Bio Assembly Bot User Manual

2018-05-10

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Important Information
Proprietary Information
This document contains confidential and proprietary information which is protected by copyright laws.
Any release or distribution of the materials, without permission, is a violation of law.

Warranty
NO WARRANTIES OF ANY NATURE ARE EXTENDED BY THIS DOCUMENT. Any product or related
information described herein is only furnished pursuant and subject to the terms and conditions of the
BioAssemblyBot™ or BioBot™ sale agreement. The only warranties made by Advanced Solutions Life
Sciences, LLC, if any, with respect to the products or software described herein are set forth in the
BioAssemblyBot™ or BioBot™ sale agreement. Advanced Solutions Life Sciences, LLC does not accept
any financial responsibility that may result due to the use of the information in this document, including
direct, special or consequential damages.

Trademarks
BioAssemblyBot™ and the BioAssemblyBot™ logo design, BioBot™ and the BioBot™ logo design, and
TSIM™ are trademarks of Advanced Solutions Life Sciences, LLC and may not be used without written
permission. All names of other companies, products and services are the property of their respective
owners.

Patents
The BioAssemblyBot™ and BioBot™ are subject to patents pending filed by Advanced Solutions Life
Sciences, LLC with the U.S Patent Office.

Copyright
No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Advanced Solutions Life
Sciences, LLC. Under the law, reproducing includes translating into another language or format.
As between the parties, Advanced Solutions Life Sciences, LLC. retains title to, and ownership of, all
proprietary rights with respect to the software contained within its products. The software is protected
by United States copyright laws, trademark and other intellectual property laws. Therefore, the user
must treat the software like any other copyrighted material (e.g. a book or sound recording).

Copyright Notice
© 2017 Advanced Solutions Life Sciences, LLC. All rights reserved.
Advanced Solutions Life Sciences, Inc.
1901 Nelson Miller Parkway
Louisville, KY 40223
USA

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Disclaimer
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information in this manual is accurate. Advanced
Solutions Life Sciences, LLC. is not responsible for printing or clerical errors. Information in this
document is subject to change without notice.

License Agreements
Any information described herein is only furnished pursuant to and subject to the terms and conditions
of the End-User License Agreements for the Tissue Structure Information Modeling (“TSIM”) software
and BioAssemblyBot™ software.

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Table of Contents
Important Information .................................................................................................................................. 2
Proprietary Information ............................................................................................................................ 2
Warranty ................................................................................................................................................... 2
Trademarks ............................................................................................................................................... 2
Patents ...................................................................................................................................................... 2
Copyright ................................................................................................................................................... 2
Copyright Notice ....................................................................................................................................... 2
Disclaimer.................................................................................................................................................. 3
License Agreements .................................................................................................................................. 3
Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 4
Other Documentation ................................................................................................................................... 6
About BioAssemblyBot™............................................................................................................................... 7
Safety ............................................................................................................................................................ 8
Notation ................................................................................................................................................ 8
Assembly and Maintenance Safety ....................................................................................................... 8
Print Safety .......................................................................................................................................... 10
Emergency Features.................................................................................................................................... 11
BioAssemblyBot™ Hardware....................................................................................................................... 12
BioAssemblyBot™ Tools .............................................................................................................................. 15
TSIM™ Installation ...................................................................................................................................... 18
BioAssemblyBot™ Human Machine Interface (HMI) .................................................................................. 19
Status Screen........................................................................................................................................... 19
Print......................................................................................................................................................... 20
Load Materials .................................................................................................................................... 21
Printing ................................................................................................................................................ 28
Control .................................................................................................................................................... 30
Move ................................................................................................................................................... 30
Other ................................................................................................................................................... 32
Calibration ............................................................................................................................................... 34
Stage Level .......................................................................................................................................... 35
© 2017 Advanced Solutions Life Sciences

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Displacement Sensor........................................................................................................................... 37
Tip To Stage Offset .............................................................................................................................. 38
Storage Bays ........................................................................................................................................ 39
Light Heads.......................................................................................................................................... 42
Troubleshooting and FAQ ........................................................................................................................... 44
When should I do the Tip to Stage Offset calibration? ....................................................................... 44
When should I do the Light Head calibration?.................................................................................... 44
The HMI controls are disabled and/or I can’t hit Start or Confirm to begin a print? ......................... 44
Tool retrieval or tool return failed repeatedly? .................................................................................. 45
The robot arm is stuck in a bad position. How do I resolve it? .......................................................... 45
The robot arm is stuck in a bad position. How do I resolve it? .......................................................... 45
How do I resolve a misfeed/incorrect height on a well plate in a Tower? ......................................... 45
Well plate pickup failed repeatedly? .................................................................................................. 45
My well plate moves slightly when the Pick and Place tool places it? ............................................... 45

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Other Documentation
In addition to this User Manual, the user manuals provided by Epson for the robot and robot controller
have also been provided. These manuals are referenced in this BioAssemblyBot™ user manual to
provide a better understanding of these products.
In particular, please read the Maintenance sections of the Epson robot controller and Epson robot
manuals for proper maintenance on the robot and robot controller.

