Project
MACS Sampler
The companion instrument that turns the MACS Matchmaker into a walk-away system. The MACS Sampler handles up to 2×384-well plates with active cooling at 4 °C, letting researchers queue hundreds of samples and return to finished results.
Subsystem Integration
The MACS Sampler integrates an XY motion stage, fluidic interfaces, and an actively chilled 4 °C sample compartment into one sheet-metal enclosure. The system handles 300 µL and 1800 µL vials alongside 96- and 384-well plates, with sub-millimetre needle positioning across all formats. The core challenge was getting precision motion, active thermal management, and microfluidic integration into one compact envelope.
Production Handoff
Took the design from first concept to production release in parallel with the MACS Matchmaker, sharing engineering resources under one 12-month deadline. Standardised QA/QC protocols and authored assembly instructions that enabled handoff to series production without extending the schedule.
2×384
Well Plates Handled
4 °C
Active Cooling
12 mo
Concept to Launch
Challenges
- Sub-millimetre needle positioning had to work across four plate and vial formats, each with different well depths, pitch, and sealing forces.
- Active cooling to 4 °C next to precision motion stages created thermal gradients that threatened positioning repeatability.
- Developed in parallel with the MACS Matchmaker, under the same 12-month deadline, sharing engineering resources.
Outcomes
- Shipped alongside the MACS Matchmaker. Two instruments, one 12-month timeline, both on schedule.
- Standardised QA/QC protocols and authored assembly instructions for handoff to series production.
- Enabled unattended overnight experiments that manual sample handling could not support.