Fluent Control - Sample Transfer source only recognizes one runner at a time

Tecan
1

I’m running into an odd issue with the Sample Transfer command and was wondering if anyone has seen this before.

I have 8 identical tube runners (16 positions each) that should be selectable as a single grouped source (128 positions total). Instead, the Source selector only recognizes each runner individually, as if they were unrelated labware.

A few observations:

  • Every new Sample Transfer command behaves this way.

  • The runner definitions have been copied/modified from the original over time.

  • I created a stripped-down test project on a separate FluentControl installation, and grouping worked as expected there.

  • A colleague also created a nearly blank method on the production system (without the existing worktable definition) and reported the same behavior.

Before I start rebuilding labware definitions, has anyone seen this behavior before? Is there a labware property or project setting that determines whether multiple instances can be treated as a single source by the Sample Transfer command?

2

I’ve seen that too. At the time I did not bother much digging further because I ended up using a pipetting loop, as I was creating a custom report as it was pipetting.

But yes, that is what I observed too. Hopefully we can get an answer here on how to process multiple runners in one command.

3

the Sample Transfer command is limited to 1 x selection of labware,
for the 8 x runners you have, you would need to create a custom labware for 8 x 16 (there is a default 6x16)
if you want true flexibility, it is best to use the individual commands for aspirate, dispense, get/drop tips
you can then use loops & logic to correctly count/offset from source tubes to destination wells

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