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
About BioAssemblyBot™

BioAssemblyBot™ is an integrated tabletop workstation with a multi-axis robot that facilitates 3D tissue
printing of composite geometric shapes. The multi-axis robot design is the next stage of evolution in 3D
printing technology and is well suited for the surgical precision required to assemble functional tissue
structures. The BioAssemblyBot™ can print with many types of bioinks, up to 8 materials per print, or
even more if equipped with Ambient Dual Dispense tools. Additionally, it can heat bioinks with the
Heating tool, cool bioinks with the Cooling tool, and UV irradiate them with the Ambient Light tool.
Prints can be automated with the Pick And Place tool, which automatically loads well plates before
printing in them.
Coupled with the Tissue Structure Information Modeling (TSIM™) software, the BioAssemblyBot™
provides a comprehensive integrated software and hardware technology platform to model and print
3D tissue structures. TSIM™ is an intuitive software tool that empowers doctors and scientists to design,
visualize, and analyze 3D computer models of complex tissue structures. TSIM™ provides a
comprehensive platform including medical imaging analysis, biological construct modeling, and
fabrication. Starting with industry standard data (e.g. medical imaging), TSIM™ guides the user through
the construction of a biological model capable of being simulated, analyzed, and fabricated.

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Safety
Notation
The following symbols are included to indicate the necessary safety considerations. The descriptions
below associated with each symbol are the possible outcomes if the instructions with these symbols are
not followed.

Assembly and Maintenance Safety
Please read this section to understand safe assembly and maintenance procedures.
Only trained personnel should be assembling and maintaining the BioAssemblyBot™. Please also see
the Safety and Maintenance sections of the Epson robot controller and robot user manuals.

•
Do not operate the BioAssemblyBot™ with safeties or Emergency Stop
disabled or malfunctioning. Operating the BioAssemblyBot™ in either of these
conditions is extremely hazardous and may result in serious bodily injury and/or
serious damage to the BioAssemblyBot™, as the safeties cannot perform their
intended function in an emergency.

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual

•
Do not remove or modify any parts of the BioAssemblyBot™. Removal
or parts, improper maintenance, or modification may not only cause improper
functioning of the BioAssemblyBot™, but also serious safety problems.

•
Connect the AC power cable to a 120-Volt power receptacle for
BioAssemblyBots™ installed in the USA, 240-Volt power receptacles for Britain,
and 220-Volt power receptacles for France. To shut off power to the
BioAssemblyBot™, pull out the power plug from the receptacle.

•
Connect the power cable, air hose, and network cabling properly. Do
NOT place unnecessary strain on the cables or air hose. Doing so may cause
damage to the cables or air hose or disconnection. Damaged components are
extremely hazardous and may result in electric shock and improper function.

•
Make sure the air feed has a minimum inlet pressure of 90 psi. Make
sure the pressure is constant; tools can be accidentally dropped by the
BioAssemblyBot™ if the pressure drops significantly (5 psi) below this point.

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Print Safety
Please read this section to understand safe printing procedures.
•
Stay clear of the BioAssemblyBot™ and do not place any body parts in, on, or
near the printer until printing or calibration movements are completed. Components of
the BioAssemblyBot™ will move during a print.

•

Never touch a Heating tool during a print, or after a print, without first allowing
it to cool. The heating tool can take up to 60 minutes to completely cool down.

•
Do not allow components of the BioAssemblyBot(tm) to come into contact with
liquid, with the exceptions of:
• stage surface or stage print guides
• petri dishes, well plates, slides, stage overlays
• material barrels
• dispensers on barrels (needles, nozzles, etc.)
Wet electrical components are extremely hazardous and may result in electric shock
and/or improper function. Never touch wet electrical components.

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Emergency Features
The BioAssemblyBot™ is equipped with an emergency stop. Pushing in (engaging) the emergency stop
button turns on the brakes for every axis of the robot. When the brakes are on, the BioAssemblyBot™
does not move. To disengage the emergency stop button, twist it clockwise. See the images below to
assess the status of the button.

