Aim Lab Automation Technologies Tube Sealer Module (TSM) is specifically designed to automatically foil seal the contents of plastic sample tubes in readiness for storage or transportation. The TSM is compact in size, fully electric and generates no waste.
Speaking about the latest addition to its product range, Aim Lab’s CEO Chris Whitaker said, “Aim Lab pioneered foil sealing technology in its PathFinder tube management automation products back in the early 90’s for sealing opened blood collection tubes after testing was complete. Foil sealing a plastic sample tube is a cheaper alternative to a push on cap and can be easily removed and re-applied if further testing is required. What’s more, foil sealed tubes can be stored down to a temperature of -80 deg C without leakage. It made sense to make this technology available as a module suitable for integration into an analyser or track based system.”
Key improvements with the new TSM include a higher throughput (up to 600 tubes/hour) with lower energy usage and without the need for pneumatics or vacuum. The laminated foil tape is clamped onto the uncapped tube before it is cut in-situ from a roll and then welded on to the tube. There are no hot surfaces to touch and the weld time can be configured by tube type to optimise seal quality. The TSM has an on-board capacity of up to 20,000 foil seals before the capping roll needs to be replaced.