Metrohm 863 User manual

863 Compact Autosampler
Manual
8.863.8003EN / 2019-12-02

Metrohm AG
CH-9100 Herisau
Switzerland
Phone [phone]
Fax [phone]
[email protected]
www.metrohm.com
863 Compact Autosampler
Manual
8.863.8003EN / 2019-12-02

Technical Communication
Metrohm AG
CH-9100 Herisau
[email protected]
This documentation is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
This documentation has been prepared with great care. However, errors
can never be entirely ruled out. Please send comments regarding possible
errors to the address above.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ Table of contents
863 Compact Autosampler ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ III
Table of contents
1 Introduction 1
1.1 Instrument description ......................................................... 1
1.1.1 Model versions ........................................................................ 1
1.1.2 Instrument components ........................................................... 1
1.1.3 PC-controlled operation ........................................................... 1
1.1.4 Stand-alone operation ............................................................. 2
1.1.5 Intended use ........................................................................... 2
1.2 About the documentation ................................................... 2
1.2.1 Symbols and conventions ........................................................ 2
1.3 Safety instructions ................................................................ 3
1.3.1 General notes on safety ........................................................... 3
1.3.2 Electrical safety ........................................................................ 3
1.3.3 Tubing and capillary connections ............................................. 4
1.3.4 Personnel safety ....................................................................... 5
1.3.5 Flammable solvents and chemicals ........................................... 6
1.3.6 Danger from biological substances .......................................... 6
1.3.7 Recycling and disposal ............................................................. 6
2 Overview of the instrument 7
3 Installation 10
3.1 Setting up the instrument .................................................. 10
3.1.1 Packaging .............................................................................. 10
3.1.2 Checks .................................................................................. 10
3.1.3 Location ................................................................................ 10
3.2 Connecting the instrument to the power grid ................. 10
3.3 Connecting a computer ...................................................... 11
3.4 Installing the sample needle .............................................. 13
3.5 Installing the peristaltic pump .......................................... 16
3.6 Tubing and capillary connections ...................................... 19
3.7 Connecting a keyboard, printer and other USB devi-
ces ........................................................................................ 19
3.8 Remote connections ........................................................... 22
3.8.1 Connecting IC instruments ..................................................... 22
3.8.2 Connecting a 797 VA Computrace ......................................... 22
4 Automation sequences 24
4.1 Sample with air gap ........................................................... 24
4.2 Sample no air gap .............................................................. 25

Table of contents ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
IV ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 863 Compact Autosampler
4.3 Double injection .................................................................. 26
4.4 Triple injection .................................................................... 27
4.5 VA 797 Remote start .......................................................... 28
4.6 VA 797 Manual start .......................................................... 29
5 Operation 30
5.1 Switching the instrument on and off ................................ 30
5.2 Fundamentals of operation ............................................... 31
5.2.1 The keypad ............................................................................ 31
5.2.2 Structure of the dialog windows ............................................ 31
5.2.3 Navigating in the dialog ......................................................... 32
5.2.4 Entering text and numbers ..................................................... 32
5.3 Methods .............................................................................. 33
5.3.1 Method templates ................................................................. 33
5.3.2 Creating a new method ......................................................... 34
5.3.3 Saving a method ................................................................... 34
5.3.4 Loading a method ................................................................. 36
5.3.5 Exporting a method ............................................................... 36
5.4 Performing a sample series ............................................... 37
5.4.1 Starting the sample series ...................................................... 38
5.4.2 Pausing a sample series and continuing ................................. 39
5.5 Printing a report manually ................................................. 41
5.6 Manual control ................................................................... 42
5.6.1 Rotating the sample rack ....................................................... 42
5.6.2 Moving the lift ....................................................................... 43
5.6.3 Controlling the peristaltic pump ............................................. 43
6 System settings 45
6.1 Basic settings ...................................................................... 45
6.2 File management ................................................................ 48
6.3 Lift settings (Lift) ................................................................ 49
6.4 Configuring external devices ............................................. 50
6.5 Instrument diagnosis .......................................................... 51
6.5.1 Loading program versions and language files ......................... 51
6.5.2 Diagnosis functions ............................................................... 52
7 Parameters 53
7.1 Automation: Sample with air gap ..................................... 53
7.2 Automation: Sample no air gap ........................................ 53
7.3 Automation: Double injection ........................................... 54
7.4 Automation: Triple injection .............................................. 54