DISENGAGED

ENGAGED

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BioAssemblyBot™ Hardware

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual

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BioAssemblyBot™ Tools
Ambient Tool

Ambient Dual Dispense Tool

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Ambient Light Head Tool

Cooling Tool

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Displacement Tool

Heating Tool

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TSIM™ Installation
1. On a Windows 10 PC, download TSIM from:
http://updates.tsimsoftware.com/squirrel_internal/Setup.exe
2. Run Setup.exe.
If you get a Windows SmartScreen warning, choose More Info, then choose Run Anyway.

3. An ASI Licensing prompt will appear. Enter your TSIM™ license key from Advanced Solutions,
Inc. in the Product Key section, and choose Checkout. The status will change from red
Unlicensed text to green Licensed text.
4. Choose Close on the bottom right. TSIM will start.

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
BioAssemblyBot™ Human Machine Interface (HMI)
The BAB-HMI provides controls, settings, and current state information of the BioAssemblyBot™. The
main sections are Status, Print, Control, and Calibration, and are present at the top of every screen.
Some sections of the main menu have subsections; for example, Move and Other can be found under
Control. To exit the HMI application, click the very top right BioAssemblyBot™ logo.

Status Screen
In the Status screen, the BioAssemblyBot™ functions can be monitored. The BioAssemblyBot™ icon in
the top left below the menu displays a colored dot to indicate the status:
•
•
•

Green
Yellow
Red

Everything is working properly and ready for printing.
One or more door safeties are open.
Emergency stop engaged, error with printer hardware, or hardware initializing.

Green status allows a print to start. Yellow and Red disable most of the robot functionality.
Directly below the BioAssemblyBot™ icon is a box that will display print status.
The lower half of the screen contains a chronological event log of connections, print tasks, and errors.
This can be used to determine Yellow or Red status; for example, if an event exists showing that the
right door was opened, but there is not a “right door closed” event, the conclusion can be drawn that
the right door needs to be closed.
The right side of the screen features a streaming video of the print.

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Print
The print screen displays a list of available print jobs, and a 3D preview of the currently selected job.
The list of print jobs includes the name of the print, from TSIM™, the number of materials the print
requires, the number of separate objects the model had in TSIM™, and whether the print is Sequential
or Concurrent.
In Project Preview, the print job can be zoomed, panned, and rotated to adjust the viewing perspective.
Selecting a print job and clicking Start will initiate printing and move to the Load Materials screen.
Clicking Remove will delete the print job from the HMI.

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Load Materials
In the Load Materials screen, the user is prompted to the materials needed for the print.
For each material in this print, the material name is listed in a bay. Materials are typically bioinks.
Materials are loaded into tools.
Tools
Each tool on the BioAssemblyBot™ has its own set of capabilities:
•

•

•
•

Ambient
o Dispenses a bioink at ambient temperature at desired automatic pressure. This tool
holds up to 30 CC of bioink material, but can be easily adapted for 10 CC and 5 CC.
Ambient Dual Dispense
o Dispenses two bioinks at ambient temperature at different desired automatic pressures.
A mixing chamber in the tool handles blending the materials for the print. This tool
holds up to 30 CC of bioink material in each chamber, but each chamber can be easily
adapted for 10 CC and 5 CC.
Ambient Light
o Dispenses a bioink at ambient temperature at desired automatic pressure, and can
irradiate the material as it’s being printed, for crosslinking or other purposes. The tool
irradiates at 365 nm up to 400 mw/cm^2 with the installed lens 1.
Heating tool
o Heats bioink up to 150 C and maintains that temperature during a print. This tool holds
up to 30 CC of bioink material.
Cooling tool
o Cools bioink down to 10 C and maintains that temperature during a print. This tool
holds up to 30 CC of bioink material.
Displacement
o Measures the stage 2 to ensure a level surface for printing.
Pick And Place
o Allows printing automation by picking well plates from a source tower, printing within
them, then puts the well plates in a destination tower.

Each tool uses a wide variety of needles and nozzles, but all needles and nozzles can be used on all tools
interchangeably.

1
2

Ambient Light Tools with other heads can irradiate at 385 or 405 nm, and depending on lens, up to 3 W/cm^2.
See Calibration > Stage Level.

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Load Pick And Place Towers
If your print requires well plates, you have two options, depending on your BioAssemblyBot™
capabilities:
Manual Placement:
If your BioAssemblyBot’s™ stage is equipped with a well plate recess, open the BioAssemblyBot™
doors, and manually place the well plate in recess. In TSIM™, align your print with the location of the
well plate, and set the Tip To Stage Offset to the depth of the placed well plate. Aligning a print to a well
plate with small well plates can be time consuming; it is recommended dialing in the bottom left and top
right well plate positions before attempting a full print.
Automatic Placement:
If your BioAssemblyBot’s™ stage is equipped with a well plate recess, Pick And Place tool, and
Source and Destination towers, place at least one empty well plate in the Source tower. From the front
of the BioAssemblyBot™, the Source tower is on the left, and Destination on the right.

