One of the main topics in laboratory automation is handling extremely small quantities of liquid, from millilitres down to nanolitres. That is why Festo offers compact and perfectly integrated functional units. These standardised components enable system and equipment manufacturers to shorten their development times, and at the same time meet strict quality requirements reliably and efficiently. This makes Festo not just a valuable partner for customers in the healthcare sector, but also in other industry sectors where accurate liquid handling is required, for example in the production of food and cosmetics, in printing and cleaning, or for breeding and incubation processes.

Festo offers a complete system
The dispense head VTOE was the first modular complete solution developed in-house by Festo for dispensing extremely small quantities of liquid quickly and accurately. This enabled Festo to offer customers a complete system for liquid handling, including kinematics that is based on the functional principle of pressure over liquid.

By using a proportional pressure regulator, such as the VEAB, pressure is built up in a filled reservoir. The liquid is delivered to a dispense head or a media-separated valve via an additional line. By opening and closing the valve (e.g. VYKA or VYKB) the liquid is dispensed via special fluidic push-in fittings (NLFA) using a dispensing nozzle (VAVN) The pressure and valve opening time can be used to regulate how much liquid is dispensed.   The opening times can be easily adjusted, for example with the valve control module VAEM. Thanks to this setup and a suitable handling system, microwell plates in laboratory automation applications can be precisely filled in no time at all.

New application options
The media-separated solenoid valves VYKA and VYKB and the media-separated pneumatic valve VZDB open up completely new applications beyond those in laboratory automation. These include adding flavourings to food products and feeding ink in the printing industry, cleaning cow teats, controlling fluids in dental chairs and vaccinating eggs in the incubation process.

Innovative dispensing solutions and much more
The valve control module VAEM is another LifeTech product that offers very diverse application options. It can switch a wide range of solenoid valves and it makes child's play of parameterising all holding current reduction values. This makes it very easy for you to configure your own individual dispensing solution, from a single channel to a 12-channel dispense head and valve control module VAEM.

More effective pipetting
The LifeTech development team in Boston, USA, has developed the new dispense head VTOI which is capable of dispensing to eight outlets via a single inlet. Furthermore, the VTOI can also be used for pipetting, i.e. withdrawing liquids from a particular source and dispensing them elsewhere.   All in all, this contributes greatly to further accelerating key processes in laboratory automation. The team in Boston is also working on a complete pipetting system as well as decentralised pressure/vacuum generation. Festo is opening up more and more opportunities and new perspectives for manufacturers to make precision liquid handling even more efficient.

Dispense head VTOE: ready-to-install dispensing solution

• Configurable dispensing solution comprising manifold duct plate, media-separating dosing valves and nozzles
  
• Extremely precise
• Typical coefficient of variation (CV): < 1% at 10 to 1000 μl
• Media-separated dosing valve for sensitive and aggressive liquid media
• Good rinsability and small internal volume
  

Dispense head VTOI: extremely precise

• For dosing a liquid into 8 channels in parallel
• 9 mm grid dimension ideal for microwell plates
• Simple design with side-by-side mounting for increased throughput
• Complete system with just a few components

Valve control module VAEM: easy actuation of valves with holding current reduction

• Ultra-precise valve actuation with a time resolution of 0.2 ms
• Digital interface (RS232 and Ethernet) for configuring and controlling the valves
• Easy to set the calibration factor between the individual channels (opening times per valve)
• 24 V trigger input for valve actuation
• Graphical user interface (GUI) for extremely easy operation and clear visualisation

Media-separated valves 

• FDA-listed materials
• Developed to ISO 13485
• Reliable media separation
• For aggressive liquids
• Very easy to clean
• Flexible to use thanks to 3/2 and 2/2 (NC/NO)
• Various nominal widths for dosing, aspirating and for continuous flow applications

Fluidic fittings NLFA and dosing nozzles VAVN: FDA-listed materials

• Fittings for liquid media, particularly suitable for laboratory applications
• Five different fittings for a wide range of tubing
• Ten different nozzles with optional tapering and chamfer
• Suitable for aggressive liquids
• FDA-listed materials
• Excellent rinsability thanks to connector without dead space