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categories laboratory workcell software laboratory workcell hardware robot safety workcells & enclosures system integration news

Matrical AutoMAP uses KiNEDx and Overlord3 paa have supplied robots and control software to a number of instrument companies and integrators for a number of years. See a video the Matrical AutoMAP workcell using the paa KiNEDx robot and Overlord3 on YouTube

20/May/2013

Every wondered what the microplate standards are and where you can find them ? Standards should be referred to as ANSI/SLAS Microplate Standards. For more information, please visit:

ANSI Renews and Renames Existing Microplate Standards 1, 2, 3 and 4, ANSI Accredits New SLAS Microplate Standard for Well Bottom Elevation and SLAS Learning Center, microplate standards

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07/May/2013

paa harmony adds automation to the Luminex 100/200T and FLEXMAP 3D- improving the efficiency and throughput of your laboratory.

• Most reliable paa KiNEDx scara robot

• Tried & trusted Overlord3 scheduling software

• Positive tracking of your plates and data

• Your choice of plate stacks or incubator

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02/May/2013

Automation technology is revolutionizing the healthcare and food industries. From infusion pumps to 24/7 temperature control and real-time testing and analysis, the development of embedded smart technologies is leading to better care and safety, new growth and vastly improved research and analysis. Now, companies in the U.S. laboratory products industry are scrambling to think through the challenges and opportunities posed by automation technology.

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03/Apr/2013

paa pixcell see the article on the paa stem cell picker in Process & Control Today. paa, based in Farnborough, in conjunction with the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute has developed the paa pixcell, a flexible robotic system for precise detection, isolation and picking of part or whole stem cell colonies from Petri dishes. It then transfers the colonies to microtiter plates ready for further development.

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25/Mar/2013

Yes, Overlord3 IS Windows 7 compliant. Most drivers (with Windows 7 compliant software) have been converted for use. We have a number of systems running with Overlord3 on Windows 7.

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22/Mar/2013

Eindhoven. Come and see our new laboratory automation interfaces at the LabAutomation show on 9th April 2013

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21/Mar/2013

paa harmony touch screen interface Sample the new Overlord3 user interface at the ELRIG Research & Innovation Show in Telford 19th March 2013. There will be n exhibition and full speaker programme covering: Cellular Toxicology in Drug Discovery, Innovation in Cell Culture and Tags & Binders: Tools for Probing Biological Systems

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14/Mar/2013

The useful LRIG website is moving to http://my.lrig.org/

There are sections for discussions on pressing Lab Auto topics, Communities, Local Chapters, Presentations, Events, User Groups, Directory & Careers

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14/Mar/2013

paa welcome James Purvis from Plymouth University to strengthen the software team. James has studied cybernetics and robot control and will be a great asset to the company.

19/Feb/2013

paa welcome Joe Warren from Reading University to strengthen the software team. Joe has studied cybernetics and robot control and will be a great asset to the company.

19/Feb/2013

paa welcome Andrew Melrose from Plymouth University to strengthen the service and hardware construction team. Andrew has studied robotics and robot control and will be a great asset to the company.

19/Feb/2013

We are pleased to announce the merger of Peak Robotics, Inc and Process Analysis and Automation Ltd into Peak Analysis and Automation.

The unification of PRI and paa will allow us to provide an wide range of robotic products, software solutions and worldwide customer support.

All of us here at paa are all very excited about this merger and look forward to an expanded business relationship with all our customers.

To contact us.

paa Europe +44 1252 37 3000, paa USA +1 719 598 3555

19/Dec/2012

nouvelles technologies

• automate.it harmony le nouveau visage de l’automatisation
  
• Assay Manager
  
• harmony2 automation de paillasse
  
• harmony4 automation de paillasse
  
• automate.it storstar

original article

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05/Dec/2012

exciting hardware and software

• automate.it harmony user interface
  
• Assay Manager user interface
  
• harmony2 bench top automation
  
• harmony4 bench top automation
  
• automate.it storstar

original article

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05/Dec/2012

Redd & Whyte’s Preddator is a dispenser designed to reduce the effect of blocked tips when dispensing reagents, cells, and even gels across a dynamic range of 10nl to 200ul. Overlord3 control and scheduling software adds capability to the Preddator by providing a simple drag-and-drop interface for dispensing complex patterns and connection to many automation platforms. original article

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02/Dec/2012

After 20 years of expanding from 3 rooms at Falcon House to the whole building plus a factory unit, paa have expanded into a new facility in the Southwood Business Park.

The new building brings the management and integration teams together with the engineering team and offers space for additional laboratory automation workcells to be constructed simultaneously with comfortable meeting and office accommodation.

02/Dec/2012

Download the automate.it pixcell stem cell picker brochure.

paa have designed and built a unique stem cell picker.

Working with the internationally renown Welcome Trust Sanger Institute (Cambridge, UK, www.sanger.ac.uk), the automate.it pixcell has been tried and tested with research stem cell samples. Download the automate.it pixcell stem cell picker Read more about the automate.it pixcell stem cell picker

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06/Oct/2012

LRIG Boston New user interfaces for simple and advanced laboratory automation workcells by Malcolm Crook Users of laboratory automation systems have been traditionally presented with complex user interfaces inappropriate to their day-to-day use of the system. paa have developed a number of user screens that make using the laboratory automation system orientated to user sample batch rather than automation process.

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27/Sep/2012

MIPTEC, Basel paa Overlord3 for instruments, Implementing a SiLA service provider for the Redd & Whyte Preddator software by Rob Harkness (Redd & Whyte) Using Overlord3 instruments with a SiLA interface to allow the Preddator instrument to be controlled by any SiLA supporting scheduler.

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24/Sep/2012

LRIG Philadelphia New user interfaces for simple and advanced laboratory automation workcells by Malcolm Crook Users of laboratory automation systems have been traditionally presented with complex user interfaces inappropriate to their day-to-day use of the system. paa have developed a number of user screens that make using the laboratory automation system orientated to user sample batch rather than automation process.

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20/Sep/2012

The automate.it pixcell from paa is a robotic system for precise detection, isolation and picking of stem cell colonies from Petri dishes and transferring these to microtitre plates.
• achieve cell viability • eliminate tedious manual job • rapid picking • pick as good as a human • integral safety hood original article

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10/Sep/2012

paa Toulouse New user interfaces for simple and advanced laboratory automation workcells by Malcolm Crook Users of laboratory automation systems have been traditionally presented with complex user interfaces inappropriate to their day-to-day use of the system. paa have developed a number of user screens that make using the laboratory automation system orientated to user sample batch rather than automation process. original article

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08/Sep/2012

automate.it pixcell - see how the paa supplied colony picker is moving on stem cell science. (picture credit: Genome Research Limited) original article on Sanger Institute blog...

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31/Aug/2012

Jeremie Fizet, a researcher from the Institute of Neurology, London has joined paa. Having completed his work on Human Prions, Jeremie will strengthen the scientific and programming team. As a bilingual French citizen, Jeremie will assist in our European sales allowing paa to offer training in French.

15/Aug/2012

New hardware and software

• automate.it pixcell - stem cell picking robot
• automate.it ultra ultrasonic wash station
• harmony2 bench top automation
• harmony software interface
• automate.it safecel

original article

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09/Aug/2012

12th September, Lifting the Lid on Laboratory Automation in France
New laboratory automation seminar for the French robotic laboratory scientist. Join us for lectures, presentations and hands-on demonstrations.
Free buffet lunch and early evening reception.
This day will be of interest to scientists working in universities, research institutes, forensics, biotech and pharmaceuticals working on the automation of their laboratories. original article

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02/Aug/2012

Installation and Support Engineer - Work for the premiere UK system integrator paa need a service engineer/hardware engineer. Could you see yourself doing interesting & exciting cutting edge projects in a dynamic team ? If so we need to talk to you.

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04/Jul/2012

Truck Racing paa staff and business colleagues are very grateful to Wayne Turtill and Mitsubishi for a great days truck racing at Donington on Saturday. With only the odd shower, the spectacle of 20 articulated trucks heading fo the first corner was an amazing site.

02/Jul/2012

IntelliCyt HyperCyt with full automation at CYTOO in Leipzig. We are pleased to be co-promoting the this unique flowcytometer fed with an automate.it scara robot gives the user the ultimate high throughput tool.

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22/Jun/2012

Compound plate replication and assay plate preparation.

automate.it safecel provides the best in custom automation. If you are planning a laboratory automation project, from the very small to the very large, automate.it safecel provides the most cost effective solution. automate.it safecel is a system of fully automated workcells comprising robotics, enclosures, safety systems, scheduling and control software and an array of integrated instruments.

original article

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17/Jun/2012

Redd & Whyte’s Preddator is a dispenser designed to reduce the effect of blocked tips when dispensing reagents, cells, and even gels across a dynamic range of 10nl to 200ul. Overlord3 control and scheduling software adds capability to the Preddator by providing a simple drag-and-drop interface for dispensing complex patterns and connection to many automation platforms. original article

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28/May/2012

Biospeed paa's representatives in Japan, showed the automate.it scara robot and Overlord3 at the show.