In the above picture, the Source tower on the left is holding three towers, and the Destination
tower is empty.
Well plates are typically symmetrical, so left/right orientation does not matter when loading the
plates in the tower, but the wells must be facing up when the well plates are placed in the tower. Once
the tower is loaded, make sure the top well plate is level, at the correct height, and fed in correctly, per
the diagrams below, or damage can occur to the Pick and Place tool.

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CORRECT HEIGHT

WRONG HEIGHT: Well plate is too low

WRONG HEIGHT: Well Plate is misfed

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It is recommended to use the TSIM™ 384 template file provided with BioAssemblyBots™
equipped with Pick And Place. In TSIM™, make sure to check the “pick and place” option, and choose
“384” for the number of wells in your print, and create the desired print. Proceed with the print as
normal. Upon print start, the BioAssemblyBot™ will first engage the Pick And Place tool, remove the top
well plate from the Source tower, and place it in the well plate indentation on the stage. The print will
proceed as normal afterward. When the print completes, the BioAssemblyBot™ will reengage the Pick
and Place tool, and put the completed print in the Destination tower.

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Load Material Screen And Tools
Load the appropriate materials by opening the BioAssemblyBot™ doors, removing the tools, loading the
bioinks into the tools as required, placing the tools back in the appropriate bays, then closing the doors.
Tool types are automatically detected by the robot when the doors are closed; the circular icon with a
number in it indicates if the tool type in each bay is suitable for this print or unsuitable.
•
•

Green
Red

•

Black

The tool in this bay is suitable for this print.
The tool in this bay does not have the required capabilities for this print.
Please replace it with an appropriate tool 3.
This bay is not used for this print.

Do note that the BioAssemblyBot™ cannot detect the material type inside of a barrel on a tool, and it is
the user’s responsibility to make sure the right material is loaded in the tool.
To assist with this, the name of the material from TSIM™ is displayed next to the circular icon.

Please review the Calibration > Storage Bays screen and documentation if you need a refresher on what tools and
printing capabilities your individual BioAssemblyBot™ has.

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If your print requires the Ambient Light Head Tool, information on lens orientation and lens type to use
is also displayed, along with the desired irradiation values. Please make sure the correct lens is on the
tool, and the lens is pointed in the proper orientation before proceeding.

If your print requires the Ambient Dual Dispense Tool, information on both pressures is also displayed.

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Some materials flow slowly through a needle, or require high pressures. Priming a needle will fill the
needle full of the material, at the possible expense of some wasted material. If a material’s needle
needs to be primed beforehand:
•
•
•

Open the doors and place a receptacle in the center of the robot’s stage.
Close the doors and click on the circular icon for which tool needs to be primed.
The BioAssemblyBot™ will pick up the tool, then dispense for the number of seconds indicated
in the dropdown. Only one material can be primed at a time.

When all materials needed for the print are loaded, select Confirm to initiate the print, or Cancel to go
to the previous screen.
If Confirm is selected, the print will start, and return the user to the Status screen.

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Printing
The Status box in the Status screen will show the status of the current print.
If the current print requires heated or cooled materials, and the BioAssemblyBot™ is equipped with the
necessary tools and stage, temperature preparation is the first step. The current and target
temperatures of the heating tool, cooling tool, and stage are displayed in the status box. When the
target temperatures are reached, the status window will indicate this, then hold the temperatures. By
clicking Resume, the BioAssemblyBot™ will start the print.
Note that if the BioAssemblyBot™ is unable to reach target temperatures after 120 minutes, or if the
temperatures are reached but the print is not resumed, the print will automatically end.

While the BioAssemblyBot™ is printing, the progress of the print is displayed. The progress is shown via
number of layers printed so far vs. total layers in the print. Each layer consists of either a tube/spline or
a cross section of the 3D model being printed. Cross section depths are determined by the layer's
material “Line Height” value in TSIM™.
If the current print requires heated or cooled materials, and the BioAssemblyBot™ is equipped with the
necessary tools and stage, the status box will also display the temperature of the current tool on the
robot arm and temperature of the stage.

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The Pause button in the status box can be used to pause the current print. If Pause is clicked, the robot
will complete its current action, then move into paused mode. In paused mode, two more options are
available: Resume and End.

