Compact controllers provide precision to lab technology

作者特里·佩尔（Terry Persun），撰稿人

The Tomtec Quadra4 automated liquid handling system incorporates six AllMotion stepper controllers.

Tomtec has over forty years of experience in the designing and manufacturing of automated liquid handling equipment. Their Quadra4 is the latest to receive upgraded design components for a liquid handling workstation for life science workflows. The workstation is designed using a fixed-head, air displacement syringe design, which services a six station shuttle. Each of the six stations can support a range of accessories for automating complex workloads such as solid phase extraction (SPE) and an optional plate-stacker can be used to queue up to 50 assays.

The latest upgrade of the Quadra4 uses stepper drivers and linear actuators for precision or high-speed movements depending on the specifications for the particular stage. Where the Quadra4 used to have an embedded PC board with older-technology drivers, the company has upgraded considerably through the use of AllMotion motor controls + drivers. By switching to stepper motors, Tomtec was able to increase the overall precision of the workstation. The AllMotion controls allowed the company to use NEMA 11 to NEMA 34 motors without having to switch to a different control system.

显示的是XYZ阶段，该阶段在Quadra4处理系统内部操纵微型板。

Quadra4是一个液体处理工作站，带有内置的XY班车，这是一个XYZ阶段，将微孔板带入了分配的位置，并且带有线性执行器的移液头，垂直在96尖端的头上移动96个活塞。标准单元结合了标准96井微孔板使用的96个分配技巧，但还可以通过独特的设计策略，最多可容纳384个标准井微孔板，其中96个足迹通过四个象限索引。工作站还可以使用为小体积尖端创建的可选384活塞进行操作。工作站的索引部分使用三个轴，而穿梭系统使用两个轴，而移液器活塞仅使用一个轴。这意味着每个Quadra4中都有六个AllMotion Controler驱动器。

Two models of stepper motor controls are used in each workstation. There are four EZHR23 controllers used, three in the XYZ staging system and one in the pipette pistons. Then there are two EZHR23ENHC controllers used in the

这使Tomtec Quadra4液体处理系统的脱掉的切口呈现出所有重要的内部组件，以帮助说明其操作。

robotic shuttle operation. Both controllers were specifically designed for simple, user-friendly implementation of stepper motor solutions, especially for automation, and have found their way into medical, aerospace, electronics production, consumer products, and other applications.

EZHR23控制器措施直径那一个d is a fully intelligent controller that can be bolted onto the back of the stepper motor it controls. The EZHR23 uses a single 4-wire bus, which contains two power wires and two communications wires, and can link up to 16 controllers in a daisy chain. Commands are issued from any serial terminal program.

用于航天飞机的EZHR23ENHC控制器为2.25 x 2.25英寸，并提供与EZHR23提供的完全智能设计。控制器的命令是直观而简单的。例如，A10000的命令将将步进电动机移至绝对位置10000。还可以将控制器设置为在电源时执行预设命令。命令包括嵌套循环和执行停止，等待开关闭合，这在独立应用程序中很有用。

Each EZHR23 and EZHR23ENHC controller is capable of stand-alone operation with no connection to a PC. The devices can easily be set to execute a preset string of commands upon power up. The commands include nested loops and execution halt pending a switch closure, which is useful in stand-alone applications.

Quadra4均包含EZHR23和EZHR23ENHC控制器。

Quadra4的关键操作是系统能够通过每个分配尖端的活塞运行空气。该公司称此操作时间分配/空气分配。由于使用塑料材料时液体是亲水性的，因此在注射器中留下了最多3微米的液体。时间分配/空气分配系统使用空气将残留物推入井中，从而提高了车站的整体准确性。

Through simple straightforward programming, following the customer’s manual methods, the system can be programmed to add plates to the shuttle or put them back into the stackers. The customer may automatically move reservoirs of reagents from the stacker to the shuttle and back. With some creative ingenuity customers can easily program complete walk away automation for some very complex protocols.

Allmotion
www.allmotion.com