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27/May/2012

ELA in Hamburg We hope that any of our customers, friends or suppliers will come and visit our booth at ELA in Hamburg next week.

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25/May/2012

Mitsubishi Systems Specialists paa are delighted to announce that they have been awarded systems specialist status by Mitsubishi for robot expertise in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology market sectors.



[Click to enlarge]

30/Apr/2012

Redd & Whyte needed a user interface for their novel Preddator dispenser, they came to paa. Overlord3 for instruments offers the simplicity and usability of Overlord3 with the power of any sophisticated control software package.

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12/Apr/2012

IntelliCyt HyperCyt paa will be at the Intn'l Soc Adv Cytometry XXVII Congress in Leipzig 23rd-27th June 2012. We will be showing a fully automated Intellicyte HyperCyt®/HTFC® Screening System on the IntelliCyt Booth #304

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27/Mar/2012

Cytométrie automatisation - avec le « harmony automate.it »

« automate.it harmonie » est la meilleure façon d'automatiser le cytomètre Millipore « Guava easyCyte » : augmentez vos séquences haut débit et améliorez vos résultats. original article

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20/Mar/2012

BIOtech 2012. paa have teamed up with out Japanese partners Biospeed to present the paa range of laboratory automation products to the Asian market on Booth #9-33, 25-27 April 2012.

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20/Mar/2012

paa has 20 years of laboratory automation experience working with major pharma, biotechs, and universities. Our deep knowledge, expert people and effective approach make us a global leader in laboratory automation. We can use this experience to deliver better performance from your existing POLARA, iLink Pro, SoftLinx, SPRINT or VWorks automation systems. original article

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12/Mar/2012

Glass bottomed plates provide greatly improved performance compared to plastic. Glass bottomed plates provide better image quality and sample handling performance than the equivalent plastic bottomed plate:

• unmatched image quality - window flatness better than 2 microns, frame flatness better than 150 microns
• high scratch resistance
• good cell adherence even without coating
• with high energy light sources microbubble formation is minimised

original article

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12/Mar/2012

harmony est

• robot scara automate.it, le bras robotisé
• des stackers de stockages de microplaques plaques
• un lecteur de code à barres
• augmenter votre rendement en laboratoire par l'automatisation des instruments
• Une NOUVELLE interface
• improves your laboratory throughput
• L'installation sur site
• Overlord 3 - offrant un contrôle de supervision
• permet à plusieurs utilisateurs d'exécuter leurs propres séquences et programmes pour vos instruments

original article

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10/Mar/2012

harmony is

• automate.it scara robot, plate stacks
• barcode reader
• interface to your instruments
• NEW intuitive user interface
• improves your laboratory throughput
• harmony 2 & 4-axes scara robot
• includes integration
• powered by Overlord3
• ideal for all laboratory automation applications

original article

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10/Mar/2012

automate.it harmony avec son NOUVEAU scara 2 robot est la manière la plus efficace d'automatiser votre instrument. automate.it harmony disponible avec automate.it scara 2 est la solution idéale pour charger un instrument simple... original article

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01/Feb/2012

automate.it harmony va augmenter votre efficacité et la rentabilité dans votre laboratoire pour vos instruments clés. automate.it harmony se compose de notre robot "scara automate.it", de 4 stackers de stockages de microplaques ( avec une capacité de 90 plaques) et un logiciel d'application Overlord3 - offrant un contrôle de supervision en function de vos utilisations. original article

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30/Jan/2012

Imaginez comment automate.it safecel peut améliorer l’efficacité de votre laboratoire.... original article

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17/Jan/2012

automate.it harmony will increase your laboratory efficiency by cost effectively automating your key instruments. automate.it harmony consists of our automate.it scara robot, plate stacks and Overlord3 scheduling software providing control for your instrument and the robot. original article

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15/Jan/2012

automate.it harmony available with the automate.it scara 2 is the ideal solution for loading a single instrument. automate.it harmony 2 consists of our automate.it scara 2 robot (2-degrees of freedom), 3 plate stacks (with 60 plate capacity), barcode reader and Overlord3 providing control and scheduling. original article

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12/Jan/2012

automate.it safecel is a fully automated workcell comprising; robotics, safety system, enclosure and integrated instruments original article

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12/Jan/2012

Roche Cellavista delivered by paa to the Middle East. This is a cell imaging system that allows reads to be made any number of times after any time period. Using Assay Manager and Overlord3, this sophisticated analysis requirement has been reduced to a few clicks and a dialog box. If you need to run a kinetic assay, we have an easy to implement solution TODAY ! see the video

08/Jan/2012

Aberystwyth University Robot Scientist project. Eve is capable of making decisions post analysis, the advanced artifical intelligence software from Aberystwyth University is unique. The work cell was built by paa and there are a couple of videos featured in our video library. For more details about the robot scientist visit the Aberystwyth University website.

06/Jan/2012

San Diego, see us at SLAS, Booth 104, we are showing:

• automate.it harmony automation packages with both scara robots
• new automate.it harmony software interface with touch screen interface
• Overlord3 for Instruments on the Redd & Whyte Preddator
• Overlord3 controlling the Molecular Devices Paradigm

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03/Jan/2012

see the new videos for the Molecular Devices Paradigm multimode detection platform plate reader with the automate.it scara 2 and scara 4 robots.

video for automate.it scara 2 robot watch ...

video for automate.it scara 4 robot watch ...

31/Dec/2011

Wildcat Laboratory Solutions are providers of small automation systems and consumables for the Biotechnical, Pharmaceutical industries and branches relating to these industries, smaller labs, R&D, Life Sciences and Molecular Biology. Our range of products include plate sealers, plate labellers, plate stackers, microplates, seals, acrylic manifolds, 2D barcode readers, solvent evaporators, barcode applicators and much more. Focusing on our technical expertise and the constant development of our products, Wildcat Laboratory Solutions strive to be ahead with cost effective bench top solutions for Laboratory Automation. original article

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20/Dec/2011

Many congratulations to Terry Wood, who was elected ELRIG Chairman at the AGM recently. Terry recently retired from Pfizer’s drug discovery group at Sandwich, where his principal areas of involvement were screening, automation and robotics and compound management. He will be a major asset to the ELRIG management team.

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20/Dec/2011

paa have released the new automate.it scara 2 robot as an entry level laboratory automation stacker. With only two degrees of freedom (twist and up/down), the device is not only low cost, but very easy to teach. Based on the automate.it scara 4 robot, the device is reliable. This robot is sold as the automate.it harmony 2 package with barcode, Overlord3 control software an installation anywhere in the world and suited to the automation of a single instrument.

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18/Nov/2011

paa were proud to show a video of the new automate.it cell picker. With a >90% picking ability for stem cells, this will be a must have instrument for researcher working on stem cells. In addition, paa presented the automate.it scara 2 and scara 4 robots with the Redd & Whyte Preddator versatile liquid handler. Call paa on +44 (0) 1252 373000 for more details of this new innovative cell picker.

10/Nov/2011

paa has been involved with SiLA since its formation. paa have taken the opportunity to be more involved in the associations activities by increasing the membership category to Supporting Member.

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04/Nov/2011

See the new paa facebook fan page, call by and like us !

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26/Oct/2011

An article by Marie A. Macmillan, Jonathan P. Orme & Karen Roberts of AstraZeneca (Alderley Park) using an automate.it safecel controlled by Overlord.

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25/Oct/2011

Come and see us at Biotechnica, Hall 9, Stand E54. We have an automated Mitsubishi workcell, the new automate.it scara 2 and the automate.it sonic bath. The automate.it scara 4 is on the Genetix instrument, Molecular Devices Stand F11.

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10/Oct/2011

'automate.it harmony' se compose de notre robot ”scara automate.it”, de 4 stackers de stockages de microplaques (avec une capacité de 90 plaques) et un logiciel d'application Overlord3 - offrant un contrôle de supervision en function de vos utilisation original article

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05/Oct/2011

Poster from xMAP (Luminex) Vienna Sept 2011: Increasing the number of samples in a multiplexed assay, that is run manually, quickly reveals bottlenecks. This can be the data handling aspect, but commonly it is the operator time required to load and unload the sample plates. A reading step for a multiple analyte experiment on a Luminex 200 can take approximately 30 minutes. Having an operator present for this activity is a waste of resources. This is obviously worse if the operator has to load and unload from multiple Luminex readers.Process Analysis & Automation (paa) have designed and implemented an automated robotic system that provides a fully open access solution that uses two Luminex 200 units, with the capability to support up to four readers.

