process, robot arms tend to be more powerful at this final stage. The type of robot used varies depending on the application. If the movements required are simple, a Cartesian robot may suffice. If maximum flexibility is needed, articulated arms are required. collaborative palletising robots on packaging lines They can perform complex manoeuvres and bear considerable weight.

Advantages of automation for companies using robots for pharmaceutical processes

Medicine production is a demanding task, and robots help limit product exposure to contaminants by keeping people away from the process. In addition, people are kept safer by reducing their proximity to chemicals and harmful substances. Repetitive movements can also cause injuries to workers, and robots can help prevent occupational hazards.

Repeatability is essential when performing a pharmaceutical process that involves a series of highly precise tasks. Robots excel at moving with precision in prescribed ways with little variability.

In the pharmaceutical industry, a mistake can cost lives. Precision is of vital importance, and robots enable companies to increase their consistency and quality without sacrificing speed.

Performing tasks at high speed over a long period of time is crucial to process performance. In many tasks, especially those involving the picking and placing of small objects such as pills and small bottles, robots can operate three to four times faster than humans, and they can do so without breaks or distractions. Therefore, the implementation of robots in pharmaceutical production helps to increase performance.

Labour shortages are rampant. Most companies have discovered that robots enable their current employees to do more in less time. It is not so much a matter of replacing people with robots, but rather that robots enable their current staff to keep pace with growing demand.

Challenges and risks when considering process automation with robots in the pharmaceutical industry

There are many issues that can hinder the adoption of robots in the pharmaceutical industry. One of them is having enough space for the equipment. Although robots make efficient use of workspace, manufacturing plant space is limited, and things may need to be rearranged to accommodate the new equipment.

On the other hand, if you want to increase production by a considerable amount, you may need to increase the size of your facilities for production, storage, and packaging/palletising space.

Another concern may be not seeing the value of robotics for operations. In these cases, it is useful to speak with people who have already experienced the benefits of robots in the pharmaceutical industry.
If you are interested in learning more about this topic, here you go. 20 applications of collaborative industrial robots for manufacturing processes that will help you prepare to automate and learn more about the different applications of industrial collaborative robots that you can implement in your plant.