A dispense delay can be applied to your experiment when you want TEMPEST to pause at a particular point during dispense list execution.
There are three delay priority types available: Timer, UserInput, and Restack.
Timer — You set a finite delay time, after which time TEMPEST continues the dispense process automatically. If you select this option, you will need to set the delay time in hh:mm:ss format. This option is useful when you are dispensing a plate and you want TEMPEST to pause for a specific amount of time.
UserInput — TEMPEST pauses the dispense process and waits for you to take further action. This option is useful if your delay time is not definite but you want TEMPEST to pause at a particular point during the dispense. You can either continue or cancel the dispense process at that point.
Restack — This option can only be used for dispensing into multiple plates, using plate stackers. Using the Restack delay enables the TEMPEST software to group multiple plates into a single batch, reducing total dispense times and increasing efficiency. The number of plates in a batch is calculated automatically by TEMPEST, and then each plate in a batch will be dispensed during the delay time. After the delay time has finished, TEMPEST will continue with dispensing the next reagent into each plate.
For example, you have designed a dispense for 10 plates, where two reagents A and B are dispensed with a delay time of 10 minutes between them. TEMPEST has calculated that the plates should be divided into two batches of five plates each. TEMPEST will first dispense reagent A into each plate in the first batch, and then when the 10 minute delay is over it will dispense reagent B. Then TEMPEST will do the same for the second batch, until all of the plates have been dispensed. To check whether or not the TEMPEST uses plate stackers, see Stacker Settings in the Options menu.
Note: The Restack delay option cannot be used if barcode scanning is enabled.
TEMPEST will automatically add the dispense time estimation to the Estimated Run Time after you set the delay period.
See Adding a Dispense Delay to learn how to add a dispense delay to your dispense list.
TEC-V32R219
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