Cytomat 24 (PH)

The Cytomat 24 (PH) is a high-capacity random-access plate hotel built around a rotary carousel. Thermo sells this exact configuration as the “Cytomat 24 Hotel Protective Housing (PH)” — an ambient storage hotel, not an incubator — which matches the driver: Revolution’s Cytomat 24 (PH) does not expose any atmosphere or shaking control. Only the Cytomat 2 does.

At a glance

Capacity	672 × 1536-well, 504 × 96-/384-well, 310 × Transwell/insert, 240 × deep-well, 168 × tip boxes
Mean access time	15 s, max 20 s
Default grid (Revolution simulation layout)	24 columns × 21 rows
Atmosphere / shaking control	Not exposed — this is an ambient hotel
Revolution control	The store’s turntable and shovel transfer mechanism; self-scan inventory

Specifications

Thermo Fisher publishes the following for the Cytomat 24 Hotel Protective Housing (PH):

Plate type	Capacity
1536-well	672
96-/384-well	504
Transwell or insert	310
Deep-well	240
Tip boxes	168

Capacity depends on plate type, not just the model: the same unit holds 672 1536-well plates but only 168 tip boxes, because plate height is what governs how many shelves fit. Revolution’s default simulation layout is 24 columns × 21 rows — a default for simulation and commissioning, not a guaranteed physical maximum.

Supported methods

Transfer mechanism

• Extend shovel / retract shovel
• Rotate shovel to carousel / rotate shovel to setdown — the shovel moves between two fixed positions on this device, not to an arbitrary location
• Rotate turntable to store location
• Move height motor to above / below store location
• Move to wait position
• Move transfer station to basic position / to position 2 — only meaningful where a transfer station is fitted (HasTransferStation device property)
• Open / close automatic lift door
• Initialise hardware

This is the store’s own mechanism exposed step by step. A schedule should normally rely on the scheduler’s standard pick/place mechanism to store and retrieve plates and leave it at that — the individual movements above exist for commissioning, teaching and fault recovery, where you need to place the shovel or the turntable exactly rather than move a plate.

Inventory and status

• Start self scan / Start self scan (full)
• Show status / Show extended status
• Show extended options settings

A self-scan rebuilds the inventory from what is physically present. Run one after any manual loading, or Revolution’s view of the contents is only as good as its bookkeeping.

Integration

Prerequisites

• The store must be reachable from the Revolution host.
• Plate type must suit the store’s shelf pitch; capacity depends on plate height.
• This is an ambient store: the driver does not read back or set temperature, humidity, CO₂ or O₂.
• Run a self-scan after manual loading.

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