Safety Devices - Thermo Scientific Sorvall WX+ Instruction Manual

2-2-3 Safety Devices

(1) Protection of rotor chamber
Should the rotor spinning at high speed fails (or comes off the drive shaft), the safety of the operator is
ensured by the thick protective steel ring enclosing the bowl (Fig. 2-2-2).
(2) Imbalance detector
If during operation the vibration of the rotor becomes excessive due to serious imbalance or improper
bucket setting, the imbalance detector detects the situation and decelerates the rotor immediately.
However, the ultracentrifuge is designed to tolerate imbalance associated with visual balancing-it is
equipped with an imbalance tolerant drive. (For more information on the balancing of rotors, see
Section 3-1-2, "Preparing tubes/bottles and rotor".)
(3) Door lock system
The chamber door automatically locks for safety while the rotor is spinning. When the power supply is
off, the door remains locked. The door can only be opened and closed when the rotor is at rest and the
rotor chamber is vented. Unless the door is closed, the rotor will not start rotating except in zonal mode.
To open the door in the event of a power failure, see Section 3-5, "Happenings when power failure
occurs".
(4) Speed sensor and overspeed detector
For protection in the event of entry errors the ultracentrifuge is provided with an automatic system to
stop the rotor when its speed exceeds the maximum allowable speed. If a speed higher than the
maximum permitted speed is set, the ultracentrifuge will detect the mistake before the speed reaches
3000 rpm, and then will display an alert message and decelerate the rotor to a stop.
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2-2-3 Safety Devices