With a need to uniformly remove excess moisture from prescription medications being produced using a 3D-printing process, a pharmaceuticals manufacturer of approached Thermal Product Solutions for a solution. The New Columbia, Pa.-based industrial oven maker of Gruenberg ovens developed a custom solution that includes a robotic gantry, heat-saving windows and internal actuators and sensors that precisely position and dry trays of 3D-printed pills to exact specifications.

To ensure the quality and uniformity of each pill, the conveyor oven precisely times, loads, arranges, positions, heats, monitors and removes trays of pharmaceuticals. According to the manufacturer, the oven has thin window slits rather than a large door to conserve heat and maintain precise temperature control of the 176°F (80°C) environment as trays of product enter and exit the chamber.