Originally Published PMPN April 2005
NEWS
Simulating Blister Performance
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You don't need a crystal ball to predict blister package performance before thermoforming. Montesino Associates LLC (Wilmington, DE) has forged an agreement with Amcor Flexibles Healthcare Inc. (Mundelein, IL) to market Amcor Flexibles' Black Box blister-simulation technology to the global pharmaceutical industry. Black Box, which helps firms project barrier performance, joins Montesino's other marketed scanning service, 3-D Smart, which predicts blister tooling performance.
Using finite-element analysis, Black Box predicts finished blister thickness at multiple points within each cavity, as well as corresponding barrier performance for each cavity using various blister film materials.
According to Montesino's founder, Peter Schmitt, thinning of the blister film during thermoforming can be significant and extremely inconsistent within a single cavity, as well as from cavity to cavity. The result is inconsistent barrier. "Black Box can help pharmaceutical companies complete packaging studies more quickly and accurately, speeding up new drug launches and reducing testing costs," he says. Black Box can also be used for package redesigns, helping pharmaceutical packagers identify alternative barrier materials and optimize packaging performance value.
Copyright ©2005 Pharmaceutical & Medical Packaging News