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04/Oct/2011

The GE Healthcare IN Cell 6000 confocal imager, lunched for the European market at MIPTEC 2011, was displayed automated with the paa automate.it scara 4 robot. video click here ...

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02/Oct/2011

paa are at xMAP promoting our high-quality low-cost automation solutions for Luminex multiplexed xMAP technology. paa offer automation solutions for Flexmap 3D and Luminex 100/200 instruments.

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28/Sep/2011

automate.it harmony can automate a GE Healthcare IN Cell 6000 Workstation and provide automation of the key tasks required to run a wide range of cell-based assays. The GE Healthcare IN Cell Analyzer 6000 is a high performance, laser-based, confocal, high-content analysis system for the most demanding high-content assays and screens.

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25/Sep/2011

automate.it harmony comprises the automate.it scara robot, dual action gripper, Overlord3 scheduler and a set of plate stacks - coupled with the Millipore Guava easyCyte flow cytometer is a powerful combination. original article

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23/Sep/2011

paa are displaying the automate.it scara robot with the new GE Healthcare IN Cell 6000 Imager instrument at MIPTEC (Basel) this week. paa are excited to be involved with the launch of this advanced imaging equipment. This is the European launch of the GE Healthcare IN Cell 6000 confocal imaging instrument and is the stable mate of the widefield IN Cell 2000 instrument.

19/Sep/2011

Fully automated high speed fluorecence decay measurement with the Assaymetrics Fluospec FL plate reader. The revolutionary new laser-based plate reader from AssayMetrics brings robust lifetime discrimination to fluorescent biochemical assays. Fast enough for high throughput screening and flexible enough for quantitative kinetic assays under temperature control.

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13/Sep/2011

paa automated workcells: High Resolution Biosolutions Microserve with Mitsubishi RV-6SD controlled by Overlord3

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11/Sep/2011

paa automated imaging: MD Genetix CloneSelect Imager, automate with an automate.it scara robot.

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05/Sep/2011

Solution11 is a 32-bit Windows dll containing all of the functions necessary to develop 21 CFR part 11 compliant applications.

You have an application that you wish to make 21 CFR part 11 compliant - how do you get there quickly? original article

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22/Aug/2011

The paa automate.it harmony is the most efficient solution to automating the Roche LightCycler® 480. automate.it harmony comprises the automate.it scara robot, Overlord3 scheduler, barcode reader and a set of plate stacks. original article

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16/Aug/2011

automate.it harmony va augmenter votre efficacité et la rentabilité dans votre laboratoire pour vos instruments clés. automate.it harmony se compose de notre robot "scara automate.it", de 4 stackers de stockages de microplaques ( avec une capacité de 90 plaques) et un logiciel d'application Overlord3 - offrant un contrôle de supervision en function de vos utilisations. original article

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11/Aug/2011

Interested in programming and systems integration? We may have a job for you!
Job Type: Permanent
Location: Farnborough, Hants
Salary: £negotiable
Start Date: Immediate

vacancy details...

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09/Aug/2011

Are you interested in automated multiplexed assays ? Contact us to see if you qualify for a free ticket to the Luminex XMAP show in Vienna 28 - 29 Sep 2011. paa can be found on the automation avenue at the show, so please come and see us.

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02/Aug/2011

automate.it connect is a docking station that allows you to remove instruments from your workcell (for use elsewhere or servicing) and then return them for immediate use.

• Maximise the use of expensive instruments - also use them standalone or as part of another workcell
• True 'plug-and-play' technology
• Save time and effort - no adjustments are required when redocking
• Easy access to your instruments

original article

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31/Jul/2011

We are pleased to announce that the paa prize for the best computing project at the University of Surrey (2011) has been presented to Jennifer Handsel. Jennifer receives a cash prize and a certificate. We wish Jennifer success in the next stage of her career studying for a PhD at Oxford.

20/Jul/2011

The easy route to laboratory automation... Overlord3 - instrument control and high performance scheduling in one - optimum throughput and error free assays - right away original article

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14/Jul/2011

Dr Andrew Sparkes, a post-doctoral fellow from the University of Aberystwyth has joined paa. Having completed his groundbreaking work on the Robot Scientist project, Andrew will strengthen the scientific and programming team.

11/Jul/2011

Manually capping tubes is tedious and time consuming procedure. The automate.it cap-smart is a new way to seal 96-format tube racks and microtitre plates. The instrument is semi-automated and uses a choice of electric or pneumatic drives to seal tube racks from any manufacturer. original article

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13/Jun/2011

Overlord has always been a front runner in automation on the latest Windows platform. As Microsoft Windows has moved from Windows 3.31, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 7, Overlord has been modified or rewritten to ensure the Overlord3 application runs reliably.

Microsoft has changed a large number of features in Windows 7. A number of key functions have been removed, other functions have been added in the operating system. Overlord3 has been upgraded to function within this new environment.

Microsoft are moving away from DCOM as a way of communication with external peripherals, this will effect the control software offered by the instrument manufacturers.

In summary, Overlord3 is ready for Windows 7, this does not mean that all automation systems can be run or upgraded to run on Windows 7.

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07/Jun/2011

Do you use multiplexed assays ? Need to increase the throughput ? Come and see us at PlanetxMAP September 28-29, 2011 Vienna, Austria where the expertise of the paa automation team will show automation of the Luminex FLEXMAP 3D instrument.

04/Jun/2011

automate.it harmony will increase your laboratory efficiency

by providing cost effective automation for your key instruments.

automate.it harmony consists of our automate.it scara robot, 4 plate stacks (with 90 plate capacity) and Overlord3 scheduling software providing supervisory control for your instrument and the robot. original article

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02/Jun/2011

Automation of the ForteBio Octet Red384 plate reader has been a joint project between paa and one of our customers in Germany. paa supplied and installed the automate.it scara robot, the customer wrote the instrument driver, which is now part of the Overlord3 driver library. The system handles plates from racks and stacks.

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26/May/2011

Matrical glass bottom microplates offer exceptional optical properties for imaging in the most demanding applications.

High optical quality microplates are required for performing high-content cell based assays using imaging systems. MatriPlate 96, 384, and 1536-well microplates combine the benefits of glass bottomed plates, low background fluorescence, and no crosstalk, to provide the highest possible optical quality for imaging cell based assays. The glass surface within each well is scratch resistant and prevents the formation of microbubbles providing a flat and optically clear surface that is ideal for the study of cell growth. original article

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18/May/2011

automate.it connect is a docking station that allows you to remove instruments from your workcell (for use elsewhere or servicing) and then return them for immediate use.

• Maximise the use of expensive instruments - also use them standalone or as part of another workcell
• True 'plug-and-play' technology
• Save time and effort - no adjustments are required when redocking
• Easy access to your instruments

original article

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18/May/2011

386 instrument drivers now available for Overlord3 (from 123 manufacturers), 96 are ready for Windows 7. See the latest batch of drivers here, or search for the instrument you require here.

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12/May/2011

automate.it safecel is a fully automated workcell comprising; robotics, safety systems, enclosures and integrated instruments:

• achieve the highest throughput and reliability
• conform to all current safety standards
• reduce your effort put into workcell design
• add the instruments of your choice we have over 350 drivers
• Mitsubishi robot
• automate.it safecel works 24/7 - Overlord3 scheduling software, with sophisticated error handling, keeps your assay running

original article

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07/May/2011

3 good reasons to upgrade to Overlord3 from a previous version.

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30/Apr/2011

automate.it storstar™ ensures that your sample has been added to the correct position in a tube rack or microplate. Nowhere is this more vital than in forensic and clinical applications. original article

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11/Apr/2011

Mitsubishi have announced new robot controllers for the range of robots. Smaller footprint, same power and accuracy.

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21/Mar/2011

paa and our partners LGR can fully automate your laboratory providing you with a complete solution at a surprisingly low cost. The LGR "Autolab™" can support over 360 instruments from most manufacturers and can be readily expanded or reconfigured as your requirements change. original article

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20/Mar/2011

A lot of interest in the Matrical Squirt instrument and general instrument automation with the automate.it harmony instrument accessory at the ELRIG Cell Based Screening Meeting on 15th March 2011.

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20/Mar/2011

See our Japanese distributor's catalogue on-line

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20/Mar/2011

Don't forget Hinxton Hall tomorrow. With a full Speaker Programme and Exhibition Hall, Careers Zone, Innovation Zone and Posters... this is a meeting not to miss!

