Agilent Technologies PlateLoc User manual

Agilent Technologies
PlateLoc Thermal
Microplate Sealer
UserGuide

Notices
© Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2008-2009
No part of this manual may be reproduced
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User Guide Part Number
G5402-90001
October/2006
Contact Information
Agilent Technologies Inc.
Automation Solutions
5301 Stevens Creek Blvd.
Santa Clara, CA 95051
USA
Technical Support: 1.800.979.4811
or +1.408.345.8011
[email protected]om
Customer Service: 1.866.428.9811
or +1.408.345.8356
[email protected]
European Service: [phone]
[e-mail]
Documentation feedback:
[email protected]
Web: http://www.agilent.com
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notice until the indicated conditions are
fully understood and met.

Agilent Technologies, Inc., Automation Solutions, 5301 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara, CA 95051 USA
Letter to our Customers
Dear Customer,
The Agilent Technologies acquisition of Velocity11 resulted in the following
changes:
•Creation of Agilent Technologies Automation Solutions, formerly Velocity11
•Renaming of some Velocity11 products
•New Customer Service and Technical Support contact information
•New website address for product information
Please make a note of the following changes as they impact this user guide.
Velocity11 product name changes
New contact information
Documentation feedback: [email protected]
Technical Support: 1.800.979.4811 or +1.408.345.8011
[email protected]
Customer Service: 1.866.428.9811 or +1.408.345.8356
[email protected]
European Service: [phone]
euroservice.aut[email protected]
Web: http://www.agilent.com
Velocity11 product name Changes to …
Access2 Automated Microplate
Loader
Automated Centrifuge Loader
Element Automation System BioCel 900 System
IWorks Device Driver Programming
Interface
VWorks DCL Interface
PlatePierce Seal Piercing Station Microplate Seal Piercer
VCode Barcode Print and Apply
Station
Microplate Barcode Labeler
Velocity11 Robot 3- Axis Robot
VHooks Integration Interface VWorks Hooks Interface
VPrep Pipetting System Vertical Pipetting Station
VSpin Microplate Centrifuge Microplate Centrifuge
VStack Labware Stacker Labware Stacker
Agilent Technologies

Contents
PlateLoc User Guide i
Contents
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Who should read this guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
What this guide covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
What’s new in this user guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Accessing Velocity11 user information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
Chapter 1. PlateLoc introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Description of the PlateLoc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Hardware overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Connection panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Plate requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Inserts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Seal material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Lab automation system software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
PlateLoc workflows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Safety information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Chapter 2. Unpacking and installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Installation workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Meeting Lab requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Unpacking the PlateLoc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Connecting the power source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Connecting and disconnecting the air source. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Connecting and disconnecting the argon source (Gas-Purging PlateLocs only) . . . . . 34
Connecting to the controlling computer (lab automation systems only) . . . . . . . . . . 37
Installing the PlateLoc ActiveX software (lab automation systems only) . . . . . . . . . . 38
Chapter 3. Getting started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Turning on and turning off the power. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Turning on and turning off the air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Turning on and turning off the argon (Gas-Purging Platelocs only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Tilting and stowing the touch screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Adjusting the touch screen contrast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Loading and unloading a roll of seal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Creating and managing profiles (lab automation systems only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Establishing communications with the PlateLoc (lab automation systems only) . . . . 62

Contents
PlateLoc User Guide
ii
Chapter 4. Sealing plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Loading an insert and a plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Setting the sealing parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Starting the seal cycle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Stopping a seal cycle in progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Chapter 5. Optimizing seal quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Reasons for running optimization tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Optimization test guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Adjusting the sealing parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Chapter 6. Routine maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Cleaning the hot plate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Cleaning the touch screen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Chapter 7. Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Hardware problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Error messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Diagnostic tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Reporting problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Appendix A. Integrating the PlateLoc into third-party
systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
PlateLoc ActiveX control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Integrating the PlateLoc ActiveX control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Appendix B. Quick reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Touch screen menus and commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
PlateLoc Diagnostics parameters and commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Appendix C. Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

iii
Preface
PlateLoc User Guide
Preface
This preface introduces the PlateLoc User Guide. This preface contains
the following topics:
❑“Who should read this guide” on page iv
❑“What this guide covers” on page v
❑“What’s new in this user guide” on page vii
❑“Accessing Velocity11 user information” on page viii

Preface
PlateLoc User Guide
iv
Who should read this guide
Job roles This user guide is for people with the following job roles:
Related topics
Job role Responsibilities
Installer Someone who unpacks, puts together,
and tests the PlateLoc before it is used.
Lab manager, administrator, or
technician Someone who is responsible for:
❑Solving the more challenging
problems that might arise
❑Developing training materials and
standard operating procedures for
operators
Operator Someone who performs the daily
production work using the PlateLoc
and solves routine problems.
Your organizationmay choose to create
its own procedures for operators
including the procedures in this guide.
For more information about... See...
What this guide covers “What this guide covers” on page v
What’s new in this version “What’s new in this user guide” on
page vii
How to access different formats of
this user guide “Accessing Velocity11 userinformation” on page viii

v
Preface
PlateLoc User Guide
What this guide covers
What is covered This guide covers the installation, setup, and operation of the PlateLoc
that is used in the following ways:
❑As a single device, controlled from the built-in touch screen
interface
❑Integrated withother devices in aVelocity11lab automation system,
controlled from a computer
This guide also provides the ActiveX reference information needed to
integrate the PlateLoc in a third-party lab automation system.
What is not covered This guide does not provide instructions for:
❑Creating protocols and setting task parameters in the Velocity11 lab
automation software
❑Operating other devices in Velocity11 lab automation systems
❑Operating the PlateLoc integrated into a third-party lab automation
system
Firmware version This guide documents PlateLoc firmware version 3.7.2.
Software version This guide documents PlateLoc ActiveX (PlateLoc.ocx) version 7.
Related guides The PlateLoc User Guide should be used in conjunction with the
following user documents:
❑Velocity11 lab automation system user guides, such as the BenchCel
User Guide and the BioCel User Guide.These user guides provide the
system setup requirements and user operation instructions.
❑Velocity11 lab automation system software user guides, such as the
VWorks User Guide. These user guides explain how to create
protocols and set task parameters for each device in the system.
❑Third-party lab automation system user documents. These
documents explain how to set up and use the third-party lab
automation system.

Preface
PlateLoc User Guide
vi
Related topics For more information about... See...
Who should read this guide “Who should read this guide” on
page iv
What’s new in this version “What’s new in this user guide” on
page vii
How to access different formats of
this user guide “Accessing Velocity11 userinformation” on page viii