Vanquish Autosampler and Charger: Rack Type Handling Commands
and Tips for Thermo Scientific Devices
Vanquish Autosampler and Charger: Rack Type Handling
Labeling
Rack Position in Autosampler
The sample compartment of the Vanquish autosampler accommodates a carousel with four segments to hold up to four sample racks or well plates. The segments in the autosampler carousel are color-coded: R for Red, G for Green, B for Blue, Y for Yellow.
Caution:
Do not place a sample rack or well plate into the Yellow carousel segment if a Charger is connected and configured. The yellow segment is exclusively reserved to transport sample racks or well plates from the Charger to the autosampler and back.
Rack Position in Charger
If a Charger is installed, the yellow autosampler segment is exclusively reserved for sample racks or well plates to be moved from or to the Charger.
Depending on the shelf type, the Charger can either hold up to 9 sample racks or 20 well plates. They are labeled CH01-CH20 in Chromeleon, and are stacked in a shelf, with each level containing one sample rack or well plate. For example, CH01 stands for CHarger level 01.
For information about how to correctly place racks and well plates in the Charger shelf, refer to the Vanquish Charger Operating Manual, "Loading Sample Racks or Well Plates".
Vial Position on Rack/Well Plate
In Chromeleon, the character defining the segment that holds the sample container comes first (R, G or B), followed by a colon (:), a letter (A, B, C,...) and a digit (1), as in a system of coordinates. The letters specify the individual rows from the inner to the outer row. The digits specify the position of the sample in the row. The vial positions are numbered from left to right.
Example:
Position R:A1 designates a vial on position A1 in red segment.
In Chromeleon, the character defining the shelf level that holds the sample container comes first (CH01, CH02, ... CH20), followed by a colon (:), a letter (B) and a digit (2). As racks/well plates must be turned by 180° before they can be placed into the Charger, the letters specify the rows from the outer to the inner row of a rack in the Charger. The digits specify the position of the sample in the row. The vial positions are numbered from right to left.
Example:
Position CH01:B2 designates a vial on position B2 in the rack or well plate located on the Charger shelf level number 1.
Position of Static Vials in Autosampler
Additionally, each segment comprises a three-position vial holder for static vials with a volume of up to 10 mL, for example, reagent vials, which are labeled in Chromeleon in accordance with the color of the vial position (SR, SG or SB), followed by a digit (1-3) .
Example:
Position SR:1 designates a static vial on position 1 in the red segment.
For information about how to correctly place racks and well plates in the autosampler segments, refer to the Vanquish Autosampler Operating Manual, "Loading the Carousel".
Inject Position
The inject position, too, is labeled in accordance with the color identifier followed by the position on the sample rack or well plate, for example, R:A1, CH01:B2 (Charger position) or SR:1 (for static vials).
Sequence Run
Depending
on the created sample list (see 
The Sample List), the racks and
well plates will be moved from the Charger to the Yellow autosampler segment
immediately before the first sample on this rack is to be injected, that
is, at the beginning of the sample run or at the time the PrepareNextSample
command is executed. (For more information about sample preparation, see
Sample Preparation).
The rack will be kept in the Yellow autosampler segment as long as the
rack contains the sample which is next in line of a running sequence.
If the next sample of a running sequence is located on a different rack than the one containing the sample that is currently being used for injection, the rack is moved back to its assigned position in the Charger immediately after the injection has taken place.
Caution:
To create sample lists with the PQ/OQ Setup Wizard (see Qualification), a rack in the red sampler segment is required.
If the rack type for the red sampler segment is reported as "Unknown" or "Empty" after the inventory scan took place, the barcode reader might not have recognized it even though a rack or well plate is present. In this case, a validation error is shown in the PQ/OQ Setup Wizard: "On the Vanquish autosampler, qualification requires the red segment to be available. Check whether a rack has been installed and whether the autosampler has recognized it."
To prevent distorted qualification results, check whether a rack has been installed and manually configure the rack type (see Manual Configuration of Rack Types).
For
information about how to create a sample list, see
Creating a
Sample List (Sequence).
The Vanquish Charger is equipped with a barcode reader. If your Vanquish autosampler is equipped with a barcode reader and a Charger is connected, the following applies: Thermo Fisher Scientific provides sample racks and well plates with a Vanquish rack-type barcode to automatically identify the autosampler and Charger inventory. An inventory scan takes place every time the door is closed to determine whether the rack configuration has changed. Therefore, you do not have to manually configure the rack types and correct the orientation of the sample racks or well plates with a barcode. However, for racks or well plates without such a barcode or if the barcode is not readable, you have to manually select the rack type on the control panel of the autosampler. For more information, see Manual Configuration of Rack Types.
Needle Orientation
By specifying the rack type, either by setting it manually or via barcode reader (inventory scan, not for autosamplers without barcode reader), the software automatically calculates the position to which the needle must be moved to draw sample liquid. This also includes a safe lowering depth into the vial.
You can alter the lowering depth of the needle into the vial by changing the 'NeedleHeight' property.
Caution:
If you use vials of different sizes, Thermo Fisher Scientific strongly recommends using the 'Safe' value for the needle height to prevent the needle from being damaged.
More properties
and commands for the needle can be found in the device tree of the Commands
view, under SamplerModule > Sampler. To open the Commands view, press
F8 on the SamplerModule Control
Panel (see also
Controlling Devices from the Control
Panel). For more information, see
Thermo Scientific Vanquish Autosampler:
Commands.
If a sample rack or well plate with a barcode is not oriented correctly, the orientation alert will trigger an alarm signal. If this is the case, follow the steps described in Loading or exchanging racks.
