If you’re looking for ways to improve the efficiency, scalability, quality, and time-to-market of your lab automation processes, then Mecademic robots are the solution you need. Designed for handling sensitive operations with precision and minimizing human error, these affordable robot arms are ideal for sample handling and analysis in biotech testing and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Here are some of the ways Mecademic robots can benefit your lab automation processes:

Handle repetitive tasks with precision

When dealing with sensitive operations, minimizing human error is a high priority to avoid extra costs and potential delays. By working with reliable lab automation robots, companies can avoid such errors and improve productivity. Mecademic robot arms are the most precise on the market, making them ideal for maximizing consistency while saving operator time on performing repetitive tasks.

Make the most of small workspaces

Reducing space consumption in expensive laboratory and pharma environments is a frequent challenge in lab automation. Our robots’ tiny size and their ability to be mounted in different orientations allow users to easily fit several robots into any installation. As such, Mecademic robot users can maximize throughput by replicating compact robot cells within a reduced footprint.

Choose simplicity

Low familiarity with lab automation solutions and the use of traditional robotics can result in longer integration time. Scientists with limited experience in operating lab automation processes may require more development time to configure and iterate traditional automation machinery. Luckily Mecademic robot arms are easy to use and simple to interface with other equipment, letting users get started in minutes. Mecademic robots can be commissioned via any PC and any programming language of your choice. They require no maintenance, making them effortless to re-tool and refit from task to task. Our clients enjoy being able to accommodate a variety of products with varying system configurations and tool changers.

Reach higher lab automation throughput and flexibility

Unlike low-mix and high-volume applications where ROI is calculated based on throughput, lab automation processes are more complex. KPIs cannot be measured purely on yield and workflows change frequently. As a result, lab automation robots must offer higher flexibility to handle such dynamic environments. Our clients have reported that using Mecademic robot arms enabled them to achieve more flexibility in their automation processes and build higher-throughput systems compared with other solutions. Applications featuring our Meca500 or SCARA robots can also accommodate multiple workstations, which speeds up analysis and data acquisition.

Achieve cleanliness and avoid human contamination

Mecademic robot arms are clean by design, free from particle generators or belts. With speed reducers that are sealed and lubricated for life, the robots can be used in quarantined areas where human access is limited. They are commonly applied in highly sensitive operations and environments (including clean room and sterile applications). We also offer third-party testing to verify our robots’ ISO cleanroom class compliance.

Improve equipment interoperability

One of the main challenges in lab automation is ensuring that multiple pieces of equipment speak the right language to one another and to the user. Lab automators often struggle to configure every major automation component to work with life science equipment and build the interfaces connecting them. With Mecademic’s plug-and-work robot arms, users spend less time on integration, manipulation, and maintenance, opening more opportunities for data analysis and innovation.

Common applications

If you’re wondering whether Mecademic robots are the right fit for your lab automation needs, here are some examples of  common applications for our robots in the industry currently: 

Sample Handling  Automated sample or solution preparation, as well as analysis tasks, can be easily accomplished with both our six-axis and four-axis robot arm models. These robots are used for operations such as extracting, weighing, adding reagents, dosing, as well as tending centrifuges, thermocyclers, and incubators.

Dispensing: Our robots are often used for precision dispensing. Whether it’s continuous dispensing over a complex path rendered in CAD or precise dispensing at specific points, our robots are a flexible and low-cost lab automation solution for such tasks. Watch this example of a benchtop dispensing demo using the Meca500 robot arm.

Automated Pipetting: Flexible and fully automated pipetting is facilitated by precise positioning with fine-resolution movements of up to 1 micrometer. With its ability to be mounted in any orientation, the Meca500 further adds simplicity and flexibility to pipetting processes.

Capping and decapping vials: The Meca500 can rotate its end-effector with three degrees of freedom. This is ideal for capping and decapping vials. Integrate the robot with a force/torque sensor to get precise force and torque control of your decapping operations!

Robotic loading/unloading: Our clients benefit from integrating multiple robots with equipment such as mass spectrometers, microplate readers, luminometers, and fluorometers. Such setups make ideal automation solutions for sample analysis, cell cultivation, and other sample preparation tasks.

Liquid Handling: Our robots are commonly used in various liquid handling applications to create and mix samples from various liquids and transfer them between various life science equipment.

Read the Press Release for Mecademic’s new micro-SCARA robot – the MicroDASH-MCS500.