The LabElite DeCapper is part of a Hamilton device and a complex multistep workflow.
As shown in the pictures, in some cases, the caps are placed in an angle, resulting in not closing the tube properly.
It seems to be randomly, when and on which position the issue occurs.
We use the firmware “DC_LabEliteDeCapperLabware_39108Nunc24CryoBankVialsExternalThread_V1.0.3.softwareupdate.zip”
downloaded here: Nunc Scripts - Hamilton
Does anyone have any suggestion how to get more robustness or a way of automated detection when lids are not placed correctly?
In my experience, issues like that can be caused by the spring tabs on the shuttle that holds the plate. How tight are they? Does the plate have significant wiggle when it’s placed on the device?
Tightening these can greatly reduce issues like yours, of course you’ll need to make sure your transport of the plate is robust enough to overcome the spring tabs when placing the plate on the device.
Thanks for the suggestion. The metal springs of the plate holder are correctly tightened. We had some further tests running and recognized that the system adjustment, which can be started within advanced settings, have a significant impact on robustness of (de)capping. The last adjustment is a couple of weeks ago and although we did not change any hardware in between, the adjustment results differed from previous settings. For now, the process seems to be more reliable.
We were lucky and captured the error that occurs in about 1 out of 200 capping processes in a video. To me, it looks like sometimes the ridge of the thread on the cap collides with the ridge of the thread on the tube, causing the tube to become misaligned. Consequently, the tube tilts, and the cap is screwed on at an angle.
Has anyone here had similar experiences, possibly with other tubes?
I try to find a way to upload the video to share it with you.
