Agilent VSpin Integration
Drive your microplate centrifuge in Python, without vendor software in the loop
Spin with your own speed, time and ramps, bring either bucket to the door, and load or unload plates with the centrifuge loader.
- Supports
- VSpin, with or without the Automated Centrifuge Loader
- Connects over
- Serial
- Local interface
- SiLA 2
- Vendor software
- None required
- Runs On
- Linux / Windows / MacOS
What You Can Command on the VSpin
Each part of the centrifuge is its own module: the rotor, the door, bucket calibration and, where fitted, the loader.
Spin
Spin at a target speed for a set time, with acceleration and deceleration set per run, or stop immediately. The call returns once the rotor has stopped and re-homed, with progress counting down the spin.
Bucket to Door
Rotate bucket 1 or 2 to the loading slot and open the door. The rotor homes first, so it always lands in the right place.
Door
Open and close the door, and check whether it's open.
Bucket Calibration
Unlock the rotor, turn each bucket to the loading slot with a tool, and store that position. Positions are saved to the connector configuration.
Loader
With the Automated Centrifuge Loader fitted, move a plate from the stage into the bucket, return it to the stage, and park the arm.
Initialization
Bring the centrifuge, and the loader if configured, to a known physical state, and check whether each is ready.
Know One Connector, Know Them All
Every instrument is found and called the same way, and the same Python drives whatever comes next. See how that scales from one instrument to a whole lab with our lab orchestration software.
One API, Every Instrument
Find it by name, then call its actions. It's the same on a liquid handler, a reader or an incubator, whatever the vendor ships underneath.
Ask a Connector What It Can Do
Modules and actions are discoverable at runtime, and parameters carry their own types, units and constraints. You don't need a PDF to find out.
Also Works With
The same Python script can drive every instrument on the bench, so a plate can move from one instrument to the next without switching tools.
Agilent VSpin
The questions automation engineers ask before integrating a VSpin.
Yes. The UniteLabs connector exposes the VSpin to Python: open a bucket at the loading slot, spin with your own speed, time and ramps, and wait for the rotor to stop and re-home. The spin reports progress while it runs.
No. The connector talks to the centrifuge over serial directly, and to the loader over a second serial port when one is fitted. It exposes the VSpin as a SiLA 2 service on a local port.
Yes. Give the connector the loader's serial port and it adds load, unload and park commands. Without one, the centrifuge runs on its own.
Run the bucket calibration: unlock the rotor, turn bucket 1 to the loading slot with a tool and store the position, then do the same for bucket 2. The positions are saved to the connector configuration and used every time it opens a bucket.
Yes. The connector starts in simulation mode by default, so you can build the run before the VSpin is connected.