The Worktable window represents the working surface (deck) of the GENESIS instrument. Before programming your pipetting operations, you need to place the carriers and racks etc. which you want to use on the worktable. Carriers can only be placed on the worktable at specified grid positions which correspond to the locating pins on the worktable. One grid unit is 25.0 mm. The choice and the positions of carriers and racks is based on your application needs.
You can change the carrier positions later by dragging with the mouse without needing to change your script, for example if it turns out that the carriers are too close together to position additional objects in between. However, the final positions you choose must correspond to the actual positions of the physical objects on the GENESIS instrument.
The worktable window in Gemini looks similar to the following before you add any objects:
You can change the size of the worktable window by moving the mouse over an edge or corner until the double arrow cursor appears. Then press the left mouse button and drag until the required size has been reached.
The next step is to add carriers and racks to the worktable layout and assign labels (i.e.
names) to the racks.
8.1.1 Adding carriers and racks to the worktable
To create the required Worktable layout, click on the Carriers tab, select the carrier you want to use and drag it onto the worktable at the required position. When positioning the carrier, the current grid position is shown in the small yellow tab at the bottom left. Then click on the Racks tab, select the rack you want to use and drag it onto the carrier on top of the required site. Repeat this process to add all of the racks and carriers to the worktable that you need. The choice and the positions of the racks and carriers is based on your application needs.
When you select a carrier, a graphical representation of the carrier is shown to the right of the list. After selecting a carrier, the list of racks only shows racks which are suitable for use with that carrier. When you select a rack, a graphical representation of the rack Figure 8-1: The worktable with no objects defined
Note:
Each script has its own worktable layout, and the worktable layout is automatically saved with the script.
is shown on the carrier at the allowed site or sites. You can test this feature e.g. by choosing racks for a 2-position DiTi carrier.
See “Configuring racks” on page 45 and “Configuring carriers” on page 62 for information on how to define custom racks and/or carriers which are not contained in the Gemini database.
To move a carrier to a new worktable position, click the body of the carrier to select it and drag to the required position. When dragging the carrier, the current grid position is shown in the small yellow tab at the bottom left. The final position you choose must correspond to the actual, physical position on the GENESIS instrument.
To move a rack to a new site, click on the rack to select it and drag to the required position.To delete a carrier or rack, click on it and drag it off of the worktable. When adding, deleting or moving carriers and racks, a special cursor is shown to indicate the action you are performing ("add", "del" or "move"). .
Note:
For information on how to create custom carriers and racks, see “How to create additional carriers” on page A-1.
The following is an example of a worktable filled with:
• a MTP 3 Pos. landscape carrier containing two Microplate landscape racks,
• a DiTi200 2 Pos. carrier containing two new tray DiTi200 96-Tip racks and a DiTi Waste position
• a 100ml 3 Pos. Trough carrier containing three 100ml racks,
• a Wash station containing 8 Pos. deep and shallow Cleaner and Waste racks.
Racks and carriers can be assigned unique colors in the Gemini configuration make it easier for you to identify them in the Worktable window (see page 46 and page 63).
In addition, racks can be assigned labels (names) to make them easier to identify in the Worktable window. Check the Label checkbox to show the rack labels that you have assigned. The label is shown in yellow. Check the Barcode checkbox to show the rack barcode. The barcode is shown in green. Rack barcodes are only shown after you have run a script which scans the rack with the PosID device. In simulation mode, the PosID command prompts you to enter the barcodes manually.
You can also activate a 3D effect to give a spatial impression of the worktable layout. To do this, move the 3D slider at the right of the window until the desired effect is achieved.
Figure 8-2: Typical worktable with several objects
8.1.2 Assigning a label (or name) to the racks
You can assign a label (i.e. name) to each rack by double clicking on the rack in the Worktable window and typing the required name in the Name field of the Edit Rack Name dialog box. The label is shown in yellow. Rack labels can be used in scripts and worklist files to make them easier to understand for other persons (see “Worklist command” on page 195). They are also used by Gemini in log files and by the Tecan dynamic scheduling software FACTS. If you don’t specify rack labels, the scripts, worklists and log files contain the generic rack name instead, e.g. Microplate, landscape.
For example, you can label the racks on the example worktable above with source and destination names as follows:
The worktable should appear as follows after the labels have been assigned:
Figure 8-3: Specifying labels for objects on the worktable
Figure 8-4: Worktable showing labels for racks