Clicking Resume will continue the paused print. Clicking End will cancel the print and return the
current tool back to its bay. Note that paused mode will end after a displayed time, and the print will
be automatically ended.
© 2017 Advanced Solutions Life Sciences

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Control
The control functions allow a user to perform robot tasks manually. These include positioning the robot
arm, resetting the BioAssemblyBot™ hardware, retrieving and returning tools, checking air pressure, and
turning off and on the brakes and lights. If the BioAssemblyBot™ is equipped with a HEPA fan, it can be
turned off and on. If the BioAssemblyBot™ is equipped with a Pick and Place tool, the gripper can be
released.
Move
Move allows manual positioning of the robot arm.

The left side of the screen features an overhead view of the stage. The arrows around this view act as
buttons that move the robot along the x axis and y axis.
The right side of the screen contains a side view of the stage. The arrows above and below this move
the robot along up and down the z axis.
The number of mm the robot moves is specified in the Distance value at the bottom of the screen.

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The plus and minus signs rotate joint 6 (J6) on the robot arm the number of degrees listed in the
Distance control. For example, if the Distance control was set to 20 mm, and + was clicked, the robot
would move 20 degrees counterclockwise. See page 7 of the Epson Robot User Manual for a diagram of
the robot labeled with possible joint movements.

Use the X/Y/Z move features with caution. It is possible to cause the robot arm,
or tools on the robot arm, to collide with other objects in Move.
Use the J6 joint rotation feature with caution. In some configurations, it is
possible to turn the robot arm around J6 too far, which can damage the robot
arm attachments.

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Other
Other allows a large series of manual actions to be performed on the BioAssemblyBot™.

•
•

•
•
•

Reset - Reset power to the BioAssemblyBot™ hardware.
Home - Move the BioAssemblyBot™ arm to the Home position. The Home position places the
robot arm in the center of the BioAssemblyBot™ frame. Home is used as a default resting
position.
Retrieve Tool – Picks up a tool from a Storage Bay to the arm. If your BioAssemblyBot™ can
detect tools, all bays with tools are listed to pick up.
Return Tool - Returning a tool from the arm to a Storage Bay. If your BioAssemblyBot™ can
detect tools, all bays without tools are listed to return the tool.
Pressure - Turn an air line’s air pressure on or off, and set a manually dispensed pressure in psi.
o The button next to On indicates whether the that the pressure is currently on or off;
green indicates on, red off. Pushing the button toggles pressure on and off.
o The + and - buttons allow 1 psi changes, and can be applied when the pressure is on.
o If pressure is left on, and no actions above are occurring, pressure will automatically
turn off after a period of time.
o Depending on the strength of your air pressure source, turning multiple air lines on can
trigger the ‘low pressure’ warning. Low pressure disables most functionality. To restore
functionality, hit the Reset button, which will restart the system and turn air lines off.

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•

Joint Brakes - Turn off brakes on the robot at each individual joint. Joints are indicated in the
Motion Range section of the Epson robot user manual, but are also labeled with small ‘J1’ – ‘J6’
labels on the BioAssemblyBot™ itself. The button next to the joint number indicates whether
the brake is on or off; green indicates on, red off. Touch the circle to toggle brakes on and off.
o
Use caution when turning off brakes. The weight of the robot will cause
the robot to free fall which could cause damage if the robot were to collide with
a storage bay, the stage, etc.

•

Lights - Turn the BioAssemblyBot™ frame’s LED lights on and off. Note: This only affects the
lights on the BioAssemblyBot™ frame, and does turn on the UV controlled lights on the UV tool,
if your BioAssemblyBot™ is equipped with such.
HEPA Fan - Turn on and off the BioAssemblyBot’s™ HEPA filter, if your BioAssemblyBot™ is
equipped with such. It is recommended to keep the HEPA filter off when the BioAssemblyBot™
is not in use.
Open Grip - Open the Pick and Place tool’s gripper, if it is currently on the BioAssemblyBot™
robot arm, and your BioAssemblyBot™ is equipped with such.

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Calibration
All calibration has been performed beforehand during BioAssemblyBot™ creation, and is not required at
system startup.
Depending on the needs of upcoming prints, the Tip To Stage Offset and Light Heads calibration, might
be required:
-

Tip to Stage Offset calibration allows the user to “dial in” a surface with a different height from
the last print surface.
Light Heads calibration is performed beforehand on BioAssemblyBots™ that are equipped with
an Ambient Light tool. This calibration must be redone after 100 hours of light head usage
elapses.

