Automated drug handling for pharmacies

• What was required: drylin W profile guides and drylin high helix thread with plastic nuts
• Requirements: the longest possible service life despite 24/7 operation, low abrasion, completely self-lubricating linear and curve guides, tight curve radii, minimized vibrations and low noise
• Industry: medical technology
• Success for the customer: The material pairing of drylin W and iglide J ensures maintenance-free and wear-free operation of the circulation system over a long period of time. This has been confirmed by Rowa's previous tests with the first prototypes of the circulation system.

Every hospital pharmacy has to face the task of reliably and accurately supplying several hundred patients with medication around the clock. This requires significant effort in organization, administration, staffing, and testing procedures.

Established outpatient pharmacies encounter similar challenges. They increasingly need to supply care facilities and elderly patients with individually tailored medication plans involving a large number of drugs.

In the future, this effort can be both simplified and made more secure with the Rowa Dose System, developed by Becton Dickinson Rowa Germany GmbH.

A fast and highly available circulation system is essential for supplying medications to the blister unit quickly and without errors. For this reason, the Rowa design team defined long service life under continuous 24/7 operation as a core requirement. Low abrasion was equally important, since the downpipes transport unpackaged medications.

To meet these demands, the system required fully self‑lubricating linear and cam guides. Additional key selection criteria included the ability to navigate tight curve radii and achieve the lowest possible friction. Reduced friction not only decreases energy consumption but also minimizes vibrations and ensures low noise levels during operation.

igus® bearing and drive technology proved to be an ideal fit for the Rowa system design. Rowa engineers chose drylin® W profile guides made of hard‑anodized aluminum for the horizontal guidance of the downpipes. These guides were used in extra‑wide or extra‑high versions to handle greater tipping forces and to ensure consistently stable movement of the downpipes. igus® has since added this version to its standard product lineup.

On the narrow sides of the circulation system, a truly customized solution was required. The design can achieve 180° curves with a radius of only 80mm, which is made possible through specially milled components that igus® produced specifically for this application. The tight curves also demanded customized plastic gliders that can reliably enter the corner at high speeds.

This custom design also made it possible to incorporate another special feature: the guides on the narrow sides can be opened to allow the replacement of individual bearings. This requires extremely precise manufacturing, as the plain bearings pass over this section every cycle at a very high frequency. Each Rowa Dose system contains several hundred guide elements of the drylin® W 10 type, equipped with sliding foils made from the self‑lubricating, high‑performance polymer iglide® J.