Confirmed talks include:

• A New Light on Cell Screening: Emergent Photonics Technologies for the 21st Century
• Stem Cell Differentiation using Small Molecules
• A Miniaturised Discovery System Based on Picodroplets
• Taqman-Based Enhanced Sensitivity Immunoassays for Drug Discovery
• Functional Genomics and Compound Screening in Organotypic 3D Cell Cultures
• Using Microfluidics for the Next Generation of Automated Ion Channel Screening
• Di-electrophoresis (DEP) for Ion Channel, Toxicology and Stem Cell Differentation
• High Throughput Screening of Organotypic Lung Cultures

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14/Mar/2011

SQUIRT can wash any 96, 384 and 1536-well SBS formatted plate without manifold exchange or adjustment. SQUIRT's unique design sweeps a blade of liquid across the whole surface of the plate. This is followed by an air blade to dry the plate. SQUIRT microplate washers are perfect for any lab performing cell based assays, ELISA, coating microplates, high content screening, proteomics and genomics research. The SQUIRT can be fitted with a magnetic plate insert for applications using magnetic beads. original article

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23/Feb/2011

automate.it harmony the intrument accessory. Using the paa automate.it scara robot and Overlord3 (our easy to use, industry leading scheduling software) you can enhance your laboratory instrument performance with minimal investment. original article

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22/Feb/2011

paa are please to announce that Kim Pusey joins paa in the roles of receptionist and company administration. Kim comes to paa from the Royal Bank of Scotland anti-fraud unit.

12/Feb/2011

paa are please to announce that Peter Cornforth joins paa as Installation Manager. Peter has experience in technical sales and as a servicing specialist at Labsystems, Thermo and Varian.

12/Feb/2011

paa had Overlord3 running in the Matrical and Biodirect booths, with excellent attendance at the paa booth and for the paa booth presentations, the show was a great success.

12/Feb/2011

Rob Harkness (paa) was pleased to present Manori Turmel (Novartis, MA) with the Apple iPad that she won in the paa booth prize draw.

12/Feb/2011

A recent record attendance at ALA saw the paa booth busy for the whole show. The Overlord3 'basic/advanced/set up a workcell' presentations were well attended. more on Overlord3...

paa also promoted the automate.it harmony automation upgrade for most laboratory instruments more on automate.it harmony...

08/Feb/2011

Come to the paa lecture program, basic, advanced Overlord3 use & set up a lab auto workstation. Click

to see larger programme image.

21/Jan/2011

Win an Apple iPAD. Come to the paa lecture program, basic, advanced Overlord3 use & set up a lab auto workstation. Click

to see larger programme image.

21/Jan/2011

Come and see us at Palm Springs 30th Jan-1st Feb, we are showing Overlord3 with an automated IN Cell 2000 workstation controlled by Overlord3. original article

21/Jan/2011

We will present a series of short seminars on our booth (Lab Automation 2011, Palm Springs) Jan 30, 31, Feb 1. We will present the topics of Basic and Advanced Overlord use & a 'hands-on' systems integration on a live IN Cell 2000/Peak KiNEDx robot system. original article

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17/Jan/2011

2011 will see only Overlord3 in the paa laboratory automation control software catalogue. If you have an existing version of Overlord (Overlord 1, Overlord Workstation, Overlord Scheduler, Overlord3), there are major benefits to upgrading to Overlord3.

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14/Dec/2010

Overlord 3 is simple to use software for automating laboratory procedures. It combines instrument control with high performance scheduling - ensuring optimum throughput and error free assay results.

Save time and money in your laboratory...

• Error free automation
• Overlord3 always presents the optimal scheduling solution
• Overlord 3 has drivers for over 370 most common instruments
• Reliable, hassle free assay automation
• Operators love using the software
• Run Simple to complex assays
• Overlord 3 the most cost effective solution
• Overlord 3 is available through many systems integrators and instrument vendors or direct from paa

original article

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27/Nov/2010

We have an office administrator job vacancy at our Head Office Building in Farnborough, Hampshire, UK.

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24/Nov/2010

From 1st January 2011, Overlord Workstation (Overlord1) will not be supported by paa. Replaced by Overlord3 in 2007, the underlying software technology (Visual Basic 6) is no longer supported by Microsoft. If you have an existing Overlord Workstation controlled system, we will be offering discounted software rates to upgrade to Overlord3 for projects ordered in January and February 2011. For more information on a reduced price software upgrade. This does not effect OEM products based on Overlord Workstation

Overlord - The world's leading laboratory automation software Contact +44 (0) 1252 373000 for more information.

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04/Nov/2010

A webinar, broadcast in October, allowed paa to present their solutions for automating high content screening (HCS) systems. Although sponsored by Molecular Devices, the general ideas can be used on any HCS system from GE Healthcare, Genetix or Cellomics.

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28/Oct/2010

paa presented our range of automate.it safecel laboratory automation workcells and connect+ cart/trolleys with a Mitsubishi robot for microplate manipulation at Biotechnica (2010). The moving display attracted exhibition visitors for all three days with delegates three deep watching the extravagant moves, breathtaking speed and awesome accuracy of the Mitsubishi robot.

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22/Oct/2010

paa showed the new Mitsubishi robot in a automate.it safecel with an automate.it connect bench at the Biotechnica show. Large crowds were drawn the fast moving, super accurate robot which is the new machine in the paa robot range.

11/Oct/2010

If you are planning a laboratory automation project, from the very small to the very large, automate.it safecel provides the most cost effective solution.

automate.it safecel is a system of fully automated workcells comprising robotics, enclosures, safety systems and an array of integrated instruments.

Every safecel is custom made using a series of well tried and tested building blocks. There is a safecel technology available fully meeting your requirements.

original article

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27/Sep/2010

We will be showing the automate.it safecel with a connect plus docking cart (trolley) in the paa booth (Hall 9, Stand E48).

23/Sep/2010

SonicMan is a high throughput multi-probe sonication instrument developed by MatriCal, configurable with 96, 384, and 1536-well formats. Click link for all the information.

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23/Sep/2010

If you are planning a laboratory automation project, of any size, automate.it safecel is the choice for many leading biotech and pharmaceutical companies.

automate.it safecel is a system of fully automated workcells comprising robotics, safety systems, enclosures and an array of integrated instruments.

Every safecel is custom made using a series of well tried and tested building blocks.

paa has manufactured and supplied automated workcells to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries for more than ten years. With automate.it safecel you are guaranteed reliability and first rate service. original article

23/Sep/2010

We will be showing the automate.it safecel with a connect plus docking cart (trolley) in the booth of our Dutch partners BRS.

23/Sep/2010

We don't have a booth, but we will be at MIPTEC. Give me a call (+44 7725 762009).

14/Sep/2010

paa will have booth E5/F5 at ELRIG in Coventry next week. We will be showing automate.it connect+ and Overlord3 on our demonstration workcell.

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26/Aug/2010

We are pleased to announce that our Project Manager, Rob Harkness, has been awarded a PhD.

21/Aug/2010

automate.it connect saves you time and money

Ever needed to remove an instrument in your automated workcell for manual use, for servicing or even for use in another workcell... then had to reteach the robot positions when the instrument is returned?

What you need is automate.it connect.

Instruments that need to be accessed regularly are mounted on the unique automate.it connect removable docking stations which is available with all our automate.it safecel - automation workcells. original article

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19/Aug/2010

paa have joined the SiLA consortium. The SiLA consortium stands for Standardisation in Lab Automation, and develops and introduces new device and data interface standards allowing rapid integration of lab automation and data management systems. Leading system manufacturers, software suppliers, system integrators and pharma/biotec corpo­ra­tions form the SiLA consortium and contribute in different technical work groups with their highly skilled experts.

SiLA is a not-for-profit membership corporation with global footprint. Membership is open for institutions, corpo­ra­tions and individuals active in the life science lab automation industry.

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17/Aug/2010

We are pleased to announce that the paa prize for the best computing project at the University of Surrey has been presented to Alex Baggott. Alex receives a cash prize and a certificate. We wish Alex success in the next stage of his career studying fo a PhD in Scotland.

12/Aug/2010

Vacancy - Installation Engineer.

A pro-active engineer is required for our automation work cell production team.

The job will involve assembly of robotic work cells, at our facility in Ash Vale, and then their deconstruction and reassembly on customer sites in the UK and Europe.

Experience of mechanical assembly is essential. Experience with wiring, control systems and drive systems would be beneficial.

You will be a confident problem solver who is able to work both independently and a part of our team.

Please contact +44 (0) 1252 373000 for more information.

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04/Aug/2010

NitroStore is the first automated -80°C to -160°C automated sample storage system.

The glass transition temperature of water is -134°C. Storage of cells below this temperature avoids crystallization which causes membrane damage.

Matrical biobanking storage systems are available in a range of temperatures to low as -160°C for reliable storage of YOUR samples.

original article

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01/Aug/2010

Our Japanese distributor showed Overlord3 controlling the automate.it scara robot at the BioExpo show in Japan July 2010.

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01/Aug/2010

paa have outgrown the small engineering area of Falcon House and have invested in a new state of the art engineering facility. The new facility has been in use for three months and has increased our capacity for laboratory automation workcell manufacture.

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27/Jul/2010

The difficult decision on what scheduler to use is a thing of the past. Overlord3 always presents the optimum solution - guaranteeing you the highest available throughput.

