Axon Knowledge Base Article # 918

Running a Screen with Robotic Plate Handling

Question

How do I use the CRS Robotic Plate handler to run a screen?

Answer

Follow the outlined directions below for using the CRS robot to automatically load plates and run a screen with the ImageXpress instrument.

1. First, make sure you have already generated a script in IX Console and you have noted the directory it is located in. Only one script is used to scan all the plates in a single screen.

NOTE the following:

Disregard step 2 of the acquisition script wizard. When running a script through the scheduling software, the robot will automatically load plates and scan barcodes.

If you will not be using barcodes, contact Technical Support so the appropriate changes can be made to the scheduling software to allow you to proceed.

Disregard step 7 of the acquisition script wizard. When running a script through the scheduling software, it will automatically generate a Plate ID in the format of “Hotel#Plate#”. You will have the option of making changes to these names after acquisition.

2. We also advise having a network connection before proceeding.

3. Before powering on the CRS robot, complete the pre-power checklist:

· make sure the arm is not carry anything

· make sure no people or unusual objects are within reach of the arm

· make sure the E-Stop button is reset by twisting the E-Stop button clockwise until it pops up.

4. Turn on the ImageXpress using the main power button at the front of the instrument.

5. Turn on the robot using the MAIN POWER button in the front of the instrument.

6. When the robot finishes its boot sequence, the LCD should display “CRS5000”.

NOTE: If you do not see this message or encounter any errors, do not use the Catalyst Express robot, and contact technical support.

7. Make sure the E-stop button is within reach.

8. Press the ARM POWER button on the front panel of the Catalyst Express. The ARM POWER LED on the front panel and the ARM POWER indicator on the E-Stop control will glow, indicating that the arm is powered.

NOTE: If you cannot turn on the arm power, contact technical support.

9. Make sure barcodes are properly positioned, and plates are loaded correctly into the hotel racks. See Knowldege Base article #901: http://www.axon.com/mr_Axon_KB_Article.cfm?ArticleID=901

10. Open all ReTiSoft servers by selecting Start Button / Programs / ReTiSoft / Servers / Start All Servers.

11. Two MS-DOS windows will appear. One for the Remote Method Invocation (RMI) server and another one for the Apache (Catalina) web server. Minimize these windows.

12. The MySQL server window will also temporarily appear for a few seconds. Wait until this window disappears. You should then see a green light in the lower right part of your desktop.

13. Wait until the Genera server is launched. You will be prompted for a UserID and Password. By default the UserID is “root” and the password is “genera116”.

14. Enter your UserID and password. When you click the OK button, the Genera server will start.

15. Open DataPilot by selecting Start Button / Programs / ReTiSoft / Applications / DataPilot.

16. If you receive the following error message, your network connection is not working properly. We advise having an internet connection before proceeding.

17. DataPilot Login Window will prompt you for a LoginID and Password. By default the LoginID is “root” and the password is “genera116”. Additional users can be added and passwords can be changed (see Step 19). Click LOGIN

18. The first screen will display your account information (name and privileges). The “root” user is considered to be a super user, and can run methods and delete records.

19. If you are logged in as “root”, you will have the option to add other users into the system. To add a new user, click the Add User link and enter the new user information. The User List displays a list of users.

20. From the DataPilot menu, click on Applications / ImageXpress.

21. Within this window, you will set the acquisition parameters and the script you would like to run during the screen. First initialize all the instruments by clicking the “INIT” button. Wait unit the DataPilot screen is refreshed. All the instruments should now be in the ready state and all virtual devices should be in the idle state (see below).

22. At any time, you can stop the screen from within the software or by using the E-stop button connected to the robot.

Software E-stop:

If you need to abort the screen for reasons other than robot malfunction (e.g., need to add plates or compounds), single-click the ESTOP button from within DataPilot. Following a software E-stop, you must re-initialize all the instruments.

Robot E-stop:

The “E-stop” controller attached to the robot can also be used if the robot is going to pose a safety concern or is not loading plates properly. This cuts all power to the arm. The robot will also automatically cut power when it detects collisions or robot runaway.

NOTE: Following a robot E-stop you must perform a recovery procedure which is outlined in the Knowledge Base.

23. Enter the number of plates you will be screening for each hotel. If you are not using a particular hotel, enter “0” as the number of plates for that hotel.

24. Enter the complete pathway for the ImageXpress Script that you created in Step 1 and would like to use for this screen. The entire directory path needs to be entered and each “\” should be changed to “\\”.
(e.g., C:\\My Documents\\Scripts\\Acquisition\\test.ixs)

25. To begin the screen, click the “Execute” button and wait until the DataPilot window refreshes itself to indicate that the screen has completed.

Acquired images will be automatically stored into the IX Database and can be loaded into ImageXpress Console post-acquisition for data analysis by querying the database.

26. You can monitor acquisition in ImageXpress Console while running a screen by selecting “Monitor Remote Acquisition”, (eyeball icon on the toolbar). It will automatically load the data into the DB tabs during acquisition and update the Console with each new plate.

27. If you are experiencing an error, you can access all the error and warning messages and processing information by clicking on the Console link in the DataPilot menu. Once open, single click the “Reload” button and the message console will be updated with the current log.

28. DataPilot can also retrieve the device usage data. To view, click the Device Usage link and the following table will be displayed.

29. To view the system utilization for different devices, make selections from the table and click “VIEW”. The following information will be displayed.

30. Similar to Device Usage, you can also retrieve the resource usage data by clicking Resource Usage under Event Logs

31. To view the system utilization for different resources, select the records from the table and single-click “VIEW”.

32. All of the user information is recorded during a screen. To view the information, click on the User Activity link.

33. To View the user details, select the user and click on VIEW

34. Refer to instructions on powering off the robot, see additional KB articles.