Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2026 10:55:52 -0800
Hi everybody,
I have an annoying problem that's becoming more and more frequent: dummy
samples getting stuck in our SampleCase sample changers.
See the attached picture. We've always had users insert dummy samples
into the magnet after they're done running their experiments (if no one
is waiting to get on the instrument). The dummy samples that we've been
using for the last several years are these solid black combination
spinner/samples. I'm pretty sure we got them from Bruker, but I can't
find them anywhere on the Bruker website so maybe they've been
discontinued.
We've always had a problem where are these dummies samples get stuck in
the SampleCases. It's most often during the process of ejecting the
sample - the dummy sample gets stuck in the mechanism as it tries to
drop it back down onto the sample holder. When that happens, someone has
to go up on a ladder and gently push it down so that it will drop. It
occasionally get stuck above the magnet, which is harder to deal with. A
separate problem is that it often has trouble inserting the dummy sample
into the magnet - the sample descends into the magnet but never reaches
the bottom and gets detected. Then the system ejects the sample (all the
way back out onto the sample rack) and then tries to re-insert it.
Sometimes it goes through this cycle three or four times before it
finally goes in and the system detects it.
These types of insert/eject problems almost never happen with ordinary
samples.
The main problem (where the dummy sample gets stuck in the mechanism as
it tries to drop it back down onto the sample holder) used to happen a
couple times a week, but recently it's been happening several times a
day. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there some maintenance I can
do on the SampleCase to prevent this kind of thing? Or is this type of
dummy sample just problematic (possibly the reason that Bruker
discontinued them)? What type of dummy sample do people recommend using?
Or are dummy samples not really necessary on heavily used instruments?
Thanks in advance, and I'll summarize any responses.
-Robert
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