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Thermo RapidStak
The Thermo Scientific RapidStak is a microplate stacker: it holds plates in removable Staks and feeds them to instruments. Thermo Fisher’s dual-instrument loading lets it deliver plates to two instruments at once, which is what distinguishes it from a simple plate hotel.
At a glance
Section titled “At a glance”| RapidStak | 2 Staks — capacity 50 plates |
| RapidStak 2x | 4 Staks — up to 150 plates |
| Load/unload time | As little as 6 seconds per plate |
| Throughput | Up to 300 plates per hour |
| Revolution control | Restack, and set the plate type |
Specifications
Section titled “Specifications”Thermo Fisher states the unit can be upgraded in the field to triple its capacity, so a system specified around 50 plates is not permanently limited to it.
The 6 seconds per plate figure is worth reading alongside the 300 plates/hour: 300 plates in an hour is 12 seconds a plate, so the throughput figure already accounts for more than just the transfer. Size a schedule against the throughput, not the load time.
Supported methods
Section titled “Supported methods”- Restack — restack the plates
- Set plate type name — tell the stacker which plate type it is handling
Plate types and teaching
Section titled “Plate types and teaching”Plate type is not incidental on a stacker. Plates of different heights stack to different depths, and the mechanism has to know what it is gripping — which is why the driver carries two plate type settings:
| Property | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Plate Type | The plate type in normal operation |
| TEACH Plate Type | The plate type used when teaching positions |
Thermo Fisher supplies a separate teach application for the RapidStak, and teaching is a setup activity rather than something a schedule performs. Get the teach plate type right before teaching, because positions taught against the wrong plate height will be wrong for every plate afterwards.
Integration
Section titled “Integration”Prerequisites
Section titled “Prerequisites”- The stacker must be reachable from the Revolution host, and its positions taught before a schedule uses it.
- The configured plate type must match the labware actually loaded in the Staks.
- Where dual-instrument loading is used, both destination instruments must be positioned as the stacker expects.
If you need more of this instrument driven from a schedule, get in touch — the driver is extended on demand.