It looks like the new “COMBI” tips are available at the Tecan shop. These are supposed to be cross compatible between the FCA and the new MCA96 which makes tip management (in theory) significantly easier.
I assume Fluent Control 3.4 will have the labware for it but does anyone know?
Also early adopters… please share your experiences!
It does have the tip boxes split out for the new MCA head for these new boxes. They are the same as the FCA settings but the new boxes will allow the box to handle the pressure for partial tip pickup with the new MCA, making the tip boxes fully FCA and new MCA compatible.
I believe the only thing still in the works was refining all the liquid classes with the new MCA. Not a small task to refine this but experienced users can lift the setting from the MCA96/EVA adapter head and use this as a first pass.
Really wanted to have a play with this new MCA before I left Tecan but only worked with it in Simulation so far. However definitely increases capabilities and had a bunch of new applications lined up I wanted to try out.
the info from v3.4 readme states that the tip types are not really cross-arm compatible,
New MCA96 arm
The new MCA96 has an extended volume range from 1μl to 1000μl with liquid level detection capability at each tip.
The MCA96 and the FCA use identical disposable tips with the same part numbers. However, for correct tip pickup, the arms require unique settings in the tip labware definitions. In FluentControl, distinct disposable tip labware must be placed on the virtual worktable for each of the arm types. It is therefore not possible for both arms to use the same tip box on the worktable. The MCA96 disposable tip labware can be found in the Labware > MCA96 DiTi section of the Controlbar, and the FCA disposable tip labware can be found in the Labware > FCA DiTi section.
That’s… very strange. What’s the purpose of sharing labware if you can’t really share labware? Hopefully Tecan will remedy that in future versions of FC.
pretty sure i can create a workaround to manage tip racks, status & locations for switching between arm types
A couple thoughts…
Forgetting the software for a second, there’s at least the advantage of having fewer different SKUs to carry for tip inventory.
I haven’t dug into this aspect yet, but if this is something that requires a workaround, can likely be achieved with a combination of the “Add/Remove Labware” commands and the “Set Available Tips” function.
Mike Mueller
Nucleus Automation Partners LLC
(254) 423-6771 cell
mike.mueller@nucleus-automation.com
www.nucleus-automation.com
I am not sure how accurate this statement is as any movement adjustment for each arm type could be handled by a logic gate in the Mircoscripts.
I believe the idea of the new combi trays was to overcome this small adjust so the the old trays can be phased out over time to one SKU and product line for all arms. I will check with a few people internally.
Agreed, it would not make any sense for the change otherwise.
Hi all,
maybe I can shed some light on this. The reason why there is a sperate labware definition is pretty simple.
Imagine you have an FCA left and MCA right config: tips for FCA are ont the left, tips for MCA are on the right:
Regarding the tips:
The insert holding the tips was optimized for the new “Combi Tray” tip boxes.
The shoulder around the tips is more narrow now to allow a partial tip pick up for the MCA96
I just got my hands on 3.4 so I’m looking forward to playing with it over the upcoming weeks.
Follow up question, do these tip boxes have barcodes?
This seems like the ideal scenario. Would handle the problem @MikeMueller brought up by allowing validation to see/solve these issues before the run started, and would be a nominal ID that tip handling could use as a logic flag.
How would a build-a-box scenario work with the Combi tips? Dynamically change tip source and lie to the MCA about how many tips are being picked up, or is there any solution already in place? For partial row/column rearrangements, not only full square patterns.
How would a build-a-box scenario work with the Combi tips? Dynamically change tip source and lie to the MCA about how many tips are being picked up, or is there any solution already in place? For partial row/column rearrangements, not only full square patterns.
You mean for the current iteration or a future version? You can directly tell the Tecan how many tips are in a box so you would have to micromanage the heck out the deck.
the labware definitions are tied to a specific arm (FCA, MCA96) - still playing to see if I can make universal across both arms …
I am working with a client on an application where, it was planned, to use the FCA to remove selected tips from a tip box of 96 e.g. A1, B1, G12, H12 are removed - then using MCA96 to pick up the “92 tips” for the process to reduce waste & also maintain stability of empty wells for later in the process
this is likely to be a little more complex now that the tip’s are locked to each arm type - more news to follow!
I assumed we would have to add/remove labware and play hot potato with the tip count when adding that labware back on the deck.
Large CSV’s are back on the menu!
I have to refine my statement from above:
“If you would put the same tip typ left and right the MCA would try to get the the next tips from the left, which it cant reach and an error is thrown.”
You will not get an error but receive a warning that labware is empty:
The ToolType attribute decides wether the FCA or the MCA96 can access the tips.
But you see from the screenshot that there are more attributes to be defined. Therefore, it makes sense to have different (virtuell) labware for different arms, allthough the physical labware is the exact same.
A series of commands like the ones below might be an easy solution:
!! You have to use “Pick Up Tips” command. “Get Tips” command will ask you to refill the labware (or you ignore “Set Available Tips” command !!
Would it also be possible to rearrange the box with FCA, then just script-line remove that labware, add fresh (MCA) Combi tips, and pick up the entire rack?
The only caveat I can think of is if the mounting pressure is too great for the actual tips available (I believe this is calculated dynamically), leading to mounting issues - but in this case partial pickups would be the solutions so as to not overestimate available tips by more than ~8 or ~12.
Yep but it would be nice to dictate access at the carrier level if we want to grant parts of the deck FCA and/or MCA access (similar to RGA access). This could prevent the scenario shown above. You’re showing the labware level attributes which is fine but I’m talking about something new, a wishlist item at the carrier level.
The Fluent is a series of XML files which makes them easily amenable to change and manipulation. It would not surprise me if consolidation of these formats is on the radar for FC after any scheduler improvements.
