Inserts - Agilent Technologies PlateLoc User Manual

10 Chapter 1: PlateLoc introduction
PlateLoc User Guide

Inserts

About this topic
What are inserts
When to use inserts
This topic describes inserts and their uses in the PlateLoc.
Inserts are pads that support the bottoms of plates for uniform seals. You
use inserts to support plates that tend to bend during a seal cycle.
Causes of non-uniform seals
During the seal cycle, a heated metal plate (hot plate) inside the sealing
chamber descends and presses the seal onto the plate. In a quality seal,
the seal material is applied to the plate uniformly. However, the
following factors can cause uneven plate sealing:
Because of the material used, some plates tend to bend in the high-
temperature environment.
In some plate designs, the plate skirt sits higher or lower than the
plate bottom, causing uneven sealing.
The following diagram shows the side profile of a plate. In this example,
the plate skirt extends past the bottom of the wells. Depending on the
plate material, such plate designs can cause non-uniform sealing. When
the hot plate presses down, the wells at the center of the plate might
bend upward or downward.
Bending movement
The following diagrams show the top view of sealed plates. Non-uniform
seals can result when the center of the plate bends upward (left) and
downward (right) during the seal cycle.
Plate center is higher
Wells
Plate center is too low
Skirt