Demand for vaccine throughput met by Linx laser coders

A leading pharmaceutical manufacturer has upgraded its Linx laser coders from 30W to 60W to meet increased throughput requirements for the COVID-19 vaccine from its Belgian production facility.

The existing Linx laser coders were coding medicines on already high-speed lines, but the huge demand for the vaccine saw a further significant rise in production volumes that necessitated an upgrade to the coders to cope with the higher throughput.

Linx’s long standing distributor, Mundi Technology, has supplied this customer for over 20 years, and was therefore the first choice to provide an appropriate solution. In particular Mundi’s extensive knowledge of laser systems and the company’s excellent relationship with the customer’s checkweigher supplier, were instrumental in devising a system, which integrated the Linx CSL60 laser coders alongside the existing checkweigher and data matrix scanner.

Each Linx CSL60 laser coder marks four lines of human readable code onto a paper label which is then applied to ampoules at a rate of 400 items per minute. The laser operates while the line is static, taking only 90 milliseconds to code each item, with each production line running two shifts a day, five days a week.

In addition, another line uses the Linx laser coders to mark a data matrix code and four lines of human readable code onto the carton boxes. Operating at speeds of 40 metres per minute, 250 cartons are clearly and accurately coded every minute and also operate on a double shift pattern, five days per week.

The Linx CSL60 is a 60W, CO2 scribing laser coder that offers reliable coding for faster and more demanding operations and has therefore enabled the customer to increase capacity.

The innate flexibility of the coder means that the customer can have the right combination of tube and lens for the application. This level of tailoring ensures that the laser tube is always running at an optimum rate, which extends its life beyond other suppliers, and lengthens the time between service intervals. As a result, the customer will enjoy less production downtime and a lower total cost of ownership.

“We are delighted to support this vital contribution in the fight against COVID-19,” said Craig Briggs, Global Laser Business Unit Manager for Linx Printing Technologies. “The fast, reliable coding delivered by the Linx CSL60 laser coder meets the demands of companies who urgently need to increase their production throughput.”