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Stage Level
A level stage is essential to producing quality 3D prints, as it provides a flat and even surface for the
BioAssemblyBot™ to print on. Leveling the stage has been performed beforehand during
BioAssemblyBot™ creation and is not required, unless one of the following events happens:
•
•

The stage has sustained any sort of disturbance, such as a heavy object dropped on it.
Stage bolts have been turned by a user.

If your BioAssemblyBot™ is equipped with Pick And Place functionality, do not
level the stage. Current Pick And Place functionality is not compatible with
Stage Leveling, and significant adjustments to stage height (1 mm) will result in
well plates being placed incorrectly.
To level the stage:
1. Ensure the displacement tool is in the displacement bay.
2. Ensure the stage is clear of all materials and tools.
3. Click Start to determine if the stage is level. The BioAssemblyBot™ will pick up the displacement
tool, then take distance readings at three points on the BAB stage, one near each bolt. The first
reading will be a baseline; the second and third determine adjustments that need to be made.
Afterwards, the BioAssemblyBot will put the displacement tool back into the displacement bay.
4. Results will be presented after the operation is complete, similar to the following:
© 2017 Advanced Solutions Life Sciences

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These values indicate if a bolt needs to be adjusted, and if so, by how much.
If the result is “Within Tolerance” for a bolt, do not adjust the bolt, as the stage is level in this
area. If there are arrows with a degree value next to a bolt, find a 13mm socket wrench, and
follow the instructions below:

Note: If the result is a negative degree value, turn the bolt opposite of the arrow’s indication
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until both readings are “Within Tolerance”. Expect about three iterations
before both values are within tolerance; the amount to turn each bolt should lessen each time.
If, after five iterations, there has been no progress towards leveling, calibrate the displacement
tool (see the Displacement Sensor section below), then repeat steps 1-5.

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Displacement Sensor
The displacement sensor is used to calibrate the stage level. The displacement tool has been calibrated
during BioAssemblyBot™ creation and is not required to be performed by the user, unless one of the
following events happen:
•
•
•

The displacement tool sustains any sort of disturbance, such as being dropped.
A new displacement tool is received from Advanced Solutions, Inc.
Stage leveling seems to be overly difficult to complete.

To calibrate the displacement/distance sensor:
1. Ensure the displacement tool is in the displacement bay.
2. Ensure the stage is clear of all materials and tools.
3. Click Start. The BioAssemblyBot™ will pick up the displacement tool, then slowly move closer to
the stage along the z axis, then return the tool.

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Tip To Stage Offset
Tip To Stage Offset is used to alter the height of the surface printed on. This has been calibrated to the
stage level during BioAssemblyBot™ creation. It is required to be performed by the user when:
•

Switching between prints on slides, petri dishes, well plates, or any surface placed on the stage.
It should be done any time a user is printing on a surface with a different height from the last
print’s surface. Redoing the same print does not require this step. Altering needle lengths does
not require this step.

To set Tip To Stage Offset:
1. Ensure the needle that will be used for the upcoming print is on one of the tools.
2. In the Control > Other screen, click Retrieve Tool. Pick the tool from step 1.
3. In the Control > Move screen, move the robot arm until the bottom tip of
the needle is touching the printing surface. Take care to move the robot arm in
small increments to avoid damage to the needle, barrel, or printing surface.

4. Press the Measure Tip Offset button.
5. In the Control > Other screen, click Return Tool. Return the tool to the same bay as step 2.

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Storage Bays
This screen is used to calibrate the position of each storage bay for tool storage. Each bay has been
calibrated during BioAssemblyBot™ creation. It is not recommended this be performed by the user,
unless one of the following events happen:
•
•

The storage bay icon is colored in Red or Grey, as described below.
Repeatedly, both the robot arm and tool get stuck and the robot seems to be unable to move
when the robot arm retrieves or returns a tool from a specific bay.

The circular icon with a number in it indicates the status:
•
•
•

Green
Red
Grey

Location information exists for the bay, and is believed to be correct.
An error has occurred. Calibrate the bay.
The bay is not calibrated. No location information exists for the bay.

The letter next to the bay indicates what type of tools can be used:
•
•
•
•
•

A
C
D
H
P

Ambient, Ambient Light, and Ambient Dual Dispense tool can be used.
Cooling tool can be used.
Displacement tool can be used.
Heating tool can be used.
Pick and place tool can be used.

