ZYMARK Microplate Instruments

Zymark asked Robert DeFelice & Associates (RDA) to redesign its 96-well plate handler which consisted of sheet metal and stainless steel parts that lacked sales appeal, did not look state-of-the-art and was expensive to manufacture.  The plate handler managed up to 10 microplates that were loaded individually by a lab technician between stainless steel rods; an easier, more efficient loading method was needed.

 

"Whenever we needed industrial design help, I said 'Call Bob,'" said Zymark VP Business Development.

 

Our sleek solution for Zymark's new Twister  replaced all visual sheet metal with a handsome, 2-piece, pressure formed housing for the base, with integral handles for portability, and a high-visibility, also pressure formed, cylindrical tower enclosing the rotating robot that picked a 96-well plate from the loading stack and placed it on the (other company's) lab instrument.  The 2-piece tower was molded flat, 2 halves, then cut, trimmed, bonded together, and assembled around the robot.  We further created a portable, extruded aluminum carrier, similar to a large pitcher, that accommodated 10 plates that could be pre-loaded and installed onto Twister easily and quickly.  A second carrier was used to stack plates that were picked off the adjacent (other company's) instrument.  Twister was easy to clean and maintain.

 

"Nice job, Bob. When you start with a clean piece of paper, this is what you get," said Zymark's chief science officer referring to RDA's 10-plate carrier solution.

 

We provided a complete package of handsome styling, mechanical engineering for the pressure formed, 2-piece base (bottom and top cover), pressure formed robot cylinder, extruded aluminum carrier, related internal sheet metal parts, packaging of internal components, COTS carrier handle and fasteners, 3D and 2D DFMA documentation and vendor recommendations.