AFG 3000 Series

- Filling technique for challenging powders
- Dosing module with vacuum/compressed air mechanism
- Operation and control via touch screen

Bosch is introducing the AFG 3000 series for the sterile filling of challenging powders at the Achema. The compact systems are designed for medium and high output levels of up to 19,200 containers per hour.

With this technology, Bosch meets the challenges facing many manufacturers of pharmaceutical powder products. According to Dieter Bandtel, product manager at Bosch, ``some powder can stick, form bridges or flows with difficulty. With the AFG 3000 Series, even challenging powders can be processed in an accurate, fast, and reliable way.`` The core of the AFG 3000 Series is the innovative dosing module. It operates based on the vacuum/compressed air principle. The powder is suctioned into the dosage chambers of a dosing wheel and then blown into containers with sterile compressed air.

The dosing wheel can be changed even during batch production of a batch while still maintaining sterility. Any changes in filling weight are monitored and immediately offset in a fully-automated and process-integrated manner. The prism transport system of the AFG 3000 guides the containers carefully through the machine and guarantees the accurate alignment of the container openings under the dosing module.

All machines in the AFG 3000 series are built according to GMP standards and are easy to use. The swivel-mounted touch screen allows the user to set, save and activate all production parameters, thereby minimizing manual and time-consuming user interventions. This facilitates a completely reproducible representation of the production conditions for the AFG 3000 series and ensures reliability, speed, and flexibility in the powder filling process.

Contact person for reader and press inquiries:
Patrick Farinato
Manager Communication
Bosch Packaging Technology Division

Bosch Packaging Technology
Sigpack International AG
Rheinstrasse 36
CH-8212 Neuhausen am Rheinfall
Tel: +41 52 674-6228
Fax: +41 52 674-6350
Email: patrick.farinato@sigpack.com
Internet: www.bosch.com/pa

The Bosch Group is a leading global manufacturer of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology. In fiscal 2005, some 251,000 associates generated sales of 41.5 billion euros. Set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as ``Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering,`` the Bosch Group today comprises a manufacturing, sales, and after-sales service network of more than 280 subsidiaries and more than 12,000 Bosch service centers in over 140 countries.

The special ownership structure of the Bosch Group guarantees its financial independence and entrepreneurial freedom. It makes it possible for the company to undertake significant up-front investments in the safeguarding of its future, as well as to do justice to its social responsibility in a manner reflective of the spirit and will of its founder. 92 % of the shares of Robert Bosch GmbH are held by the charitable foundation Robert Bosch Stiftung. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG.

Additional information can be accessed at www.bosch.com.