Hi AMMRL Community.
I'd like your help addressing a recurring intermittent problem with our
SampleCasePlus (60 samples). It occasionally times out as the carousel slides
back and forth to change which of the three rings of samples will be under
the transport tube. We get a “red bar” error, a failed sample, and the
queue stops. The error message is along the lines:
“…Fatal Error…1000 STOP_CHANGER…Timeout while trying to move carousel.
Move tray FSM is stuck in state 9: moving mid to in.”
Similar errors appear for moving between other ring positions (mid, in, out.
Recovery by resetting the autosampler with the emergency stop button is
immediate - there’s no apparent change in carousel position upon successful
reset - like the carousel was just slow or needed another couple seconds to
read its position.
I’d like some help either fixing the recurring problem or managing my expectations.
I’ve been focusing on the mechanical issues, but perhaps there’s a setting in
the HA web interface where I can increase the timeout time by a couple seconds.
In the past, we’ve gained some relief by:
*
Cleaning the aluminum fins that cover the lower unit’s interior at the front
and back margins. Last time we did this, we removed the fin assembly from the
cover (but kept it intact) so we could place it flat on a clean bench top, and
wiped down the fins repeatedly with 70%-isopropanol-laden paper towels. We took
care to not disturb the side edges, which are apparently lubricated with a white
grease.
*
Using dry kimwipes to wipe down the interior track along which the carousel
(“tray”?) slides back and forth between its three positions. I then
applied a light coat of Festo grease (the same as used to lubricate the slider
rail atop the magnet) to that track.
*
Gently swabbing all sensors with cotton-tipped swabs briefly dipped in
electronics-grade isopropanol, paying extra attention to the ones sensing
mid/in/out positions.
That cleaning helped a lot a few months ago, but over the last few weeks the
problems have been occurring again, and incident frequency is increasing.
I also noticed some white powder occasionally builds up on top of one part
of a fin, right next to where the white carousel plastic protrudes above the
aluminum. This powder doesn’t really look like a spilled sample - my
suspicion is that something is rubbing or scraping the carousel plastic and
leaving a residue, but I don’t have a good basis for thinking that, and I’d
be hard-pressed to identify where that action might happen.
The portion of the SampleCasePlus manual covering regular maintenance doesn’t
appear say anything about maintaining the fins or lubricating the carousel’s
sliding track inside the lower unit.
I’d asked Bruker’s Rover support about this before, and I got some good
insight. When I first got the units, the aluminum fins were lightly greased,
so I thought I should occasionally wipe them down and re-grease them. An
engineer corrected me on that, saying the grease doesn’t really have a
function when the unit is working, so I should just remove the grease. However,
I still figured the white grease at the sides looks important to reduce wear.
Any ideas? Should I just start scheduling disassembly and cleaning every few
months?
Thanks. - Josh
P.S. What does the “FSM” in the error message mean, with respect to the
tray? I normally read this acronym with an entirely nontechnical meaning.
--
Josh Kurutz, PhD
NMR Facility Manager, Chemistry Dept.
University of Chicago
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Received on Wed Aug 05 2026 - 10:17:44 MST