The range of medications is as vast as the spectrum of illnesses. Every single prescription issued by a doctor must therefore be dispensed to the customer exactly as written. This demanding task ties up many qualified pharmacy staff with the tedious manual work of time-consumingly gathering the medications. Automated medication dispensing now offers a new approach. An intelligent, automated storage, distribution, and dispensing solution eliminates this manual work. The automation system provides pre-assembled "shopping baskets" based on the prescription information. This innovation is made possible by the use of powerful yet compact miniature motors for the entire distribution mechanism.
While pharmacists used to be manufacturers of most medications, mixing, preparing, and dispensing them, the modern pharmacy has transformed into a specialized distribution center for finished drugs. For some time now, medications have been automatically picked and packed by wholesalers and delivered to individual pharmacies upon receipt of orders. This saves time and therefore costs, while simultaneously enabling faster customer service. Script Pro, based in Mission, Kansas, USA, has now transferred this principle to individual pharmacies. To facilitate a smooth transition, the automated distribution system was designed to fit the dimensions of conventional, manually operated shelving systems. This naturally imposes limitations on the size of the mechanical components used. Therefore, the manufacturer collaborated with the micro-drive specialist FAULHABER. This partnership enabled the rapid development of a suitable solution for a reliable drive system for the automated distribution.
Many different medications require large storage volumes. In addition, there are different dispensing methods, such as loose pills in larger storage containers or pre-packaged larger units in boxes, jars, or tubes. A dispensing system must be able to select, count, and transport all these units without interference. Loose pills can adhere strongly to one another depending on their surface composition. Therefore, not only is high torque required to overcome the breakaway torque of individual pills, but the movement must also be precisely metered to reliably dispense individual pills.
A miniaturized crane system proved to be a particularly space-saving and cost-effective solution. The crane boom itself is the only independently moving part of the system. It contains all the necessary drives in a very small space. In the basic version of the system, one boom serves over 100 specially developed pill containers. The arm moves into position in front of the storage container with an empty dispensing container. A gear located at the bottom of the container is then driven by a gear on the crane arm that engages from the front. Holes in the large storage gear then allow individual pills to pass through to the outside, i.e., into the dispensing container. Thanks to the precise positioning of all components, this counting process is highly accurate at 99.7%. This leaves more space for the actual storage containers and drastically reduces the number of drives required. However, fewer drives also mean a higher load on each individual motor-gearbox unit. Therefore, only robust, low-wear motors with appropriate reduction gears are suitable for long-term operation.
For pharmacies operating in large hospitals or online, where they have to handle numerous prescriptions day and night, absolute reliability is essential. Naturally, the costs for the new system should be kept as low as possible to ensure a quick return on investment. This is where the system's modular design comes into play. In addition to the basic version with 200 storage containers for dispensing pills, there are solutions for tubes, boxes, and other packaging options. For high turnover rates, automatic refilling of the storage containers is recommended. However, each individual function places different demands on the drive system. A complex drive solution is logistically, maintenance-wise, and in terms of size. The drive specialists have provided a solution. Durable, virtually wear-free brushless motors with a 24 mm diameter are comparatively small despite their high performance. A customized control system, in conjunction with flange-mounted compact gearboxes, can handle virtually any torque or speed requirement within certain limits. Integrated or external position sensors and encoders allow for precise alignment of all components. This enables the precise positioning of various elements, such as... B. the threaded rod for further pillbox transport or the Pi
