Tip waste chute on EVO

PyLabRobot User Discussion
1

This issue might be attributable to my lack of understanding of python’s inheritance patterns - but here it is:
How do I refer to the deck’s waste positions for dropping tips?

when I setup the deck, and run lh.summary() I get:

Rail     Resource                   Type                Coordinates (mm)
===============================================================================================
(1)  ├── wash_station               TecanWashStation    (087.500, -20.300, 000.000)
     │   ├── wash_clean_deep        Trash               (099.700, 086.400, 000.000)
     │   ├── wash_waste             Trash               (098.500, 160.400, 000.000)
     │   ├── wash_clean_shallow     Trash               (099.700, 261.400, 000.000)
     │
(16) ├── grid_15_carrier            TecanPlateCarrier   (463.000, 053.700, 000.000)
     │   ├── plate_destination      TecanPlate          (482.900, 141.400, 062.500)
     │   ├── plate_source           TecanPlate          (482.900, 237.400, 062.500)
     │   ├── tip_rack               TecanTipRack        (483.100, 333.700, 057.200)

but trying to refer to it as below fails

lh.drop_tips(lh.deck.wash[1])
lh.drop_tips(wash_station.wash_waste)

Error message is something like this:
AttributeError: ‘TecanDeck’ object has no attribute ‘wash’

Is there a way to refer to the automatically created wash/waste station? Or do I have to remove it and add one back in?

2

The names you see in the layout summary are just resource names and not (necessarily) attributes of your deck.

You can get resources by name using lh.deck.get_resource. Some names accessible based on your summary: wash_station, wash_clean_deep (child of wash_station), grid_15_carrier, plate_destination, …

By default, lh.discard_tips calls deck.get_trash_area() to get the location for permanently discarding tips / throwing them out. deck.get_trash_area() returns a resource named "trash" on the deck (it’s implemented in deck.py). You bring to my awereness here that on Tecan decks, the trash actually has a different name. Could you please confirm that wash_waste is where you’d throw away disposable tips (DiTi in Tecan-jargon?)? Then I will rename this to "trash" so that you can use lh.discard_tips().

3

Thanks Rick - that’s really helpful.

The Diti waste I’m using is a “DiTi Waste station 6 Trough” - different from the PLR default. I am using an Air LiHa that doesn’t need the liquid waste positions.

I think the wash station is for liquid filled systems, and I don’t know which of those positions is the actual tip waste chute.

Can anyone else chime in on which Wash Station waste position is the tip chute?

4

this should be easy to see in an EVOware protocol I think, or no?