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Specification for Integration of Biomek® FX Rotating ALP

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Overview

The Biomek FX Rotating ALP is a custom product for horizontal rotating of microtiter plates on the deck of the Biomek FX about the center of the plate from standard "landscape" orientation to a "portrait" orientation, and back again.

The Biomek FX Rotating ALP is a custom product produced by Beckman Coulter for horizontal rotating of microtiter plates on the Biomek FX.

In order to ensure that customer expectations are fully satisfied, the following information has been compiled to summarize the functionality of the device.

The warranty for this custom integration is one year from shipment. This includes Beckman Coulter supplied hardware and software. This warranty applies for the integration to the version of hardware, firmware, and software originally integrated. Any changes to the components that cause the integration to no longer function properly are not covered under this warranty.

The warranty applies to the system and system software versions (including Biomek FX) on which the original integration was installed. Although our goal is for all modules to be forward compatible, this cannot be guaranteed for custom integrations. Any upgrades to the system (including Biomek FX) that cause the integration to no longer function properly are not covered under the warranty for this integration.

Functional Description

The Biomek FX Rotating ALP is designed to rotate about the center of a microtiter plate from the standard "landscape" orientation to a "portrait" orientation and back. While in the portrait orientation, the following actions are allowed and will see the plate in the correct orientation: Span-8 Serial Dilution, Span-8 Aspirate, and Span-8 Dispense. Multichannel access is not allowed, nor is Gripper access. While in the landscape orientation, all standard Biomek FX functionality is available; the Rotating ALP will occupy two deck positions.

Microplates can be transferred to and from the Biomek FX Rotating ALP. The Biomek FX Grippers will transfer a plate to the device before a Biomek FX action is performed, then remove the plate after it has completed. Transferring a plate to and from the Rotating ALP is done in the landscape orientation.

Note: This ALP consumes 1.5 deck locations in a column of the Biomek FX deck.

Device Control

The Biomek FX Rotating ALP can be operated via the Biomek FX Step supplied for the device. In this implementation an operator will have options to select the position of the Rotating ALP being used, and the orientation of the device. It will be the user's responsibility to configure the Step to rotate the device to the landscape orientation before the microplate is transported.

Additional Specifications

Microplates	This device will accommodate most full-skirted 96- and 384-well microplates that conform to the proposed SBS standards. The use of specific 384-well microplates should be specified and tested during development, as some microplates with small round wells cannot be accessed reliably.
Communications	Biomek FX CAN Connection

Integration Components

The integration package for this device includes the following items:

Biomek FX Rotating ALP hardware
Biomek FX Rotating ALP software
Communication cable
Installation instructions
User's Manual

Please contact your local Beckman Coulter representative for the availability of this custom product. The custom Automated Labware Positioner (ALP) described here is not available in all countries served by Beckman Coulter.

For comments or questions about T³ Update, please contact David Daniels, Ph.D., editor.