Hi all,
Has anyone used 3rd part tips on the TECAN Fluent? I have a quote for JT Baker conductive tips which are 40% less than what we currently pay for TECAN tips. But - if my experience is any indicator - vendors do not like 3rd party tips and I wouldn’t want to jeopardize our service contract…
Any feedback welcome. Thank you!
Nothing against 3rd party tips but just as an FYI:
If you have any issues with CV or liquid delivery in general, the mfr can site the tips as a source of error and (if they’re d*cks) say that they can’t ensure proper working conditions unless mfr tips are in use. It’s an easy out for field service, and not completely unfounded. Definitely a consideration when using 3rd party anything. Could also potentially invalidate service contracts depending on that situation - but they’d only know if you told em.
If it were me I’d probably have a set of Tecan tips on site for PM and service then just have my own equivalence testing drawn up for lots/orders of the other tips.
Thanks for your feedback and thoughts. I was thinking along the same lines. Appreciate it!
If it were me I’d probably have a set of Tecan tips on site for PM and service then just have my own equivalence testing drawn up for lots/orders of the other tips.
This right here is what we call street smarts. 
With that said, one of the things I’ve seen with 3rd party tips is that they will alter your teach heights because they won’t sit on the cone the same way as the Mfr sold tips so consider all of the aforementioned but also that your mileage may vary more frequently from lot to lot.
Very helpful info - thanks for sharing that!
If you have a sales rep or a contract, you can potentially negotiate a 15-20% discount.
I have ARTEL data from various alternative vendors. With that said, there are folks like @Optimize who may be able to assist you with the aforementioned.
I’ve had success with using Thermo Scientific’s conductive tips for 1000uL and 50uL. If you are like us and use the tip boxes rather than the hanging tips, I have a 3D part for converting the hanging tips to fit into the tip boxes.
Thank you for this info! We use the hanging tips. Lucky for us - the clinical engineering group in our hospital has a pretty good 3D printing set up and they have made quite a few adapters for us for our TECAN. Super helpful since to be honest - Tecan themselves are less than helpful (at least in my limited experience) when it comes to getting me information about unusual parts or adapters…
I’d love to sneak a peek at that Artel data if you don’t mind sharing (but I fully understand if you can’t!)
In a previous life I measured a huge variation in quality between manufacturers while my company navigated supply chain shortages. To that end, I’d definitely recommend taking the time to test/characterize the performance of the alternative tips; some are great, some not so much. You should also be able to snag some samples from the vendor so you can try before you buy!
We accidentally purchased a bunch of hanging tips when we purchased our instrument, rather than those formatted for the SBS boxes. As of now, I put a PCR plate atop the hanging tips, invert the set, remove the tip waffer, and replace with an SBS waffer. Does your 3D printed item work in a similar manner or differently? Interested to see a picture if you have one!
Would you mind sharing your 3d files?
I think that I may have to go down this route for 3rd party tips.