I am building a microtiter plate interface that consist of a x-y translation stage to automatically deliver liquids into the wells of a microtiter plate (96 wells). I have found a very nice x-y translation stage on the builds site (http://www.openbuilds.com/builds/x-y-table-openrail-v-slot-build-examples.62/). But in order to deliver the liquids I need to translate the microtiter plate to the right position and then move it up in z so that pipette that delivers the liquid reaches into the individual well. Can anyone suggest a good way to translate a platform upwards in z in a fast fashion? It should not take more than a fraction of a second to move up by 1 cm. I was thinking of building a spring loaded plate that is attached to rails and the movement is done by a motor that has a non-concentric wheel. I have seen designs with a screw drive but I suspect that they are too slow. Thanks in advance Helmut Strey www. streylab.com
