Bio-Rad Components for Older Model Spot Cutter - Manual (Page 15)

Cut Run Options
Before beginning a cut run using the Basic Excision Tool, you must select the cutter options
for that run.
If Spin When Cutting is selected, the cutting tip will spin as it cuts.
Spin When Ejecting will cause the cutting tip to spin as it ejects the cut into a microplate well.
Cut Longer will cause the cutting tip to hold in the "down" position longer when making a cut.
Double Eject will cause the cutting tip to emit two blasts of air when ejecting a cut into a
microtiter plate well.
The Gel Defaults button automatically selects the most useful options when cutting gels. The
PVDF Defaults button automatically selects the most useful options when cutting PVDF
membranes.
Focus Cutter Camera
The Focus Cutter Camera dialog box controls the camera exposure setting. Focusing and
aligning the camera are described in Section 3 of this manual.
Click on the Focus Cutter Camera button to open the dialog. The platform light on the spot
cutter will turn on and the camera will focus on a small region at the center of the gel or
membrane and begin taking continuous exposures. The exposures will appear in the Focus
window at the rate of about 2 per second.
At the top of the dialog, click on Auto-Expose to reset the exposure time of the camera.
The Time field shows the time of each exposure in milliseconds. The Ceiling field shows the
highest pixel value in the focused region. The Levels field shows the levels of gray scale in
the image. All of these settings are automatically determined by the software, based on the
position and aperture of the camera lens.
Manually adjust the camera lens and position as described in the hardware manual to optimize
the image. When you are satisfied with the image and the levels of gray scale, click on Stop
to close the Focus dialog.
Set Cutting Tip Height
Click on the Set Cutting Tip Height button to adjust the distance the cutting tip drops down
to cut a spot. The adjustment dialog box will open, and the cutting tip will move to the
center of the gel.
Click on Lower Tip to drop the cutting tip to its lowest position. In this position, manually
adjust the cutting tip height as described in Section 3.5 until it presses lightly against the
surface of the cutting mat.
Raise Tip raises the cutting tip. Test Cut performs a test cut in the center of the gel. Click on
Done to accept the settings and return the cutting tip to home position.
The cutting tip height only needs to be set once, unless the spot cutter gets out of alignment.
Spot Cutter Settings
Click on the Spot Cutter Settings button {insert settings.gif} to open the settings dialog box
for the cutter.
In the dialog box, select the communications port to the spot cutter by clicking on COM 1 or
COM 2.
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