Robotic stations peripherals

The system is based on an XP Zymate laboratory robot controlled with a 10 slot System V controller using software version XP VI.S2. The system incorporates commerdaUy available hardware, as well as custom hardware. A schematic diagram of the system is shown in Fig. 6.11. The robotic arm and the peripheral laboratory stations that the robotic arm interacts with to perform the appHcation are positioned in a circular configuration. The GC/MS is located adjacent to the bench top, such that the injection valve is close to the sipper station. Peripheral items of hardware with which the robotic arm does not directly interact with are outside the working envelope. 

The most salient difference between robotic stations and workstations is that, whereas a workstation can only be used for the tasks (all or some) for which it was constructed, robotic stations can be modified by changing their software, modules or peripherals as required to undertake one or more specific tasks, or even a whole analytical process. As a result, describing a workstation is as simple as listing its intended functions, whereas characterizing a robotic station includes stating the type of arm it uses and the equipment that helps the arm perform its tasks. 

One of the most important features of a robot, which determines its work envelope (i.e. the maximum extent and reach of the robot) is its position in the robotic station, which can be fixed or variable. The former is used in circular robotic stations, which are typical of Zymark s Py technology. In this configuration, the robotic arm is in the centre of a circle and the different peripherals are included in a work envelope radius as removable pieces of a pie. The work envelope of the arm in this case is 360° and the radius equal to, or shorter than, the extent of the arm (see Fig. 10.3 A). 

The modules of a robotic station are the devices (apparatus, instruments, racks) used by the arm to perform its tasks. In circular configurations, the modules are referred to as peripherals . 

Choosing between a robot plus peripherals and a workstation is a difficult task. From the beginning, automation held the promise of freeing analysts from cumbersome, time-consuming, repetitive tasks. This is especially true with the quality control (QC) laboratory, which must routinely test products such as pharmaceuticals or foods prior to release, often with a well-defined analytical procedure dictated by regulatory requirements. In these laboratories, workstations are typically the best solution as they are often more hardwired and are better in QC laboratories, where the analytical steps are well-understood and this equipment does save laboratories time and money. The best solution for implementing the complex treatments required by some solid samples is the sequential use of two workstations when this is impossible, a robotic station is the next-best choice in most instances. 

As an example the determination of a contraceptive in commercial tables is described, an application usually calling for a variety of preliminary operations [17], The robot station used for this purpose includes a large number of peripherals and the operational sequence involves nearly 30 steps, the most significant of which are as follows ... 

A mobile arm in a robotic station is supported in a track that allows displacement of the arm in a length that varies, depending on the particular station, from 1 to 2 m. The capacity of the robotic station for locating peripherals in the work envelope of the arm can be expanded by using a more complex arm capable of operating on both sides of the track. 

Figure 4 Robotic station for fuiiy automated determination of metals in soil. (- - -) Passive interface. (—) Tubing. Active interfaces of the computer to the robot and its peripherals are not shown. (Reproduced with permission of Elsevier Science.)...

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