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To calibrate a storage bay:
1. Familiarity with the controls under Control > Move is strongly recommended. Please review this
section before proceeding.
2. Remove any tools from the robot arm.
3. Put the appropriate tool type in the bay to be calibrated.
a. If the bay has an A: use an Ambient, Ambient Light, or Ambient Dual Dispense tool.
b. If the bay has a D: use a Displacement tool.
c. If the bay has a H: use a Heating tool.
d. If the bay has a C: use a Cooling tool.
e. If the bay has a P: use a Pick and Place tool.
4. Using the controls provided (or the controls under Control > Move, which are slightly larger):
a. Turn the robot arm. If the tool is on the right side of the robot (bays 1-5), turn it 90
degrees counterclockwise with the + icon. If the tool is on the left side of the robot
(bays 6-9), turn it 90 degrees clockwise with the – icon. You may need to adjust this
further by small degree increments
b. Move the robot arm directly above the bay.
c.
Move the robot arm down small increments at a time. Start with tens
of mm, then adjust to a single mm, then fractions of a single mm as you get the
robot arm closer to the tool. The circular metal piece in the center of the robot
arm needs to match up exactly with the hole in the center of the tool. The
white box on the front of the robot arm needs to match up exactly (<= 0.1 mm)
with the white housing on the front of the tool.
Take care to move the robot arm in small increments to avoid damage to the
tool or bay. Do not force or push the tool downward using the robot arm. If the
tool moves during this process, the alignment is probably off or you’re forcing it.
It is strongly recommended to review this process by repeatedly viewing the
robot arm and tool from multiple angles. This will avoid collisions and damage.

d. Move the robot arm down in small increments so the arm and tool are mated. Ideally,
the robot arm and tool stay apart in Z by approximately 1-2 mm. Keep an eye on the
Connect button to the right of the Distance setting. It will change from a disabled state
to an enabled state once the robot arm gets close to the tool.
i. If it turns green, this means the tool and robot arm are matched up well. Push
the green button, and the robot will attempt to pick up the tool.

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ii. If it stays red, this means the connections to tool and robot arm are not
matched up well. If the robot arm and tool seem ok otherwise (no obvious
twisting, robot arm 1-2 mm off top of tool), push the red button, and the robot
will attempt to pick up the tool.
e. If the robot successfully picks up the tool:
i. Push the Connect button again to release it. Make sure it is released.
ii. Click on the number of the bay you have just calibrated. (Visually check to make
sure this is the right bay.) Choose the prompt to save this confirmation.
iii. Go into Control > Other and click the Home button.
iv. In Control > Other, click the Retrieve Tool button. Pick up the tool you just
calibrated. If you hear any odd scraping/grinding sounds, or the robot suddenly
stops moving during retrieval, proceed to step f, below.
v. In Control > Other, click the Return Tool button. Put the tool back in the same
bay. If you hear any odd scraping/grinding sounds, or the robot suddenly stops
moving during return, proceed to step f, below. Otherwise, you are done with
this bay.
f.

If the robot fails to retrieve or return the tool: review and redo steps a-e to get a closer
calibration.
If the robot fails to pick up the tool AND appears to no longer be responsive (or if the
tool twists in some way): In Control > Other, click the Reset button. The system will
reset, and the controls will enable. If the tool is engaged, click the Connect button to
disengage it. Review and redo steps a-e to get a closer calibration.
 It can often be helpful to have a second set of eyes from another perspective to
ensure that you’re matching the parts up correctly.
 The buttons under the Control > Move screen are identical to those on this screen,
but slightly larger. If you’re misclicking a lot, switch to this screen when moving,
then switch back to save the successful values.

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Light Heads
This screen is enabled for BioAssemblyBots™ equipped with an Ambient Light tool. All Ambient Light
tools have been calibrated during BioAssemblyBot™ creation, and are equipped with 100 hours of
usage.
Calibration is required when:
•

100 hours of print time have elapsed. As the print heads are used, their maximum range
gradually decreases. After this, recalibration is required to ensure the BioAssemblyBot™ is
outputting the desired irradiance.

To calibrate a light head:
1. Move the light head on the tool to the ‘downward’ position rather than the ‘pointed at light
head’ position.
2.
Remove any light head shielding on the lens, but leave the lens on the
head. Be careful not to touch the glass surface of the lens; skin oils can damage
the lens if they are not removed before the head is used again.

3. Click the Start button. Choose the bay that contains the Ambient Light tool to calibrate.

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4. The head will be automatically calibrated and returned to the bay. The new irradiance range of
the head will be displayed. These irradiance values can be used in materials in TSIM™.

