Magrocol

Magrocol (macrogol / PEG) laxatives are pharmaceutical powders where the dose is the therapy — accuracy is regulatory, not cosmetic. GMP-oriented auger dosing, full batch traceability and high-barrier films meeting pharma stability requirements define these lines. The single-dose sachet dissolved in water is the standard dispensing form worldwide. What makes the packaging job difficult is the material itself: the powder is non-free flowing, so it bridges and rat-holes in the hopper instead of falling at a constant rate, and its bulk density shifts with compaction over a shift. It is also moisture sensitive, which is why the film specification is not negotiable and why airborne dust has to be kept away from the seal area — powder trapped in a seal is a leak path, and a leaking sachet is a failed stability batch rather than a cosmetic defect. Because the powder does not flow on its own, volumetric cup filling is not a realistic option; the cup would fill differently every cycle. Dosing is done with an auger filler: a servo-driven screw meters the powder by rotation while an agitator keeps the product moving in the hopper, so the dose is set by turns rather than by gravity. The dose is verified by weight and the correction goes back to the auger, not to the operator. Product contact parts are built for cleaning and for changeover between strengths and batches, because a Magrocol filling machine in a pharmaceutical plant has to be documented as well as accurate. On format, a Magrocol stick pack machine produces the narrow single-dose stick that goes straight into a therapy carton — easy to tear, easy to carry, and efficient in film use. A Magrocol sachet packaging machine produces the four-side-seal sachet, which gives more printable surface for dosing instructions, batch code and regulatory text, and is the form most pharmacies dispense. Both are single-dose by design: the patient empties one unit into a glass of water, so the pack and the dose are the same object. The dose range on these lines is 1 to 5 g per pack. Output is not the same as cycle rate, because the machines are multi-lane and the lane count follows the pack width. With CSM1200, a narrow pack allows 12 lanes and up to 960 packs per minute; the same machine set for a wide pack runs 6 lanes and up to 480 packs per minute. Fixing the pack width is therefore the first capacity decision, before any speed figure is meaningful. Suitable Mentpack machines: ARTISTICK (1-5 lanes), CSM600 (3-7), CSM1200 (6-12), HSM (1-3), SPM320 (1-8), SPM800 (4-12), SPM1200 (7-12). Typical buyers of a Magrocol packaging machine are pharmaceutical manufacturers, OTC and private-label laxative brands, and contract packers working under GMP for pharmacy and hospital supply.