Bionex HiG3

The BioNex HiG3 is a robot-accessible plate centrifuge: the door opening is large enough that laboratory robots reach the buckets directly, without an intermediate plate loader, which removes steps from every spin.

At a glance

Maximum RCF	5,000 g
Imbalance tolerance	100 grams
Active cooling	Fans only
Payload per bucket	350 grams

Specifications

BioNex publishes the following for the HiG3.

Sample temperature	Depends on RCF, spin time and duty cycle — no active temperature control
Evaporation (unsealed labware)	Depends on RCF, spin time and duty cycle
Maximum labware height	61 mm
Maximum gripper opening	169 mm
Height	292.1 mm (11.5 in)
Width	401.3 mm (15.8 in)
Depth	551.2 mm (21.7 in)
Weight	77.1 kg (170 lbs)
Communication	USB 2.0
Electrical	100–127 / 200–240 V~, 12/6.2 A, 50/60 Hz
Enhanced temperature monitoring	No
Speed verification window	No

BioNex labels the HiG line “For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.”

Instrument features

• Dual position rotor, accepting up to 350 grams per bucket — enough for most microplate configurations including deep-well blocks and filter plate assemblies
• Fast acceleration and deceleration, 20 seconds
• Low vibration even at maximum imbalance, which BioNex notes keeps it from interfering with nearby instruments on the same platform
• User-programmable spin profiles
• Self-monitoring — internal measurements validate instrument conditions
• Compact and stackable — two units can be stacked to increase throughput
• Standard electrical service only — no compressed air or other utilities

BioNex lists pelletizing cells and cellular debris, sample preparation, PCR assays, DNA purification and sequencing, filtration assays, and dispense bubble removal as applications.

Imbalance: tolerated, not checked

This is worth stating plainly because it is easy to assume otherwise. The HiG3’s design feature is that it tolerates payload imbalance — up to 100 grams between buckets — which BioNex describes as promoting continual, uninterrupted operation rather than stopping for balance.

Revolution does not verify balance before spinning, and the instrument is not claimed to either. Keeping loads within the stated 100 gram tolerance is the method’s responsibility. An unbalanced centrifuge load is a physical hazard, not merely a failed run.

Supported methods

• Spin — run the centrifuge
• Open bucket 1 / Open bucket 2 — present either bucket of the dual-position rotor for a robot to load or unload
• Close shield — close the shield before spinning
• Home — return the rotor to its home position

The bucket operations reflect the dual-position rotor: a robot loads one bucket, then the other, and the two payloads are what have to stay within the 100 gram imbalance tolerance relative to each other.

Integration

Revolution talks to the instrument over USB 2.0.

Prerequisites

• The instrument must be connected to the Revolution host and recognised before the device is initialised.
• Labware must be within 61 mm height and the robot’s gripper must work within the 169 mm maximum gripper opening.
• Payload per bucket must be within 350 grams, and the difference between buckets within 100 grams.
• Spin profiles are programmed on the instrument; a method selects a spin rather than authoring one.

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

Operations

These are available from a Run Device Operation step.

Close Shield

Closes the safety shield over the buckets after a bucket has been presented at the shield opening. The instrument has a single shield serving both buckets, so there is one close step rather than one per bucket, and the shield is closed again when the device is uninitialised.

Home

Returns the instrument to its home position by running its homing sequence. Homing also runs as part of initialising the device, and this step fails if the device has not been initialised.

Open Bucket1

Presents bucket 1 at the shield opening and opens the safety shield over it, so the device location configured as bucket 1 can be picked from or placed into. A pick or place at that location opens bucket 1 on its own, so this step is only needed to expose the bucket outside a transfer.

Open Bucket2

Presents bucket 2 at the shield opening and opens the safety shield over it, so the device location configured as bucket 2 can be picked from or placed into. A pick or place at that location opens bucket 2 on its own, so this step is only needed to expose the bucket outside a transfer.

Raise Error

Makes this device report a failure on demand: the step fails with an error naming the device, and the operator is offered the usual error recovery choices. No command reaches the instrument and nothing moves, and the failure is raised in simulation as well as on a real system, so this is the step to use when rehearsing how a schedule handles a device failure.

Spin

Spins both buckets up to the requested g force, holds them there for the set cruise time, then brings them back to rest. The step completes only once the instrument reports the spin finished, and it fails if that takes more than two minutes longer than the requested cruise time.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
G Force	double	—	The g force the buckets are held at during the spin, from 250 to 5000.
Acceleration time %	double	—	The acceleration ramp used to bring the buckets up to the set g force, as a percentage from 1 to 100.
Deceleration time %	double	—	The deceleration ramp used to bring the buckets back to rest at the end of the spin, as a percentage from 1 to 100.
Cruise time in seconds	double	—	The time the buckets are held at the set g force, in seconds, not counting the acceleration and deceleration ramps.