Unload Carrier (Single Step) - VENUS 6.4

Hi everyone,

I’m using Hamilton VENUS 6.4.0.1914 and have noticed that whenever I execute an Unload Carrier (Single Step) command, a popup message appears on the screen.

The carrier unloads correctly and the protocol is not interrupted. If I click OK, the method continues normally and completes without any issues.

I’m trying to understand:

  • Is this a standard safety or confirmation feature of the autoloader?

  • Has anyone experienced the same behavior?

  • Is there a setting in VENUS or in the single-step configuration that can disable this popup?

  • Could it be related to carrier presence detection or autoload settings?

The main issue is that the message requires operator acknowledgement, which prevents fully unattended operation.

I’m running VENUS 6.4.0.1914 on a STAR system. Any suggestions or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

@AntoniouA

Hi @MSMDG,

In the Unload Carrier command do you have anything other than 0 set for the timeout? This would also include if the infinite checkbox is checked.

When it is set like the image above that dialog will no longer appear.

Matt

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Is this a new feature in Venus 6.4? For a STAR-V for example the unload command doesn’t work, it will trigger the “There is labware in the way” error…

I think I found the cause of the issue. Although the settings were identical to those shown in your screenshot, the protocol had originally been transferred from a VENUS 4 system to VENUS 6.4. To resolve the problem, I had to open each Unload Carrier command, go to the Error Settings, and simply click OK. After doing this for all the Unload Carrier commands, the issue was resolved.

My assumption is that some settings were not fully updated during the protocol migration from VENUS 4 to VENUS 6.4, even though they appeared correct. Opening the command and re-saving it seems to refresh the internal configuration and correct the problem.

2 Likes

Hi @AntoniouA,

This is true and will likely continue to be true for some time. A move of a method from VENUS 4 or earlier directly to VENUS 6.4 (and newer versions soon) is very likely to have a handful of commands that would need to be reopened and confirmed in order to gather all the appropriate parameters you will need. Without doing so newer versions of VENUS still force those new parameters but they are likely going to be set at their default values. While I do not have a list of these commands they are often reserved to the actual ML_STAR commands that involve actual system movement. It would be a good idea to review release notes of new versions of VENUS when they are released so that we can identify what has had new options and parameters added to them.

Matt

2 Likes

Hi Matthew,

Thank you for the information provided. Would it be possible to provide the release notes of Venus 6.4?