INHECO Thermoshake AC

The INHECO Thermoshake AC heats, cools and shakes a plate in one module, and clamps the plate itself before it shakes. Revolution does not address it directly — it goes through an INHECO TEC Control unit, which is both the controller and the power supply for the modules attached to it.

At a glance

Temperature range	4 °C to 70 °C
Cooling	Down to 25 K below ambient
Shaking	Orbital, 300 rpm to 3000 rpm
Shaking amplitude	2 mm
Maximum load	1.0 kg
Labware	ANSI/SLAS (SBS) footprint, clamped automatically
Revolution control	Set and wait for temperature, shake for a time, shake on and off

Specifications

The figures above are what INHECO publishes for the Thermoshake AC (part 7100160) and the Thermoshake AC 180 (7100161). The two differ only in ventilation: the AC draws ambient air in, the AC 180 has its fan turned to blow hot air out. Both need at least 30 mm of free space at the ventilation openings, and an ambient temperature of 15 °C to 32 °C in operation.

Cooling is relative to the room. The module can only pull a plate 25 K below ambient, so a 4 °C target in a 30 °C room will not be reached. Revolution reports that as a timeout rather than holding a temperature it never got to.

Speed depends on the load. The controller accepts speeds from 150 rpm, but INHECO only guarantees steady shaking from 300 rpm, and the safe upper speed falls as the load rises. INHECO recommend testing the speed first with an empty plate and then with the plate filled with water. Set too high, the plate can come out of the clamp and hot liquid can spill.

There is one shaking pattern. Unlike the classic Thermoshake and the Variomag Teleshake 95, the AC shakes orbitally and anticlockwise only. It has no shake shape to choose.

The clamp

The clamp is what lets the AC shake faster than the classic Thermoshake, and it shapes how a schedule uses the device:

• Starting to shake closes the clamp first, and stopping opens it again. Each takes several seconds — INHECO quote 6 to 31 seconds for the whole start or stop. Revolution waits for the clamp to report closed before it starts timing a shake, and for it to report open before the step finishes.
• A plate is never transferred into a closed clamp. Before a robot picks from or places onto the module, Revolution stops any shaking and waits for the clamp to report open. If it does not open, the transfer is refused rather than attempted.
• The labware must be SBS size. A plate that is too small or too large stops the clamp closing properly and can damage it.
• If the module reports a permanent clamp fault, it is inoperable until INHECO have looked at it. Revolution stops with that error rather than retrying.

The TEC Control unit

INHECO’s Multi TEC Control unit:

• Controls up to 6 INHECO devices in parallel
• Combines power supply and controller in one unit
• Can be operated manually from its touchscreen, or over USB in an automated system

Up to 8 TEC Control units can be connected to one PC, each with its own ID set on its DIP switches. A Revolution device therefore identifies which controller and which slot on it:

Property	Purpose
TEC Control Unit Id (DIP Switches)	Which controller, as set by the DIP switches on the unit itself
TEC Control Slot Id	Which slot on that controller the module is attached to
TEC Control Service URL	Where the INHECO TEC Control service listens; leave at the default unless it runs on another PC
DefaultTemperature	Temperature held while the device is initialised
DefaultShakeRPM	Speed used by Shake with default parameters
DefaultShakeDuration	Duration used by Shake with default parameters
Temperature Tolerance (C)	How close the measured temperature must be to the target to count as reached
Temperature Timeout	How long to wait for a temperature before failing the step

When the device is initialised, Revolution asks the configured slot what is connected to it and stops unless it is a Thermoshake AC. A DIP switch changed on the unit but not in the configuration therefore fails at initialisation instead of driving a different module. Check both together.

Initialising the device also starts holding DefaultTemperature; uninitialising it stops any shaking and switches temperature control off.

Integration

Revolution reaches the module through the TEC Control unit, which connects to the host over USB. INHECO’s driver for the unit is 32-bit only, so it runs in a separate Windows service, the InhecoTECControlWinService, which Revolution talks to.

Prerequisites

• The TEC Control unit must be connected and powered, with the module attached to a known slot. Switch the unit off before connecting or disconnecting a module.
• The InhecoTECControlWinService must be installed and running on the PC the unit is connected to.
• The unit’s DIP-switch ID must match the configured TEC Control Unit Id.
• Allow about 20 seconds after powering the unit on before initialising: it reads the attached modules during startup and answers busy until it has finished.

If you need more of this instrument driven from a schedule, get in touch — the driver is extended on demand.

Operations

These are available from a Run Device Operation step.

Raise Error

Makes this device report a failure on demand: the step fails with an error naming the device, and the operator is offered the usual error recovery choices. No command reaches the instrument and nothing moves, and the failure is raised in simulation as well as on a real system, so this is the step to use when rehearsing how a schedule handles a device failure.

Set Temperature

Set the target temperature and switch temperature control on, optionally waiting until it is reached

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
Temperature (C)	double	37	Target temperature in degrees C
Wait Until Reached	bool	true	Wait until the measured temperature is within the device's tolerance of the target

Shake

Clamp the plate, shake for the given time, then stop and unclamp

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
Shake Speed (RPM)	int	1000	Orbital shaking speed; steady shaking is only guaranteed from 300 rpm
Shake Duration	TimeSpan	—	Shaking time, counted once the plate is clamped and the shaker is running

Shake Off

Stop shaking and unclamp the plate

Shake On

Clamp the plate and start shaking, without waiting for it to stop

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
Shake Speed (RPM)	int	1000	Orbital shaking speed; steady shaking is only guaranteed from 300 rpm

Shake With Default Parameters

Clamp the plate and shake at the configured default speed and duration

Temperature Off

Switch temperature control off

Wait For Temperature

Wait until the measured temperature is within the device's tolerance of the current target