For racks or well plates without a barcode no alarm will sound even if they are not oriented correctly. Sample racks and well plates without a barcode may easily be placed the wrong way around, but Chromeleon cannot detect the incorrect orientation. This may result in a safety hazard. Make sure to place each sample rack or well plate in the correct orientation in the carousel (see Vanquish Autosampler Operating Manual, "Loading the Carousel") or on a free shelf level (see Vanquish Charger Operating Manual, "Loading Sample Racks or Well Plates"). After you have placed a rack without a barcode in the correct orientation, you have to manually select the rack type for the respective position in the autosampler or Charger on the control panel. For details, see Manual Configuration of Rack Types.
To load or exchange racks and well plates in the sampler or Charger, follow these steps:
Check the LED status. Do not open the sampler front doors while the sampler is sampling, that is, when the LEDs on the LED bar are flashing blue consecutively. Respectively, avoid opening the Charger door when the Mover Status LED is flashing green.
Open the autosampler or Charger door.
Tip:
On the control panel of the sampler, click Tray To Front to rotate the sampler carousel so that the rack to be added, removed or exchanged is positioned at the front door.
Place the sample rack or well plate in the correct orientation in the carousel segment or shelf level. (For details, refer to the operating manuals.)
Close the door.
An inventory scan will run and detect the sample racks and well plates with a barcode (see Barcode Reader). Any rack or well plate without a barcode will not be detected and must be selected manually on the control panel of the autosampler (see Manual Configuration of Rack Types).
When a Charger is connected, sample racks in the shelf can be exchanged even if the sampler is in operation. However, to avoid interferences with a running sample list, bear the following points in mind:
Caution:
Do not open the door and remove the shelf during the phases when parts inside the Charger are moving. During these phases, the Mover Status LED on the Charger is blinking green.
It is not possible to issue any commands from Chromeleon while the door is open. Also, an open door may delay the processing of a batch.
Close the door immediately after adding or removing a sample rack. The new sample rack configuration will not be detected as long as the door is still open.
The inventory scan of the new sample rack configuration in the Charger might take a few minutes. As long as the scan is running, the old configuration is stored in the sampler driver. You can see the new configuration on the control panel (Rack View.../Charger Options...) as soon as the scan is finished.
If you add a sample rack or well plate to an empty level in the Charger, ensure that this level is not occupied by a sample rack that is currently being used for injection in the autosampler. After the injection, the sample rack will be moved back to its assigned level in the Charger.
After a collision or movement issue the sequence will be aborted. Remove the sample racks from the shovel or Yellow segment manually and execute a Reset command in Chromeleon (SamplerModule) before you restart the sample list. For details, refer to the Vanquish Charger Operating Manual.
Manual Configuration of Rack Types
On the control panel of the autosampler, you can view and control the sample racks and well plates.
Rack Types
On the Autosampler Control Panel, in the Tray Control column, the type of the sample racks/well plates that are located in the carousel segments are displayed.
Click Rack View... to have a look at the individual samples in a rack. Click Tray To Front to rotate the sample racks to the front in the sampler to manually exchange sample racks, well plates or vials.
Click Charger Options... to see the type of the sample racks/well plates that are located on the available number of shelf levels (#1-20).
The rack type for each segment is updated automatically if the rack/well plate is provided with a valid barcode. In addition to the typical rack types, such as 'WellPlate96' or 'ThermoVial54', there is a number of values for a '..._RackType' property which indicate particular scenarios or states:
Rack Type |
Description |
Unknown |
A rack type cannot be detected (rack without barcode used or barcode not readable) and the carousel segment or shelf level was empty before or occupied by a rack with a valid barcode. Select the correct rack type from the list. For details, see section To change the rack type below.
|
Empty |
No sample rack or well plate is placed in the respective shelf level or carousel segment. For information about how to correctly place sample racks and well plates in the autosampler carousel or Charger shelf, refer to the Vanquish Split-Loop Autosamplers (H-Type) Operating Manual, "Loading the Carousel", or the Vanquish Charger Operating Manual, "Loading Sample Racks or Well Plates".
|
Charger |
Displays the status of the rack. For a rack in an autosampler segment, "Charger" indicates that the rack has been moved to the Charger. |
InSampler |
Displays the status of the rack. For a rack in a Charger level, "InSampler" indicates that the rack has currently been moved to the autosampler for injection. |
To change the rack type
If the identified rack type for an autosampler segment (red, blue or green) or Charger level is Unknown, change the sample rack or well plate:
Make sure that the sample rack or well plate is placed in the correct orientation in the carousel segment or shelf level (see Rack Orientation).
Open
the Autosampler control panel.
For more information, see 
Opening a Default or Saved Panel
Tabset.
On the Autosampler control panel, in the Tray Control column, select the correct sample rack type from the list of the corresponding segment or Charger level. Click Rack View... to see the individual samples in the rack. Click Charger Options... to open the Charger sample rack settings.
Note:
Once the rack type has been changed you do not have to change it again, as the rack type will not be identified as Unknown anymore, regardless if you open and close the door again any time later triggering an inventory scan. Only racks and well plates without a barcode or with an unreadable barcode will be identified as Unknown if their position in the autosampler or Charger was empty before or occupied by a rack or well plate with a valid barcode.
See also
Controlling Devices from the Control
Panel.
Related Topics
Thermo Scientific Vanquish Autosampler and Charger: Overview
For more information, refer to the operating manuals for the Vanquish Autosampler and Charger.
Further Information
Controlling Devices from the Control Panel
Creating and Modifying Programs
Opening a Default or Saved Panel Tabset