Other Errors; Dropped Tubes - Aim Lab PathFinder 350S User Manual

PathFinder 350S User Manual
8.5

Other Errors

This section discusses possible errors not already addressed. These errors are not
handled by the PathFinder 350S and may or may not interrupt processing.
8.5.1

Dropped Tubes

From time to time the PathFinder 350S may cause a tube to be knocked out of a
rack, or dropped from the grippers, without causing an interruption to the
processing. Some failure modes that result in a dropped tube are:
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If a dropped tube is noticed, or if a dropped tube causes another secondary error
such as a Z axis collision, the dropped tube can be safely removed and processed by
following the procedure below:
1)
2)
3)
4)
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If tubes are leaning into each other, it is possible for a short tube that is being
picked to catch under the cap of a tall tube, lifting the tall tube out of the
rack unintentionally. This is most likely with 11-13mm tubes and will only
occur with capped samples, minimizing the risk of spills.
A rack may not be sitting square in the specimen tray. Check the side of the
rack sits flat against the fence to the left of the rack.
If the carousel handover point has not been calibrated, tubes can be placed
outside the carousel holder and dropped. This will result in a Tube Expected
in Holder error (see Section 8.3.4).
Tubes can be knocked from the grippers by obstructions such as incorrectly
loaded tubes. This will result in a Lost Tube error (see Section 8.3.2).
If the PathFinder 350S is running, suspend processing by pressing the Pause
button. If the PathFinder 350S has stopped with an error, then leave it in the
error state.
Once the gripper arm has stopped moving, reach in and remove the dropped
tube.
Resume processing by pressing the green Start button.
Once processing has started again place the tube in the STAT well.
It is very important not to place the dropped tube back into a rack,
the grippers, or the carousel. This will confuse the PathFinder 350S
sample tracking and may cause further handling errors.
© Copyright 2010 Aim Lab Pty Ltd
NOTE
03P27-42 Rev A