Static 3-Position ROS

A reorientation station changes the orientation in which labware is presented, so a plate picked up one way round can be handed over another. A mover’s gripper approaches labware from a fixed direction, and instruments do not agree on which way a plate should face — something has to turn the plate, and turning it in the gripper is usually not an option.

The Static 3-Position ROS is a UK Robotics reorientation station with no motor: it presents labware at three fixed positions, and the mover does the work of reorienting by picking from one and placing at another. There is no third-party datasheet to consult — the behaviour described here is the behaviour Revolution implements.

At a glance

Type	Static — no motor, fixed positions only
Positions	3
Grip profiles	Landscape, Portrait
Integration	None — the station has no controller and no serial connection
Revolution control	None — reorientation happens automatically as part of a transfer

How it works

This station’s three fixed positions are one landscape position and two portrait positions, one at each of the two orientations it supports. The mover is taught the grip profile and orientation each position represents; reorientation is then just a pick from one position followed by a place at another — there is no motor, no controller, and nothing to teach on the station itself.

• Changing grip profile only (landscape ↔ portrait at the same orientation) is a direct pick-and-place between the two relevant positions.
• Changing between the station’s two landscape orientations routes via the intermediate portrait position, since there is only one landscape position to place onto.
• Other combinations of orientation and grip profile change are not supported on this station — use the Static 4-Position ROS if a schedule needs a combination this station doesn’t cover.

Supported methods

This station exposes no operations. It has no motor and nothing to move, home, or query — the mover carries out the reorientation as an ordinary part of the transfer, using the positions above.

Integration

This station has no controller and is not connected to the Revolution host over serial — it is purely a set of taught positions that a mover transfers between.

Device configuration

Property	Purpose
Accept all object types	Allow any labware onto the station
Accepted object type names	When not accepting all types, the labware types this station will take

Accepted object type names is a guard, not a convenience. Restricting a station to the labware it is actually set up for means a schedule that tries to send the wrong plate is refused at the station rather than discovering the mismatch by dropping something.

Prerequisites

• Grip profiles must be defined for the labware the station will handle.
• The mover serving the station must be taught its three positions, with each one matching the station’s fixed landscape or portrait position and the grip profile and orientation it represents.

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