Calculator
Coating pan speed and tangential velocity calculator
Tangential bed velocity from pan diameter and RPM, with the range most film coating runs sit in.
Result
- Pan diameter
- 0.914 m
- Tangential velocity
- 0.383 m/s
- Assessment
- Within the usual bandMost film coating runs sit between 0.25 and 0.75 m/s
- Bed turnover
- 8 rev/min
Formula
v (m/s) = π × pan diameter (m) × RPM ÷ 60
Why this number matters
Two pans of different size at the same RPM are not running the same process. A 24 inch pan at 14 RPM and a 48 inch pan at 7 RPM put roughly the same surface speed through the spray zone, which is why scaling a coating process on RPM alone goes wrong. Tangential velocity is the number that transfers between pan sizes.
Where it goes wrong
Friable cores, and most herbal and nutraceutical cores, need the lower end of the band. Attrition at the pan wall shows as edge wear and fines long before it shows as a failed friability test.
Other calculators
- Coating weight gain
- Coating dispersion
- Spray rate
- Drying capacity
- Dispersion vessel
- Surface area and build-up
Every grade page carries the process parameters it was developed on, so you can start from a known point rather than a calculated one. Browse the grades.