IHolland, one of the world leaders in the manufacture of tablet compression tooling for the pharmaceutical industry and an ISO 9001:2000 registered company, based in UK, has launched recently Tablet Design Made EasyiTAB, an interactive windows based tablet design aid that calculates basic tablet parameters and stress analysis for rounds and shapes in three easy steps.

Step one involves the selection of a specific tablet profile and modification of key parameters including diameter, mass, volume and surface area, in real time. The iTAB safety zone ensures that unfeasible designs are not output from the system meaning only quality tablets are produced.

Step two runs a real time Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulation against the design to give an indicative punch tip maximum force calculation.

Step three produces a report summarising key design data such as cup depth and surface area that can be emailed to the I Holland team for further analysis, design work and tooling production.

iTAB allows non-CAD and non-FEA users, to simply and quickly design non-embossed tablets, and obtain detailed information at the click of a button. Core benefits include the avoidance of tablet manufacturing problems such as punch tip breakage from the outset. No technical expertise is required saving time and money on training. Immediate and accurate punch tip load calculations and 3D dynamic rotation of punch tip stress allow for instant decision making on design issues.

The company has a modern manufacturing and development facility in Nottingham, UK, and remain at the forefront of tablet tooling technology and have an unrivalled reputation for technical excellence, quality and service.