Even though our standard sandwich covers can be handled by robotic grippers, they have a number of drawbacks in this respect:

• robust, but relatively heavy (150-170 g)
• have to be clamped in during shaking, otherwise they start "rattling", above a certain shaker frequency
• smooth surface of the stainless steel: can slide out of the gripper at an insufficient gripper force

The patented "robot-friendly covers"  address these issues with the following characteristics:

• 50% lighter at 80 grams
• seal part rests on the the walls of the MTP under an angle of approx 50 degrees, and are therefore well positioned and not rattling
• rough structure at the sides, so a reduced risk of sliding out of a gripper

The robot-friendly covers consist of the following parts:

• a soft rubber, made of 50 shore A, SEBS, medical grade, seal
• a thin stainless steel side, under an angle of 5 degrees, so that mispositioning by the robot of 1 mm is allowed; gravity will automatically cause the cover to fall in the proper position
• an ultra-flat carbon-epoxy plate of 1.5 mm thickness for the necessary rigidity
• replacable air filters to prevent air-borne contaminants to enter the headspaces

Robot friendly covers are available for the 6, 24 and 96 well format in both a standard and a low evaporation version.

These sandwich covers are compatible in terms of weight and dimensions with the requirements for the Thermo Fisher Scientific Cytomat automated incubators: Cytomat™ 2 Selector Automated Shaking Incubator (thermofisher.com)