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ Table of contents
863 Compact Autosampler ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ V
7.5 Automation: VA 797 Remote start ................................... 55
7.6 Automation: VA 797 Manual start .................................... 55
8 Operation and maintenance 57
8.1 Peristaltic pump .................................................................. 57
8.1.1 Operation .............................................................................. 57
8.1.2 Pump tubings ........................................................................ 57
9 Troubleshooting 59
9.1 Problems and their solutions ............................................. 59
10 Appendix 60
10.1 Remote interface ................................................................ 60
10.1.1 Pin assignment of the remote interface .................................. 60
10.1.2 Status diagram of the remote interface .................................. 61
10.2 USB devices ......................................................................... 61
10.2.1 6.2147.000 numerical USB keypad ........................................ 62
10.2.2 Printer ................................................................................... 62
10.3 System initialization ........................................................... 63
11 Technical specifications 65
11.1 Lift ........................................................................................ 65
11.2 Turntable ............................................................................. 65
11.3 Peristaltic pump .................................................................. 65
11.4 Interfaces and connectors ................................................. 66
11.5 Power connection ............................................................... 66
11.6 Ambient temperature ......................................................... 66
11.7 Reference conditions .......................................................... 66
11.8 Dimensions .......................................................................... 67
12 Accessories 68
Index 69

Table of figures ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
VI ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 863 Compact Autosampler
Table of figures
Figure 1 Front 863 Compact Autosampler ....................................................... 7
Figure 2 863 Compact Autosampler rear ......................................................... 8
Figure 3 Peristaltic pump ................................................................................. 9
Figure 4 Connecting the computer ................................................................ 12
Figure 5 Installing the needle ........................................................................ 14
Figure 6 Installing the pump tubing .............................................................. 16
Figure 7 Inserting the tubing cartridge .......................................................... 17
Figure 8 Tubing guide ................................................................................... 19
Figure 9 Connecting USB devices .................................................................. 20
Figure 10 Connecting the USB stick ................................................................ 21
Figure 11 Connecting the 6.2147.000 USB keyboard with USB stick and
printer ............................................................................................. 21
Figure 12 Remote connection 863 Compact Autosampler - 861 Compact IC ... 22
Figure 13 Remote connection 863 Compact Autosampler - 843 Pump Station -
797 VA Computrace ........................................................................ 23
Figure 14 Keypad 863 Compact Autosampler ................................................. 31
Figure 15 Adjusting the needle ....................................................................... 50
Figure 16 Pin assignment of remote socket and remote plug ........................... 60
Figure 17 Remote status diagram .................................................................... 61

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 1 Introduction
863 Compact Autosampler ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 1
1 Introduction
1.1 Instrument description
The 863 Compact Autosampler is an Autosampler for ion chromatography
or voltammetry with a wide variety of applications. It can be used as the
central control instrument in an independent automation system or as an
integrated sample changer in a PC-controlled automation system.
1.1.1 Model versions
The 863 Compact Autosampler is available in two model versions with dif-
ferent accessories.
863 Compact IC Autosampler 2.863.0010
With ion chromatography accessories.
863 Compact VA Autosampler 2.863.0020
With voltammetry accessories.
1.1.2 Instrument components
The 863 Compact Autosampler has the following components:
￭Turntable
Permanently mounted sample rack with 36 positions for sample ves-
sels.
￭Lift with lift head
With needle holder for PEEK needles.
￭Single channel peristaltic pump
For transporting sample solutions.
￭USB (OTG) connector
For connecting a computer, a printer, or a USB flash drive (for system
backup or method export).
￭Remote connector
For connecting instruments with a remote connector.
1.1.3 PC-controlled operation
If the 863 Compact Autosampler is controlled via a USB connection using
the MagIC Net computer software, then any automation runs can be
programmed. This allows optimal use of the instrument components
which the instrument has available. The software can actuate the instru-
ment components directly and can use them more flexibly.

1.2 About the documentation ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
2￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 863 Compact Autosampler
1.1.4 Stand-alone operation
The 863 Compact Autosampler can be used as a central control instru-
ment in an automation system which can include various types of ion
chromatography instruments or the 797 VA Computrace. In this role, the
863 Compact Autosampler acts as a reliable sample changer.
Specified method runs can be individually parameterized and saved as
sample-specific methods. Methods can be exported on a USB flash drive
and then copied onto another instrument quickly and easily.
1.1.5 Intended use
The 863 Compact Autosampler is designed for usage as an automation
system in analytical laboratories. It is not suitable for usage in biochemi-
cal, biological or medical environments in its basic equipment version.
1.2 About the documentation
CAUTION
Please read through this documentation carefully before putting the
instrument into operation. The documentation contains information
and warnings which the user must follow in order to ensure safe opera-
tion of the instrument.
1.2.1 Symbols and conventions
The following symbols and formatting may appear in this documentation:
Cross-reference to figure legend
The first number refers to the figure number, the sec-
ond to the instrument part in the figure.
Instruction step
Carry out these steps in the sequence shown.
Method Dialog text, parameter in the software
File ▶ New Menu or menu item
[Next] Button or key
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible life-threat-
ening hazard or risk of injury.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 1 Introduction
863 Compact Autosampler ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 3
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible hazard due
to electrical current.
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible hazard due
to heat or hot instrument parts.
WARNING
This symbol draws attention to a possible biological
hazard.
CAUTION
This symbol draws attention to possible damage to
instruments or instrument parts.
NOTE
This symbol highlights additional information and
tips.
1.3 Safety instructions
1.3.1 General notes on safety
WARNING
Operate this instrument only according to the information contained in
this documentation.
This instrument left the factory in a flawless state in terms of technical
safety. To maintain this state and ensure non-hazardous operation of the
instrument, the following instructions must be observed carefully.
1.3.2 Electrical safety
The electrical safety when working with the instrument is ensured as part
of the international standard IEC 61010.
WARNING
Only personnel qualified by Metrohm are authorized to carry out service
work on electronic components.