You only define a procedure for one plate - Overlord3 does the rest. Setting-up and modifying procedures couldn't be simpler. More on Overlord3...

original article

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02/Jul/2010

SYTOX kinetic assays are time consuming and impact on laboratory efficiency. paa in association with La Trobe University and Molecular Devices have developed a low cost and reliable solution. original article

12/Jun/2010

From a controlled timed reading of a single assay plate to a stacker plate reader combo, to a full robotic system, paa have the equipment solution for your kinetic assay.

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12/Jun/2010

SonicMan is a high throughput multi-probe sonication instrument developed by MatriCal, configurable with 96, 384, and 1536-well formats. SonicMan uses disposable pin lids to transfer sonic energy to each individual well and to prevent well-to-well cross contamination.

• AUTOMATION FRIENDLY - plates or tube racks are placed on a retractable shuttle making it fully automation friendly.
• HIGH THROUGHPUT - the SonicMan can shear 384 DNA samples to 250 bp in hours
• EXCELLENT DISTRIBUTION - the random fragments generated are suitable for the sequencing of large genomes
• LOW CONSUMABLE COSTS - bringing the cost per sample down for your laboratory, with no specialised reagents required
• EASY TO USE - the software is fully

original email... original article

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18/May/2010

The automate.it scara robotic arm, designed for handling microtitre plates, is the perfect partner for drug discovery, genomics and high content screening.

original email... original article

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28/Apr/2010

Matrical 96, 384 and 1536-well microplates - Applications include laser-induced fluorescence (LIF), fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) and nephelometry.

• Ideal for cell-based assays using scanning and confocal imagers including MGB101 (384-well) and MGB111 (1536-well) offer 20-120 and 1-12µl working volumes. Both have flat bottoms and 'rounded' square microwells to eliminate liquid wicking.
  
  
• Unmatched flatness tolerances - individual window flatness better than 2 microns over a 0.75mm square field of view, frame flatness better than 150 microns.

original email... original article

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14/Apr/2010

Unfortunately, Malcolm Crook will not present at LRIG, Boston, 27th April, 2010 because of travel disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano and the unhelpfulness of American Airlines.

09/Apr/2010

paa will show the automate.it scara robot loading a Matrical Squirt washer controlled by Overlord3 on the Matrical booth at SBS in Phoenix next week 13th-15th April 2010.

09/Apr/2010

At paa, we are excited about sharing the upcoming SBS Conference and want to welcome you to the Matrical booth at SBS, Phoenix ! We will be showcasing our expanded line of products including a complete line of microplates, storage tubes, and culture flasks; an automated platform with the automate.it scara robot, benchtop sonicators (SonicMAN), plate washer (Squirt), automated platforms for cell culture (MACCS), sample storage / BioBanking (MiniStore/NitroStore), and Assay workstation (AutoMAP). Please stop by our booth #105 to learn about our newest innovation's for life science research.  original article

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31/Mar/2010

The SQUIRT microplate washer is designed for reliability either as a bench top device or in an integrated robotic system.

SQUIRT microplate washers can wash any 96, 384 and 1536 well SBS formatted plate without manifold exchange or adjustment at speeds up to three wash/dry cycles per 15 seconds.

The SQUIRT microplate washer's unique slit manifold design sweeps a blade of liquid across the whole surface of the plate. A second manifold completes the operation by drying with an air blade. This minimizes clogging of the manifold and eliminates the 'corona effect' where cells are selectively removed from the centre of the wells during washing with traditional probe based instruments. original article

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30/Mar/2010

The unique automate.it connect system of demountable instrument benches allows expensive instruments to be used in multiple applications - maximising your return on investment. original article

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16/Mar/2010

Achieve fast unattended retrieval while increasing researcher productivity. It can take 2 technicians 2 weeks to complete 10,000 picks, the MiniStore can achieve this task in less than one day.

original e-mail...

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15/Mar/2010

“A workcell is an arrangement of resources in a manufacturing environment to improve the quality, speed and cost of the process. Workcells are designed to improve these by improving process flow and eliminating waste.” Wikepedia

The automate.it safecel™ from paa is a complete solution to integrated laboratory workcell development. Download brochure

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09/Mar/2010

We are pleased to welcome Mike Patten to the Laboratory Automation team. Mike joins us from QinetiQ and has been appointed as a Production Engineer working on automate.it safecel manufacture.

09/Mar/2010

We have most of the presentations fron the paa conference in January, use link to move to the downloads. Includes the presentation from Dr Chris Lovell (University of Southampton) who was unable to attend the conference because of bad weather.

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25/Feb/2010

automate.it safecel allows robotic workcells to be used in compliance with all standards associated with the safe use of robotics.

safecel enclosure system is a flexible design which accommodates all applications, from a simple two instrument ELISA system to complex assays requiring many instruments.

The operation of the workcell is optimized and controlled by Overlord3™ scheduling software - reduces development time and provides simple runtime operation. The extensive driver library provides access to over 350 commonly used instruments.

With modular cells, options for enclosures and environmental control, safecel systems are tailored to your individual needs. Rectangular and hexagonal designs are available.

original email... original article

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17/Feb/2010

paa are pleased to announce that Dr Malcolm Crook has been elected President of the Association for Laboratory Automation (ALA) for 2010.

11/Feb/2010

Overlord3 is the first laboratory automation scheduler that seamlessly contains both dynamic (event driven) and static (time driven) scheduling in one application

You can develop and optimize automation applications with a single software package.

Difficult decisions on what scheduling algorithm to use are a thing of the past. Overlord3 is never having to ask yourself, which is the best scheduler for a job.

Overlord3 always presents the best solution for a batch of samples, rapid plate management OR all plates are treated the same, depending on the requirements of the assay.

original email... original article

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18/Jan/2010

paa have booth #442 alongside one of US partners Matrical. Our other US partners will be at the show: Biosero (#137) & Dynamic Devices (#478).

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14/Jan/2010

paa are please to announce that the KBiosystems Scorpion stacker has been integrated into Overlord3. Ideal for any instrument that is physically compatible, Overlord3 can control this stacker AND and the instrument to be loaded and unloaded. See the stacker in operation KBiosystems Scorpion video...

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21/Dec/2009

There are a number of seed money grants from the European Laboratory Automation Interest Group (ELRIG). The grants of £2,000-£3,000 will allow projects that my go unfunded, get a push to get going. Contact +44 (0) 1252 373000 for more information.

17/Dec/2009

For the first time for a while, we have added all the new instrument drivers we have from our partners and from paa to the driver list download. Get your copy ordered by MANUFACTURER TYPE here or by open new web page: INSTRUMENT TYPE here.

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12/Nov/2009

See the Overlord3 updated drivers list at new drivers.... New drivers include the following drivers:

• paa serial driver/paa dde driver/paa twain driver
• Agilent (Velocity 11) VWorks
• BioTek MicroFlo
• Thermo Cellomics Arrayscan
• Berthold Orion L/II & L/Simplicity software
• BioTek ELx406 Plate Washer/Diluter
• Molecular Devices Isocyte
• Essen IncuCyte
• KBiosystems Scorpion stacker
• FluidX xpp-712 Personal Pipettor
• Agilent Empower 1 (HPLC)
• Covaris L8 mixing system
  
  

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07/Nov/2009

See over 50 video examples of systems that we have built at the paa video channel on YouTube. These include the use of

• stackers, laboratory and factory robots
• general and high content plate readers
• small medium & large workcells
• fully integrated workcells
• wide range of liquid handling from nanolitre to millilitre
• sample preparation applications

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04/Nov/2009

Matt Sims of Addenbrooke’s Hospital has joined the strong list of speakers at the paa University Conference day and will present a talk entitled "From Biosample to Genetic Loci: Automating Epidemiology in a Small Laboratory"

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23/Oct/2009

This conference follows last years successful meeting and introduces many new and exciting developments in European academia and seeks to address the constantly changing needs of industry. The speaker programme features leading academics in laboratory automation and will be of interest to academics and industrialists. Presentations will provide practical insights and detailed case studies by scientists for scientists. register here... original article

16/Oct/2009

Matrical Bioscience's SonicMan, ultrasonic device, has recently been proven to effectively shear in parallel 96 DNA or chromatin samples with low CV's to sizes as low as 50 base pairs in 4 hours. The newest version of this machine fragments DNA in isothermal conditions via on-line chiller block which allows for the low base peak fragments required for next generation sequencing.

original email... original article

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12/Oct/2009

Metabolite profiling from radiolabelled pre-clinical and Phase I ADME samples can be a time consuming process. The radiolabelled drug-related material in plasma and excreta from these studies is commonly quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) followed by radiochemical detection.

Presented as a poster by Anthony Dickie (Servier).

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11/Oct/2009

The conference and exhibition went ahead with 150 delegates. The conference lectures were of a very high standard and we were treated to the diverse use of lab automation in universities and not for profit research centres in the UK, USA and Europe. Presentations will be made available as soon as possible.

