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Rock Maker Integration Tab

Next to the Experiment Designer tab is the Rock Maker Integration tab. This tab is only enabled when you set Rock Maker to enable in the Advanced Options. Here is where you can import and run an experiment as defined in Rock Maker.

For further information on how to create an experiment in Rock Maker, please see the "Experiment Design" section of the Rock Maker help file.

The Basics

Rock Maker Integration tab

The Rock Maker Integration tab consists of two parts:

Area

Description

Toolbar

Enter your experiment barcode number as defined in Rock Maker and click the Search button to load the experiment into NT8.

Experiment Properties Panel

Shows the detailed experiment properties as defined in Rock Maker. There are three different tabs in experiment properties: the Instruction tab, Canvas tab, and Experiment Info tab. The experiment properties display after the experiment's barcode is validated. The next section explains this area in detail.

Rock Maker Experiment Properties Panel

The Rock Maker experiment information appears after your experiment barcode is validated. The Rock Maker Experiment Properties Panel then has three different tabs:

(A) Instruction tab
(B) Canvas tab
(C) Experiment Info tab

Each of these is explained below.


Instruction tab	Canvas Tab	Experiment Info tab

(A) Instruction tab

The Instruction tab shows the detailed and required instructions that must be conducted to execute the experiments. You must check the checkbox next to the instruction before performing another task.

(B) Canvas tab

The Canvas tab has two different sections: experiment panel and plate view.

Experiment Panel

Item	Configurable?	Description
Experiment	N/A	Stock Name: The stock name. Type: The experiment layer type as defined in Rock Maker. Target: The dispense target as defined in Rock Maker. Liquid Class: Shows you the liquid class of the protein and well solutions used. Status: Tells you the current stock's status.

Item

Configurable?

Description

Experiment

N/A

Stock Name: The stock name.

Type: The experiment layer type as defined in Rock Maker.

Target: The dispense target as defined in Rock Maker.
Liquid Class: Shows you the liquid class of the protein and well solutions used.

Status: Tells you the current stock's status.

Plate View
The plate graphic represents the plate in use, providing the selected stock/protein volume information as defined in Rock Maker.

(C) Experiment Info tab

The Experiment Info tab shows the selected options and properties for your experiments, as shown in the following table.

Item	Configurable?	Description
Barcode	N/A	The experiment barcode number.
Name	N/A	The experiment name as defined in Rock Maker.
Plate Name		Provides various plate types. You can select the desired plate type from the Plate Name list.
Dispense Type	N/A	Displays the dispense type. The dispense type will change accordingly, depending on the Plate Name that you choose.
LCP Predispense Volume (nl)		Displays the LCP predispense volume (only available for LCP dispense). You can change the volume accordingly from the Rock Maker software.
LCP Predispense Cycle		Provides the information about how many predispense cycles will be done (only available for LCP dispense). You can change the number of predispense cycles as needed through the Rock Maker software.
RM Experiment ID	N/A	Rock Maker experiment ID number.
RM Plate ID	N/A	Rock Maker plate ID number.
Dispense Protocol		Provides various dispense protocols, as follows: Protein & Well Together: Use this option to instruct the NT8 to aspirate protein from the protein block and well solution from the plate before dispensing the mixture to the plate's drop locations. Well then Protein: Use this option to instruct the NT8 to aspirate solution from the well, dispense the well solution into the drop location, then aspirate protein from the protein block and dispense it into the drop location. This action will repeat column-by-column. All Protein First then Well: Use this option to instruct the NT8 to first aspirate protein and dispense it to every drop location on the plate, then aspirate well solution and dispense it to all drop locations on the plate. Protein then Well: Protein then Well: Use this option to instruct the NT8 to aspirate protein from the protein block, dispense the protein into the drop location, then aspirate well solution from the well and dispense it into the drop location. This action will repeat column-by-column.
Change Tips		This is where you instruct the NT8 when to wash the LV tips. Options include: After Each Plate: Selecting this option enables the NT8 to change the LV tips after dispensing to one plate is complete. When Switching Ingredients: Selecting this option enables the NT8 to change the LV tips after dispensing using a particular ingredient is complete. After Every Dispense: Selecting this option enables the NT8 to change the LV tips after the dispense is complete.
Should Dispense Screen		This property is only available for systems with the Plate Copy feature. You can select whether you want to dispense to a screen by using the Plate Copy or not.
Status	N/A	Tells you the current experiment status. If you have run the dispensing process the status will be marked as "Dispensed", otherwise it will be blank.