1.3 Safety instructions ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
4￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 863 Compact Autosampler
WARNING
Never open the housing of the instrument. The instrument could be
damaged by this. There is also a risk of serious injury if live components
are touched.
There are no parts inside the housing which can be serviced or replaced
by the user.
Supply voltage
WARNING
An incorrect supply voltage can damage the instrument.
Only operate this instrument with a supply voltage specified for it (see
rear panel of the instrument).
Protection against electrostatic charges
WARNING
Electronic components are sensitive to electrostatic charges and can be
destroyed by discharges.
Do not fail to pull the power cord out of the power socket before you
set up or disconnect electrical plug connections at the rear of the
instrument.
1.3.3 Tubing and capillary connections
CAUTION
Leaks in tubing and capillary connections are a safety risk. Tighten all
connections well by hand. Avoid applying excessive force to tubing con-
nections. Damaged tubing ends lead to leakage. Appropriate tools can
be used to loosen connections.
Check the connections regularly for leakage. If the instrument is used
mainly in unattended operation, then weekly inspections are manda-
tory.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 1 Introduction
863 Compact Autosampler ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 5
1.3.4 Personnel safety
WARNING
Wear protective goggles and working clothes suitable for laboratory
work while operating the 863 Compact Autosampler. It is also advisable
to wear gloves when caustic liquids are used or in situations where
glass vessels could break.
WARNING
Always install the safety shield supplied with the equipment before
using the instrument for the first time. Pre-installed safety shields are
not allowed to be removed.
The 863 Compact Autosampler may not be operated without a safety
shield!
WARNING
Personnel are not permitted to reach into the working area of the
instrument while operations are running!
A considerable risk of injury exists for the user.
WARNING
In the event of a possible blockage of a drive, the mains plug must be
pulled out of the socket immediately. Do not attempt to free jammed
sample vessels or other parts while the device is switched on. Blockages
can only be cleared when the instrument is in a voltage-free status; this
action generally involves a considerable risk of injury.
WARNING
The 863 Compact Autosampler is not suitable for utilization in bio-
chemical, biological or medical environments in its basic equipment ver-
sion.
Appropriate protective measures must be implemented in the event
that potentially infectious samples or reagents are being processed.

1.3 Safety instructions ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
6￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 863 Compact Autosampler
1.3.5 Flammable solvents and chemicals
WARNING
All relevant safety measures are to be observed when working with
flammable solvents and chemicals.
￭Set up the instrument in a well-ventilated location (e.g. fume cup-
board).
￭Keep all sources of flame far from the workplace.
￭Clean up spilled liquids and solids immediately.
￭Follow the safety instructions of the chemical manufacturer.
1.3.6 Danger from biological substances
If the instrument is used for biological hazardous substances, it must be
marked in accordance with regulations.
In case of a return shipment to Metrohm or a Metrohm Service partner,
the instrument or component has to be decontaminated and the hazard
symbol for biological hazardous substances must be removed. A declara-
tion of decontamination must be enclosed.
WARNING
Danger of infection and poisoning from biological hazardous substan-
ces
Poisoning from toxins and/or infections from samples contaminated
with microorganisms.
￭Wear protective equipment.
￭Use exhaust equipment when working with vaporizing hazardous
substances.
￭Dispose of biologically contaminated substances properly.
1.3.7 Recycling and disposal
This product is covered by European Directive 2012/19/EU, WEEE – Waste
Electrical and Electronic Equipment.
The correct disposal of your old instrument will help to prevent negative
effects on the environment and public health.
More details about the disposal of your old instrument can be obtained
from your local authorities, from waste disposal companies or from your
local dealer.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 2 Overview of the instrument
863 Compact Autosampler ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 7
2 Overview of the instrument
1
2
3
4
5
6
Figure 1 Front 863 Compact Autosampler
1Safety shield 2Sample rack
For 36 sample vials.
3Display 4Keypad
5Peristaltic pump 6Retaining plate