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09/Oct/2009

WEATHER UPDATE Monday 11th January 07:30.

We have an organiser at Hinxton Hall and the weather is OK and all routes to Cambridge are OK. Currently, the Conference and Exhibition will go ahead on Tuesday with a full complement of speakers and exhibitors. Please return for more updates. Forecast (Saffron Walden) Monday Grey Cloud Day 1C Night 0C, Tuesday Grey Cloud Day 0C Night -2C

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09/Oct/2009

At Hinxton Hall, Cambridge on 12th January 2010. With 23 exhibitors (some you may not have met before), delegates signed up from all over the world and a great confirmed speakers program, the 2010 conference is looking to be as great success as 2009. The 'Lifting the Lid on Academic Lab Auto Research 2' conference aims to show many new and exciting developments in European & World academia and to address the constantly changing needs of industry.

There will be the conference, poster session, exhibition, lunch & refreshments.

more details ...

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09/Oct/2009

Achieve fast unattended retrieval while increasing researcher productivity. It can take 2 technicians 2 weeks to complete 10,000 picks, the MiniStore can achieve this task in less than one day.

original e-mail...

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07/Oct/2009

paa took on 5 other local software companies in a 90 min go kart challenge on Monday night 28th Sept. With 2 karts for each team, paa took a crediable 3rd position. The team were Rob, Mike, Ian, Ron and Malcolm, with Rob posting the fastest lap.

01/Oct/2009

Malcolm Crook gave a presentation at Celisca 2009 (Rostock) entitled "Advances in Laboratory Automation Workcell Hardware and Software Design", and discussed paa's advances in software (Overlord3 & Assay Manager) and hardware (enclosures & automate.it connect/connect plus benches)

23/Sep/2009

• Tradeshows
• Matrical Ministore
• process cryovials
• Matrical Squirt
• laser etched 2d barcode labels

original article

23/Sep/2009

SonicMan high-throughput sonicator can shear 96 samples to smears centered on 150 with nothing above 250 base-pairs in four hours.

original e-mail... original article

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15/Sep/2009

paa presented two posters at ELRIG (1009) in Liverpool. The first was entitled "Software Trends in Automation" and covered the software architecture of Overlord3. The second poster was entitled "Novel ways of controlling laboratory automated work cells" and described the use of Assay Manager in the modern busy automated laboratory. See the full posters...

09/Sep/2009

An automate.it scara robot and barcode reader, provides the basic platform for automated analysis. Combine a LHS24 liquid handler for reagent/antibody addition, an incubator, plate washer and a plate reader for automated ELISA.

original e-mail… original article

18/Aug/2009

An automate.it robot and barcode reader, provide the basic platform for an automated workstation. Choose the other instruments you need for sample preparation and analysis and we will do the rest!

original e-mail... original article

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04/Aug/2009

A compact, high-speed whole rack tube decapper/recapper that can automatically remove the caps from a full Matrix (or similar) 96-tube rack in less than 10 seconds. The xdc-96 can be used stand-alone or integrated into automated systems using Overlord3 and an automate.it scara robot.

original e-mail... original article

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04/Aug/2009

"Advances in Laboratory Automation Workcell Hardware and Software Design", paper by the paa team will be presented at the CELISCA 7th International Forum on Life Science Automation, 16th-18th September 2009 in Rostock, Germany.

Abstract
2009 has seen a growth in new ideas for the laboratory automation market. New computing ideas that are based on .NET allow new user interface software to be developed at a reduced and therefore an economic price to that previously possible. Alternative hardware designs based on advanced factory automation have given customers additional choices such removable equipment trolleys, light curtain protected safety cages and remote system monitoring. Case studies of systems that include these technologies that have been implemented will be presented.

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04/Aug/2009

A professional design study will enable you to confidently prepare a budget or place an order with the minimum risk.

• reduce the cost of the final system, as the supplier's requirement for contingency is greatly reduced
• avoid building a system that fails to meet your requirements
• achieve the most cost effective performance
• and, when you come to ordering delivery times will be shortened, as the design work is already done

original e-mail... original article

22/Jul/2009

automate.it connect plus allows you to remove your instrument from a workcell for manual use or servicing, then return it to the workcell with no robot reteaching. Power, signal and gas all connected automatically.

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22/Jul/2009

FQS Update Magazine Vol 4 Issue 4 July 2009

The automate.it storstar is an x-y robotic platform, coupled with an aperture that ensures that your sample has been reliably added to the correct position in a tube rack or microplate. Nowhere is this more important than in forensic science laboratories, where the samples will be used as evidence.

original article (page 4)...

01/Jul/2009

The automate.it storstar is an x-y robotic platform, coupled with an aperture to ensure your sample is added to the correct position in a tube rack or microplate. storstar is used in biobanks, clinical laboratories and forensic science to guarantee the correct placement of critical samples in plates and racks.

original email... original article

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24/Jun/2009

Come to the Biospeed booth at BIOFORUM and BIOEXPO 2009 at the Tokyo Big Sight Exhibition Centre in Tokyo between 01/Jul/2009 and 03/Jul/2009.

21/Jun/2009

Forensic Magazine® E-Newsletter June 17, 2009 | Volume 3, Issue 24

The automate.it storstar is an x-y robotic platform, coupled with an aperture that ensures that your sample has been reliably added to the correct position in a tube rack or microplate. Nowhere is this more important than in forensic science laboratories, where the samples will be used as evidence.

original article...

17/Jun/2009

The cooperatively working Mitsubishis installed in the advanced scientific testing cell at the University of Wales at Aberystwyth are reported by Reuters. Some really nice video footage of the most advance paa workcell to date.

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22/May/2009

paa are looking for a reliable and dynamic person to take over in this new sales role in the UK. Consumables sales person vacancy, more details...

08/May/2009

After paa and Matrical merged their markting efforts recently, SBS 2009 in Lille was the first opportunity to share a booth. The automate.it safecel L was shown alongside the Matrical Squirt, Scienion sciSWIFTER as well as the Matrical range of sample storage products.

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05/May/2009

The automate.it LHS range of liquid handlers provides a cost effective solution for plate replication, row/column transfer, serial dilution and reagent addition. The wide volume range, the ability to easily change heads and to select rows, columns and quadrants of tips make the LHS the most flexible bench top pipetting station available.

original email...

more Information on web page...

23/Apr/2009

paa and Matrical have announced a strategic partnership to leverage our combined product portfolio and support teams to the life science research market.

20/Apr/2009

Overlord3 SocketSet enables you to use your existing scheduling software with any instruments in the extensive Overlord3 library.

Why pay for the development of new drivers/adapters - when SocketSet will give you access to the library of 300+ drivers currently available?

Overlord3 SocketSet provides a method for accessing the extensive Overlord3 driver library.

There are drivers for all common instruments used in laboratory automation including: robots, plate readers, incubators, storage systems, heaters, shakers and liquid dispensers.

The simple configuration of Overlord3 SocketSet allows calls form third party software packages eg POLARA, EVOware, SAMI etc.

original email... original article

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17/Apr/2009

Aberystwyth University Robot Scientist Home Page...

Scientific American...

National Geographic...

10/Apr/2009

The world's media have shown a lot of interest in the paa system at Aberystwyth University.

The Times of London ...

USA Today ...

New Scientist ...

CNet ...

India Telegraph ...

BBC News ...

03/Apr/2009

Eve, the robot scientist project at Aberystwyth University, was supplied by paa, and Adam will eventually be controlled by Overlord3, the paa automated laboratory automation control software. BBC News ...

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03/Apr/2009

Fill-It from The Automation Partnership (TAP), is a new product for rapid dispensing cell suspensions and other liquids into screw-cap vials, and includes automation for removing and replacing the vial caps. Coupled with Overlord 2 and the paa SCARA robot this provides a cost effective fully automated solution for filling capped vials.

original e-mail... original article

19/Mar/2009

automate.it SAFEcel provides you with the correct level of safety, accessibility and rigidity for reliable automated applications.

• True plug and play docking of instruments using automate.it connect - enabling your instruments to be used in multiple applications
• Connect different instrument benches to the same robot loading system to changes assays
• Benefit from full 360 degree access to the instrument bench when the robot is not operating
• Conveniently manage your automation system to suit your application

original email...

more information on web page... original article

19/Mar/2009

Trinity College Dublin held an open evening (13th March 2009) to show case the current high tech biochemistry projects. paa assisted on the Institute of Molecular Medicine exhibit (an existing customer) with FutureLab and TTP. The automate.it scara robot was fitted with a LCD screen showing a range of high content cell screens and equipment from the IMM laboratory. See the video...

14/Mar/2009

A unique First In-First out plate stacker is now available in Europe. Loading from the bottom and taking from the top allows easy room temperature incubations with no time-consuming restacking at the end of each batch of plates. Contact +44 (0) 1252 373000 for more information.

