Agilent Technologies PlateLoc, User Manual

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Chapter 1: PlateLoc introduction
PlateLoc User Guide
10
Inserts
About this topic
This topic describes inserts and their uses in the PlateLoc.
What are inserts
Inserts are pads that support the bottoms of plates for uniform seals. You
use inserts to support plates that tend to bend during a seal cycle.
When to use inserts Causes of non-uniform seals
During the seal cycle, a heated metal plate (hot plate) inside the sealing
chamber descends and presses the seal onto the plate. In a quality seal,
the seal material is applied to the plate uniformly. However, the
following factors can cause uneven plate sealing:
❑
Because of the material used, some plates tend to bend in the high-
temperature environment.
❑
In some plate designs, the plate skirt sits higher or lower than the
plate bottom, causing uneven sealing.
The following diagram shows the side profile of a plate. In this example,
the plate skirt extends past the bottom of the wells. Depending on the
plate material, such plate designs can cause non-uniform sealing. When
the hot plate presses down, the wells at the center of the plate might
bend upward or downward.
The following diagrams show the top view of sealed plates. Non-uniform
seals can result when the center of the plate bends upward (left) and
downward (right) during the seal cycle.
Skirt
Wells
Bending movement
Plate center is higher Plate center is too low
00200 PlateLoc shim too high
00200
00199 PlateLoc shim too low
00199