Thermal processing equipment manufacturer Thermal Product Solutions (TPS) last month announced the shipment of a custom-built automated Gruenberg Class A pharmaceutical dryer, designed to meet specifications for an emerging pharmaceutical manufacturing technology.

The dryer was designed to increase the customer’s production rate, by automating the batch process, including automated loading and unloading tables. By integrating the complex automation coding with the pharmaceutical dryer, TPS is able offer its client a complete solution.

The Gruenberg pharmaceutical dryer’s work chamber has dimensions of about 150 cm × 188 cm × 193 cm. The maximum temperature rating for this safety oven is 80 ⁰C. The wiring for the automated sections runs inside the framework to keep surfaces clear, enabling ease of use and cleaning.

The pharmaceutical client’s process includes solvents, which require that the dryer comply with US fire hazard authority National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA’s) 86 Class A safety rating. NFPA 86 is a standard intended to minimise fire and explosion hazards related to ovens and furnaces used for commercial and industrial processing of materials.

Class A addresses the safe design, installation, operation, inspection, testing, and maintenance of ovens and furnaces that operate near atmospheric pressure, whereby potential explosions or fire hazards occur, owing to the presence of flammable volatiles or combustible materials processed or heated in the furnace. In addition to meeting the safety specifications for the processing of solvents, the dryer was also designed with a substantial amount of guarding to protect operators.

TPS claims that its extensive experience with the design and manufacture of complex systems, including product automation, enables it to work with customers on the most complicated systems and meet stringent design requirements.

The company designs and manufactures industrial and laboratory ovens and furnaces, and environmental temperature cycling and stability test chambers. Product brands include Blue M, Gruenberg, Lindberg/MPH, Tenney, Wisconsin Oven, and Baker Furnace.

TPS says the Blue M product brand is recognised in the industry as a leader in the design, manufacture and support of industrial ovens, in-line curing ovens, light industrial furnaces and custom industrial ovens. It also provides international standards organisation ASTM International with a variety of ovens used to test various products. These industrial ovens accommodate a range of applications and configurations to meet virtually any thermal processing requirement.

The Gruenberg product brand has become synonymous with the manufacture of industrial ovens, says TPS. This range includes sterilisers, continuous process explosion-proof dryers, isolators, barrier systems, and a variety of thermal process systems for biotechnology, medical devices and diagnostic products.

The Lindberg/MPH product brands have a long-standing reputation in the heat treating and nonferrous melting furnace industry, including design, manufacture and service. There are more than 75 000 Lindberg industrial furnace installations worldwide. Lindberg/MPH also offers complete product engineering and manufacturing services to handle molten metal, handling requests with speed and efficiency.

The Tenney product brand offers one of the most comprehensive lines of environmental test chambers and rooms in the industry. The line includes custom and standard environmental rooms, shock and vibration chambers and environmental test chambers.

The Wisconsin Oven Corporation has been designing, engineering and manufacturing industrial ovens and other heating equipment for 40 years. Both custom and standard industrial ovens are used for a multitude of applications including heat treating, finishing, drying or curing.

Lastly, Baker Furnace is a leading American manufacturer of custom-built industrial ovens, furnaces and pollution control equipment serving the aerospace, finishing, environmental, heat treating, and oil and gas industries.

TPS manufacturing facilities for Blue M, Gruenberg and Tenney are located in White Deer, Pennsylvania, in the US. Its facilities for Lindberg/MPH are in Michigan, while facilities for Wisconsin Oven and Baker Furnaces are in Wisconsin and California respectively.