20/Feb/2009

paa showed the automate.it safecel range of automation enclosures at Palm Springs. The larger stand encouraged more delegates ten ever before to stop by and see us. The light guarded version was on display, but other versions are avaiable, see safecel range

10/Feb/2009

Successful lab automation is key to the success of drug discovery, DNA screening programmes, product development and quality control.

This conference introduced the many new and exciting developments in European academia and addressed the constantly changing needs of industry. The speaker programme featured leading academics in laboratory automation and was of interest to the 160 delegates. Presentations provided practical insights and detailed case studies by scientists for scientists.

Delegates learnt different approaches to automation which will prove invaluable particularly those planning new automation projects or struggling to get the performance that they require. Time was set aside for plenty of networking activity as well as the poster session and exhibition of the leading suppliers of automation equipment.

Full details about the conference, exhibitors & download presentations

10/Feb/2009

A new gripper that can be attached to the automate.it scara robot has been announced. When mounted on the standard electric gripper, the robot can address microplates from both landscape and portrait posirions as well as loading and unloading both stacks and racks.
automate.it scara robot utility gripper details
automate.it scara robot details
automate.it scara robot accessories

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09/Jan/2009

Overlord3 now sports a number of stylish wrappers for easier use of automation systems. Experiment Manager for Overlord3 allows the user to say which method and how many plates are to be run on a workstation, and then Overlord3 takes over in the background and delivers the completed runs. Multiple runs can be queued up and are traceable to the operator that added the run. Laboratory Manager for Overlord3 allows a series of workstations running Experiment Manager to be controlled remotely.

01/Dec/2008

"Influencing Stem Cell Fate Using Small Molecules" has now been published by Prof Frearson and Dr Paul Andrews at University of Dundee (Digital 2008 1 p18) and you can view it at EPR article. The system uses a paa supplied workcell for some of the studies.

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19/Nov/2008

European Pharmaceutical Review commissioned Malcolm Crook & Rob Harkness to supply an article on laboratory automation basics. "So you want to automate your laboratory?" has now been published ((Digital 2008 1 p44) and you can view it at EPR article

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19/Nov/2008

paa and TAP are pleased to announce a unique and automated cell dispensing system. See the application note ...

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18/Nov/2008

For some activities, 4 is just not enough ! To give added flexibility and in response to a request from a major pharmaceutical company paa have added an additional axis to the automate.it SCARA robot to provide an even more flexible solution to their successful robot range.

The additional axis now allows plates and samples to be presented in a vertical format. See the video...

13/Nov/2008

Our instrument partners GE Heathcare are looking for a suitable person to work within the Instrument Development Installed Base support team. The scientist is responsible for understanding and developing system integration solutions and support for high-throughput biological assays, establish in-house scientific excellence in optical imaging for cell biology assays, including hardware and software system capabilities. More details…

26/Oct/2008

paa are pleased to announce that Dr Malcolm Crook has been appointed to the ELRIG Board. Malcolm will work on the prizes and awards committee.

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20/Oct/2008

paa showed the 660mm extended reach automate.it SCARA robot with electric gripper, as well as loading and unloading a Molecular Devices ImageXpress instrument on the Molecular Devices booth.

26/Sep/2008

Successful lab automation is key to the success of drug discovery, DNA screening programmes, product development and quality control.

This conference aims to introduce the many new and exciting developments in European academia and to address the constantly changing needs of industry. The speaker programme features leading academics in laboratory automation and will be of interest to academics and industrialists alike. Presentations will provide practical insights and detailed case studies by scientists for scientists.

Delegates will learn about different approaches to automation which will prove invaluable particularly those planning new automation projects or struggling to get the performance that they require. Time will be set aside for plenty of networking activity. Accompanying the programme of presentations will be a poster session and exhibition featuring the leading suppliers of automation equipment. 

There will be the conference, poster session, exhibition, lunch & refreshments.

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10/Sep/2008

Small, medium and large automated workstations for all applications and laboratory sizes !

• DNA normalization
• Compound reformatting, cherry picking and dose response curves
• High content screening

original article

30/Aug/2008

The Overlord3 developers have been working to increase the number of instrument drivers for projects that on which we have been working. We now have additional drivers for Beckman, Covaris, FluidX, Gilson, Kibron, Molecular Devices, TAP, Tecan, Thermo, Velocity 11 and Xiril. We retain the greatest number of instrument drivers avaiable for laboratory automation. Check out the new drivers now

or have a look and see if Overlord2 could the the laboratory automation package of choice for your laboratory.

30/Aug/2008

Overlord3 real time scheduler is now available from the paa web store. This is the fast way to automate your laboratory.

Whether you are interested in building a large automated system or simple work cell Overlord3 will provide the most straightforward solution.

Overlord3 introduces the concept of sockets. Each socket enables you to control a separate instrument or connect to a database. These include barcode readers, robots, microplate readers, shakers, incubators and storage systems. There are over 300 standard device drivers to choose from.

Overlord3 provides:

• Ease of programming
• Rapid assay development
• Reduce system downtime
• Full recovery from device errors

For custom automation paa provides a complete design and integration service. original article

05/Aug/2008

Purchase your automation consumables requirements on-line and make great savings in time and money!

The paa web shop provides a huge range of:

• Microplates
• PCR thermal cycler plates
• Reservoir plates and trays
• Transparent bottom plates
• Pipette tips – Tecan, PE, Quiagen, Biomax
• Barcode printers, readers and labels
• Software – automation, 21 CFR part 11 compliance tools
• Many other automation accessories

original article

05/Aug/2008

Welcome to Esay summer edition from paa the easy way to stay in touch

• Overlord - the standard for laboratory automation
• automate.it storstar - a unique secure x-y robotic platform
• NEW automate.it SAFEcel L - offering complete safety for powerful robots

original article

01/Jul/2008

If you are going to BIOFORUM & BIOEXPO 2008 in Tokyo, make sure you look in at the Biospeed booth and see the paa range of products.

16/Jun/2008

paa and our partners BCon and Matrical showed Overlord3 controlling an automate.it scara robot (with the new electric gripper) loading a Matrical SQUIRT plate washer and a Hidex CHAMELEON plate reader. The robot was later installed at J & J after the show.

13/Jun/2008

paa launched their alliance with Dutscher Scientific Instruments (DSI) at Forum Labo Paris this week. The booth was a segment of the large Dutscher booth, specialists in laboratory consumables. DSI showed a range of instruments including the automate.it SCARA arm loading an automate.it LHS24, a BioDot nanopipettor and an SPR instrument from ICX Technologies.

10/Jun/2008

As part of the expansion into Europe, paa are please to announce the co-sponsorship of the next ELRIG meeting in Belgium with our partners Matrical and BCON Instruments. We will be showing the automate.it SCARA robot connected to a new range of instruments.

30/May/2008

We are pleased to announce that Dr Lorna Jones has joined us from British Aerospace. Her degrees were in computational and computer aided chemistry, but has been more recently working on the software control of security systems.

29/May/2008

The automate.it drystore is a cost efficient way to store your compounds in a dry atmosphere. The cabinet is NEMA 4 compliant and maintains a dry atmosphere to at least 2.5% (settable). The unit is compact measuring just 813mm wide and 2023mm high, with a capacity of up to 2646 SBS standard microtitre plates. More…

24/May/2008

We were sharing the BRS booth and showing our low cost automated pipetting workcell featuring the automate.it Scara robot loading an automate.it LHS24 pipetting station.

21/May/2008

Queensland Health (2 x automate.it storstar units) have just informed us that they are very happy with the instruments.



Queensland Health is part of the Queensland State Government in Australia and use the devices for DNA Analysis, Forensic and Scientific Services. paa are very pleased that Queensland Health like using our unique tube storage device. More details...

11/May/2008

We have tested the automate.it SCARA robot, and yes, it will run at 4°C ! We have data that show the variation at ±12.5 microns.



The x scale is no of robot motions, y scale is 0.0025mm (1/1000"), the range of deviation is +/-0.0127mm (0.0005").

08/May/2008

Water Absorption in your Compound Library Costs you Money !

- the new automate.it drystor is the answer original article

01/May/2008

paacman shows the 3D CAD of our successful automated high content screening system with an automate.it SCARA robot feeding a GE Healthcare IN Cell 1000 instrument. Run 90-135 plates with full sample tracking and IN Cell data file renaming to guarantee data integrity for all your samples.

30/Apr/2008

A satisfield customer in Scotland writes "We are considering upgrading the robotic arm system integrated to the IN Cell 1000 analyser and, because we have had a very positive experience with the automate.it SCARA system you supplied us with previously, it would be useful if you could provide us with a quote for the same robotic arm fully integrated with the IN Cell (we have a barcode reader and Overlord 2 software already).

26/Apr/2008

paa showed new automated products:

• ELISA on a chip with Diagnoswiss (paa
• automated conveyor belt (Biosero)
• automated StakMax/plate reader (Molecular Devices)
• JANUS Project Manager (PerkinElmer)
• automated robotic workcells (Peak Robotics)
• Automated Label-Free plate reader for Drug Discovery Applications (SRU Biosystems)

17/Apr/2008

Overlord3 SocketSet allows laboratory automation scientists use the Overlord3 driver list to run 3rd party instrumentation from the existing control software that does not have an instrument driver for that instrument. For example, run an automate.it LHS pipetting station from POLARA.

More information

26/Mar/2008

paa are pleased to announce that we will be able to offer automated ELISA on a chip in the Summer 2008. Working closely with DiagnoSwiss in Switzerland, paa are using their automation expertise to automated the DiagnoSwiss Gravi-Chip with laboratory robot and pipetting station all controlled by Overlord3. More information …

16/Mar/2008

paa have invested in a new addition to our SolidWorks CAD system that allows us to view you entire system in 3D from any angle. See an example video here …

07/Mar/2008

Integrate the automate.it In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) Incubatorwith all all liquid handlers with Overlord SOCKETset

• More details:click here
  
  What is Overlord SOCKETset?
  
  New concept in instrument software control, click here
• Use the entire Overlord3 driver library from your application (e.g. POLARA)
• Simple command line call to get theinstrument functionality you need
• Over 270 instruments supported. More details: click here
• Use Overlord SOCKETset to control the IVD on your system
  
  

original article

01/Mar/2008

The automate.it In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) Incubator

Compact stackable microplate incubator / incubator shakers with total software control

Incubator (with optional shaker)

• Fully IVD compliant
• Shallow or deep well plate versions/Stackable for independent plate environment control
• Small footprint
• Fully automatable - parameters fully programmable
• RT up to 80°C in 15 minutes/Temperature ±1°C across the chamber
• Easy integration to all liquid handlers with Overlord SOCKETset

original article

01/Mar/2008

See Overlord3 controlling ELISA on a chip at SBS,

April 6-10, St Louis, MO (Booth #1909). Come to our booth and see this novel ELISA automation workcell:

• ELISA simply faster!
• DiagnoSwiss ELISA on a chip - More details: click here
• Fluid handling and plate feed for the ELISA unit
• Overlord3
• Overlord3 SocketSet - over 270 instrument drivers

See Overlord range on other booths:

• Biosero (Booth #1527)/Molecular Devices (Booth #401)/PerkinElmer (Booth #813)
  
  

original article

01/Mar/2008

paa are pleased to anounce that Dr Malcolm Crook has been appointed to the ALA Executive Board for a period of 3 years (2008-2011). Malcolm was selected for his automation experience in the areas of petrochemicals and forensic science.

25/Feb/2008

ALA 2008 in Palm Springs (CA, USA) was the best show ever for paa. With Overlord3 & Overlord Scheduler shown on 8 booths (PerkinElmer, Caliper, Labcyte, Biosero, Lets Go Robotics, Peak, Inheco & paa) interest was generated from all over the world for our software products. More ...

07/Feb/2008

paa introduce the automate.it safecel L. Using light curtain technology, this automated workcell is safe but human.

21/Jan/2008

Nihon paa have released a new Catalogue for the Japanese market featuring products for the laboratory automation sector, including Overlord3, Inheco, KBiosystems, LiCONiC, and Peak.

18/Jan/2008

GE Healthcare will be showing an automated IN Cell 1000 High Content Screening reader with an automate.it robot all controlled by Overlord3. More information …

09/Jan/2008

See the new automate.it SAFEcel H, humidity controlled high throughput sample preparation workcell manufactured for a European pharmaceutical company. See the video...

02/Jan/2008

The new automate.it dry boxes are designed to provide a moisture reduced environment using a re-circulating system to achieve a set humidity level.

• Use Overlord3, the world's no.1 scheduling software
• Work with standard power outlet
• Settable to <1% RH and O2 control (1-2% achievable)
• Access by panels or glove ports
• Ionization module available
• Accelerated thawing available
• System dimensions customizable to meet your application

The system is ideal for sample processing downstream of a store, with full integration facilities available for most sample storage systems. Typical applications include: Automated sample reformatting, automated weighing. Contact +44 (0) 1252 373000 for more information. original article

01/Jan/2008

• Advanced Molecular Devices StakMax + plate reader small work cell
• Overlord3
• Overlord3 SDK for 3rd party developers
• Overlord3 SocketSet, for 3rd parties to use the 270 Overlord3 drivers
• Overlord Scheduler
  
  See Overlord on other stands:
• Biosero (Booth #137)
• Caliper (Booth #319)
• Inheco (Booth #234)
• Lets Go Robotics (Booth #135)
• PerkinElmer (Booth #427)
  
  See our web page click here or contact +44 (0) 1252 373000 for more information.

original article

01/Jan/2008

"Automated Workflow Optimisation and Assay Development Strategies for High Content Research Facility, Trinity College Dublin" by Anthony Mitchell Davies of Trinity College Dublin shows a range of key parameters required to develop a high content screening laboratory.

The newly installed paa supplied Twister II automated GE Healthcare IN Cell 1000 system is shown as one of their key steps.

21/Dec/2007

Biospeed and Thermo Japan market the RapidStak and Overlord3 as a flexible package for small workcells.

21/Dec/2007

Come and look at our new section of brochures from our partners who sell our hardware and software range in the USA, Holland and Japan. More...

17/Dec/2007

3 steps to successful integration (1) Easy to set up (2) Easy to use (3) Easy to upgrade and modify

Overlord3 is the most powerful tool available for integrating your laboratory instruments and developing your applications. Whether your application is high-throughput screening, quality control or assays, we have the solution!

Control laboratory robots, plate readers, incubators, storage systems, barcode readers, and interface all this to LIMS and databases from one simple to use interface. Overlord3 has the largest range of instrument drivers on the market.

Contact us now to find out why so many companies use Overlord3 as their first choice in Laboratory Automation.

See our web page click here or contact +44 (0) 1252 373000 for more information. original article

01/Dec/2007

paa have won a contract with the Department of Chemistry at University of Leeds for the supply of 2 dry atmosphere storage units. These modules will be custom designed for the storage of the compound library at Leeds. The compounds with be stored in mictrotitre plates and tubes. The storage modules will have a flexible racking system, and will provide a totally dry atmosghphere with cooling to 20°C.

30/Nov/2007

Wayne Flatt, our new service engineer, starts Wednesday 21st November 2007.

Wayne has many years experience of design & servicing factory based processing plant.

If you have a problem with our installed systems, Wayne is your man. You can contact him on t: +44 1252 554060 m: +44 7725 762008

22/Nov/2007

Easy to set up, use and change, Contact us now to find out why most companies choose paa to integrate their assays.The automate.it safecel™ is the easy way to safely and quickly automate your process in the laboratory.

• 1m to 5m length/width, can incorporate a tracked robot
• Safe to use with easy access
• Flexible and reconfigurable to meet both the current and future needs of your laboratory
• maximum flexibility in the minimum footprint
• Controlled by the power of Overlord™, event and time driven scheduling to reduce assay time
• Powerful error recovery minimises downtime
• Light curtain or enclosed cell option

Current applications supported include - ELISA, Compound reformatting with Labcyte ECHO, Genomics, Proteomics. See our web page or contact +44 (0) 1252 373000 for more information. original article

01/Oct/2007

Bio-Rad Bio-Plex bead plate reader with the automate.it SCARA robot was shown on the Bio-Rad stand in Amsterdam. See:

• our automated technology, More...
• our SCARA robot, More...
• our hosts Bio-Rad, More...
• the conference, More...
• Meeting highlights, More...

01/Oct/2007

3 steps to successful integration (1) Easy to set up (2) Easy to use (3) Easy to upgrade and modify

Overlord3 is the most powerful tool available for integrating your laboratory instruments and developing your applications. Whether your application is high-throughput screening, quality control or assays, we have the solution!

Control laboratory robots, plate readers, incubators, storage systems, barcode readers, and interface all this to LIMS and databases from one simple to use interface. Overlord3 has the largest range of instrument drivers on the market.

Contact us now to find out why so many companies use Overlord3 as their first choice in Laboratory Automation.

See our web page click here or contact +44 (0) 1252 373000 for more information. original article

02/Sep/2007

It's the GSK Preferred Supplier exhibition this week ! 30th May 2007: GSK, Stevenage and 31st May 2007: GSK, Harlow

paa are featuring:

• Upgrading your existing equipment into an automated workcell, link
• New Automated Workcells, link
• Overlord3 for automated workcell control, link
• automate.it TipWash ULTRA for liquid handling tip cleaning, link Contact +44 (0) 1252 373000 for more information.

original article

01/Jul/2007