We’re looking to build an integrated system that includes a microplate centrifuge. I’ve heard great things about the HiG, including that it out-performs the VSpin. The Hettich SBS300 is relatively new and seems promising at a much lower price point, but I haven’t heard any real-world experience for this model. Has anyone here worked with this model? Any feedback on performance, including integration?
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What’s the max height for a labware on the SBS 300?
Max labware height is 50 mm on the SBS300 vs 61 mm on the HiG. Imbalance tolerance is 50 g vs 100 g on the HiG3 and 50 g on the HiG4.
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I guess it might depend on your need and what kind of instrument you’ll be integrating on? Do you need the extra labware height of the HiG? Seems like both are about the same for max RCF. But the 100G imbalance tolerance is a pretty big draw. Not having to constantly switch the counterbalance plate might be a big deal if you use it for many different processes.
Hettich doesn’t list the weight of the SBS 300, but the HiG is 170 pounds, pretty hefty and perhaps something to think about if you’re going to put it on a table that already has other instruments.
My only concern with Bionex is I’m not sure about long-term support. They are a small integrator that kind of picked up the V11 pieces from Agilent when they offloaded their automation business. Sure, they make their own stuff, but has anybody actually bought a Bumblebee? Their main product then is integrating PF robots with VWorks and the HiG centrifuge line. Is that sustainable long-term? I’m probably one of the few that loves VWorks, but it’s no longer in the same league as GBG and Cellario (or even Overlord and Genera).
These are legitimate questions I have, not meant to be disparaging remarks about their business.
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The HiG is a top tier product but the price is a bit out of control.
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I’m looking at cost savings here and thinking the same thing. Can I sub a SBS 300 for my HiGs?
I have 12 or so HiGs in my lab, and almost exclusively run on VWorks. So to make the SBS worthwile, it would would have to do as well as the HiG.
I will say, my HiGs have been running for over a decade in a high throughput environment, and they are finally getting to the point where the are failing more often and showing their age. They are extremely hard to maintain in house, so Bionex service contract is kind of neccesary with them.
If the SBS 300 performed well, had a functional VWorks driver (or Bionex makes one), and was easier to maintain, I’d be all in to replace my aging HiG pool with SBS 300s.
If anyone has anything else to add on SBS 300s, I’m definitely interested.
Additional considerations:
- SBS 300 allows for top loading and front loading
- SBS 300 also has a temp option
- HIG4 has a maintenance window
- SBS 300 is stackable
- Noise considerations?
I have seen HiGs stacked directly on top of each other but it was with a special bracket my customer designed.
hey,
just picking up this topic on the SBS300. So this one is out now for more than a year and at the very beginning it looked like it was the item everyone has recently been hoping for to be released:
- trusted hettich/rotanta base
- not as squishy as the vspin (tolerance…)
- 25 k cheaper than a HRB microspin
- ~ 100 k (!) cheaper than a HIG3
- all at a reasonlable 50 g tolerance
still I have not seen any installations not heard about any user feedback whatsoever. also all integrators I have talked to claim they have not installed any of these just yet. am I missing something here?
cheers,
O.
I’ve got one arriving in about a month that has been integrated into a system by Hamilton. Not yet seen it running but from my colleagues impression at the Factory testing it worked nicely. Already have a HiG so will be looking to compare the performance.
Are HiG’s really that expensive!?
All automated centrifuges are expensive, several-fold more than what it costs for a similarly capable non-automation model. Among the automated models, HiG has the highest price tag, but also the best reputation for reliability and ease of integration. Hettich SBS 300 is still expensive for a centrifuge, but much more affordable than HiG.
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We ordered the SBS 300 yesterday, I will update you as soon as I get my hands on it.
Does anyone got any information about the cooling module for the SBS 300 ? I’d be very interested in knowing more.
I saw the refrigerated model at SLAS. It’s a separate refrigeration unit that sits next to the centrifuge and adds significantly to the footprint, whereas the Hig4 is built into a single unit. However, unless you really need your samples cold, Hettich provided details indicating that the standard SBS 300 without active cooling does not heat up all that drastically: 12 C over room temp after 1 hour at full speed. Many incubators without active cooling only promise a lower temp of 10 C above ambient.
Nice thank you, I need to cool at 4°C so even if it’s big, it is really interesting. Do you have a picture by any chance ?
according to my data, yes. HiG3 was twice the price of a Microspin and 3 times the price of a SBS300.
sadly I have no image yet (but also haven’t seen the real model at SLAS) but the tubes to the external chiller should be 1.5 or 2 m long so there should be plenty of room to move this extra device to (I often see that there seems to be plenty of space below the tables and just the benchtop space is heavily contested?!).
However I also heard that the device is not able to hold 4 °C over longer runs at max rcf (maybe it even does not get down to 4 °C at all and only starts at around ~8 °C… I might be trippin though). I can’t tell when it falls off, at what degree Celsius it stabilizes and such. But seeing that the HiG4 only stabilizes around ambient this still looks like a huge plus to me. Of course everything in once device (and the same dimensions still) would have been better.
very nice. congratulations! will this be part of some integrated platform? if so what integrator are you using?
Will be integrated in our Hamilton Vantage. I’ll integrate it myself, basically writing a python driver to send commands via serial. At university we cannot afford an integrator, so I’ll buy the device directly from Hettich.
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