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
8￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 863 Compact Autosampler
1
2 3 4 5
Figure 2 863 Compact Autosampler rear
1Tubing and cable cover 2Remote connector
For connecting instruments with a remote
interface. D-sub, 9-pin.
3USB (OTG) connector
For connecting computers, printers, USB
flash drives, USB hubs, etc.
4Power socket
5Type plate
Contains specifications concerning supply
voltage and serial number.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 2 Overview of the instrument
863 Compact Autosampler ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 9
1
2
3
4
5
Figure 3 Peristaltic pump
1Mounting bolt
For engaging the tubing cartridge.
2Pump drive
Roller hub with pressure rollers.
3Snap-action lever
For loosening the tubing cartridge.
46.2755.000 tubing cartridge
For 6.1826.xx0 pump tubings.
5Contact pressure lever
For regulating the contact pressure.
WARNING
Do not attempt to make any manipulation on the tubing cartridge or
pump drive while the instrument is running. A considerable risk of
injury exists.
The pump tubing may only be changed when the instrument is
switched off.
Switch off the instrument immediately if the roller drive jams. Only
afterwards you may attempt to fix the problem.

3.1 Setting up the instrument ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
10 ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 863 Compact Autosampler
3 Installation
3.1 Setting up the instrument
3.1.1 Packaging
The instrument is supplied in protective packaging together with the sepa-
rately packed accessories. Keep this packaging, as only this ensures safe
transportation of the instrument.
3.1.2 Checks
Immediately after receipt, check whether the shipment has arrived com-
plete and without damage by comparing it with the delivery note.
3.1.3 Location
The instrument has been developed for operation indoors and may not be
used in explosive environments.
Place the instrument in a location of the laboratory which is suitable for
operation and free of vibrations and which provides protection against
corrosive atmosphere and contamination by chemicals.
The instrument should be protected against excessive temperature fluctua-
tions and direct sunlight.
3.2 Connecting the instrument to the power grid
WARNING
Electric shock from electrical potential
Risk of injury by touching live components or through moisture on live
parts.
￭Never open the housing of the instrument while the power cord is
still connected.
￭Protect live parts (e.g. power supply unit, power cord, connection
sockets) against moisture.
￭Unplug the power plug immediately if you suspect that moisture has
gotten inside the instrument.
￭Only personnel who have been issued Metrohm qualifications may
perform service and repair work on electrical and electronic parts.

￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 3 Installation
863 Compact Autosampler ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 11
Connecting the power cord
Accessories Power cord with the following specifications:
￭Length: max. 2 m
￭Number of cores: 3, with protective conductor
￭Instrument plug: IEC 60320 type C13
￭Conductor cross-section 3x min. 0.75 mm2 / 18 AWG
￭Power plug:
– according to customer requirement (6.2122.XX0)
– min. 10 A
NOTICE
Do not use a not permitted power cord!
1Plugging in the power cord
￭Plug the power cord into the instrument's power socket.
￭Connect the power cord to the power grid.
3.3 Connecting a computer
The 863 Compact Autosampler requires a USB connection to a computer
in order to be able to be controlled by the PC software MagIC Net (ver-
sion 1.1 or newer). With a 6.2151.110 USB connection cable (Mini-USB
OTG/USB A), the instrument can be connected either directly to a USB
socket on a computer, to an attached USB hub or to another suitable
Metrohm instrument (e.g. 850 Professional IC, 881 Compact IC pro, 882
Compact IC plus or 883 Basic IC plus).
NOTICE
If the 863 Compact Autosampler is not to be controlled by MagIC Net,
then no direct connection to a PC is required. In such cases, the instru-
ment is used in so-called stand-alone mode and is connected via
remote cable to a corresponding control instrument.

3.3 Connecting a computer ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭
12 ￭￭￭￭￭￭￭￭ 863 Compact Autosampler
Cable connection and driver installation
A driver installation is required in order to ensure that the 863 Compact
Autosampler is recognized by MagIC Net. To accomplish this, you must
comply with the procedures specified. The following steps are necessary:
1Installing the software
￭Insert the MagIC Net installation CD and carry out the installation
program directions.
￭Exit the program if you have started it after the installation.
2Establishing the cable connections
￭Connect the instrument to the power grid if you have not already
done this.
￭Connect the instrument to a USB connector (type A) of your com-
puter (see manual of your computer). The 6.2151.110 cable is
used for this purpose.
6.2151.110
Figure 4 Connecting the computer
The instrument is recognized. Depending on the version of the Win-
dows operating system used, the driver installation proceeds differ-
ently afterwards.
￭Either the necessary driver software is installed automatically or an
installation wizard is started.
3Follow the instructions of the installation wizard.
If problems should occur during installation, contact your company's IT
support team.
Registering and configuring the instrument in MagIC Net
The instrument must be registered in the configuration of MagIC Net.
Once that has been done, you can then configure it according to your
requirements. Proceed as follows: