Festo modular automation systems help laboratory equipment manufacturers lower engineering costs, improve equipment performance, and bring products to market faster. (Festo Pittcon Booth #3923) Festo features at Pittcon 2016, March 6-10 in Atlanta, the company’s automation subassemblies for state-of-the-art laboratory equipment.
Equipment manufacturers partnering with Festo typically bring products to market faster. As a case in point, Anton Paar representatives will be in the Festo booth discussing the impact of Festo handling and microfluidic control automation on the development of the company’s new modular sample processor. This new Anton Paar machine automates sample preparation prior to analysis. The system makes many samples from one sample or combines a number of samples to make a single sample. The modular sample processor ensures specified concentration and blend. Low- and high-viscosity samples of up to 1000 mPa-s are processed quickly and accurately. The unit can be used for liquids, pastes, powders, and granules and gives repeatable and correct subsamples.
Festo mechatronic subassemblies on display
The EXCM Mini-H gantry is a compact handling system for laboratory automation and is one of a number of Festo systems on display at Pittcon. The EXCM planar surface gantry is fast, accurate, modular, and flexible. It is also plug-and-play for quick and easy start-up. This desktop system moves on a planar X/Y axis with an absolute positioning accuracy of + .05 inches (1.27 mms) and a repetition accuracy of + .01 inches (.254 mms).
The demonstration at Pittcon features the Mini-H gantry with a Z telescope slide axis, special application product, integrated with a Festo microfluidic dosing head. Festo modular dosing heads provide a range of dosing options from individually controlled valves to multiple heads controlled by a single valve. In addition to dosing, the EXCM with Z axis can be used for barcode-based sample identification and liquid dispensing/pipetting.
Another Festo demo simulates the transfer of whole blood from the specimen to an analysis chip within a small footprint device. In this demo, a gripper removes a vial from a tray and transfers it to an integrated rotary gripping unit. The system’s camera reads a barcode and approves eligibility for testing. The unit opens the vial and an integrated pipetting module with a disposable tip removes the specimen. After dosing the correct amount on the analysis chip, the tip of the pipette is disposed of in a sharps container and the vial is resealed. Key Festo components include the handling and microfluidics systems, controller, and software. One of the most time-consuming activities for equipment manufacturers is control and communication integration. This demo features the Festo CPX control system, which reduces engineering expense.
The new Festo Single Axis Variable Pitch Module (SVPM) is an ideal solution for applications such as lab sample preparation and for automating sample diluting or concentrating methods. The mechanical linkage of the SVPM permits pitch adjustment from a minimum of .35 inches (9 mms) to a maximum of 2 inches (50 mms). In the preparation of lab samples, individual pipettes can easily be mounted to each of the eight fingers. Using this configuration, eight pipettes can aspirate or dispense from a 96 well plate (8 x 12) at a .35 inch (9mm) pitch, then expand to a different pitch, as required by the application to aspirate, or dispense into a large variety of fluid containers such as tubes, chips, or vials.
Be sure to stop by the Festo Booth #3923 at Pittcon 2016 to see the various active demonstrations and the Anton Paar Modular Sample Processor. And for more information on Festo clinical laboratory automation solutions, call Festo at 800-993-3786 and visit http://www.festo.com/us.
About Festo
Festo is a leading manufacturer of pneumatic and electromechanical systems, components, and controls for process and industrial automation. For more than 40 years, Festo Corporation has continuously elevated the state of manufacturing with innovations and optimized motion control solutions that deliver higher performing, more profitable automated manufacturing and processing equipment.
Festo Showcases Automation Enabling Technology for High Speed Laboratory Devices