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Troubleshooting and FAQ
When should I do the Tip to Stage Offset calibration?
Tip To Stage Offset is recommended for when you’re switching between prints on different surfaces.
For example:
Your print requires a petri dish, and in your TSIM™ model, you created an object to print directly on
TSIM™’s virtual stage. You should put the petri dish on the BioAssemblyBot™ stage, then go into Tip to
Stage Offset calibration, then touch the needle to the petri dish inside surface, and store that height
value. This will offset the print to the correct height. You print, the print looks good, you remove the
print.
You decide you want to re-print this object and put a new petri dish on the stage, same as the last.
There is no need to redo Tip to Stage Offset calibration since it’s the same petri dish geometry – just
print and it’ll do the same thing.
Finally, you decide you want to re-print this object, but do it on top of a 'bed’ of collagen. You put a new
petri dish in, same as the last, but this one is half full of collagen. You redo Tip to Stage Offset
calibration, but this time, you touch the needle to the top of the ‘bed’ of collagen, and store that height
value. This will, again, offset the print to the correct height, which prints on top of the collagen.
When should I do the Light Head calibration?
To avoid a UV-required print stopping in the middle, after approximately 95 hours of print time has
occurred on the BioAssemblyBot™ since the last calibration. If the print head time “elapses” in the
middle of a print, the head will not function again until recalibrated, so it is recommended to recalibrate
before this occurs.
The HMI controls are disabled and/or I can’t hit Start or Confirm to begin a print?
Most likely, this is due to a door being open, the emergency stop is engaged, or the system is just
starting up. If the system is starting up, wait several minutes, and it will resolve itself. If not, check all
doors, and re-open and reclose them if necessary. Make sure the emergency stop is disengaged.
All BioAssemblyBots™ will display messages on the Status screen which indicate when and which doors
have been opened and closed (or emergency stop engaged/released), but BioAssemblyBots™ made in
2017 and beyond have an additional signal that indicates a safety has been triggered. When in doubt,
reopen and reclose the doors.
Failing this, review the icon in the Status screen. If it is red, review the messages to see if a hardware
component has failed. The most likely failure is a ‘Low Pressure Warning’ due to the input air
connection being too low; ensure the pressure fed into the BioAssemblyBot™ is a consistent 90 psi. For
any other hardware failures, contact Advanced Solutions Life Sciences for support.

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Tool retrieval or tool return failed repeatedly?
Most likely, this is due to the air pressure being too low. Check your pneumatic connection. The air
pressure fed into the BioAssemblyBot™ should be 90 psi. Air pressure significantly less (5 psi) can cause
tool retrieval or return failure. Remember that “house air” is often shared by multiple research areas in
a facility, causing dips. If pressure dips at exactly the time a tool is retrieved or returned, it can cause a
failure.
Alternately:
-

The storage bay calibration data could be missing or incorrect if a user altered the values in the
Calibration > Storage Bay screen. Check to see if the bay is Red or Grey per the section above.
If a certain tool is repeatedly failing, move it to another bay and re-attempt the retrieval or
return. If it continues to fail, the tool may be damaged; please contact ASI Life Sciences support.

The robot arm is stuck in a bad position. How do I resolve it?
Go into Control > Move in the main menu, and by using the arrow controls, carefully move the robot to
a position in the center of the machine. When it’s close to the center, go into Control > Other and hit
the Home button.
If the robot does not move when a button is clicked, or the controls are disabled, go into Control >
Other, and choose the Reset button. The controls will disable if they aren’t already, and the system will
restart in several minutes, and reenable the controls. You can now attempt to move it again under
Control > Move.
The robot arm is stuck in a bad position. How do I resolve it?
Go into Control > Move in the main menu, and by using the arrow controls, carefully move the robot to
a position in the center of the machine. When it’s close to the center, go into Control > Other and hit
the Home button.
How do I resolve a misfeed/incorrect height on a well plate in a Tower?
Open the doors. Push down on the well plates in the Tower with your hand until the well plates are 1020 mm down. Release the well plate on the top. The plates should feed into the correct orientation and
be at the right height level.
Well plate pickup failed repeatedly?
Check to ensure that there are well plates in the Source tower, at the correct height, and no misfeeds
occur. Please see the diagrams in Load Pick And Place Tower, Automatic Alignment.
My well plate moves slightly when the Pick and Place tool places it?
The Pick and Place tool should place the well plate very close to the edge of the stage inset – within 0.5
mm. If the well plate moves slightly when the Pick and Place tool releases it, the most likely scenario is
that the tool is slightly tacky from use. Rub a very small amount of cornstarch on the four plastic
grippers on the Pick and Place tool.
© 2017 Advanced Solutions Life Sciences

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BioAssemblyBot™ User Manual
Alternately:
-

Check the sides of the well plate. If the sides do not match the geometry shown in the pictures
in Load Pick and Place Tower, Automatic Alignment, then the Pick and Place tool cannot pick up
this type of well plate. Please contact tsimsupport@advancedsolutions.com for suitable well
plates.

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