Tools, Facilities, Requirements

For technicians!

 

 

 

This chapter contains tools, facilities and requirements to install, repair and to adjust Pannoramic scanners and to clean optics.

 

Computer relevant configuration and software requirements are true until the operating system Windows xP® and the software version 1.14 is used.

 

·       Relevant computer information since the software version 1.15 or higher and the operating system Windows 7® 64bit is collected in the chapter “Prerequisites”.

 

 

Facilities and requirements

·       Hardware tools

·       Software requirements

·       Slides for setup and checks

·       Tools used to cleaning optics

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hardware tools

 

 

 

 

 Hexagon (hex) key wrenches (metric)                                                                              

 

 

Used in:   All scanners

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hexagon key wrench

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ball point hexagon key wrench

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sizes: 0.9, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 4 and 5mm metric.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All the mounting and adjustment bolts can be driven with one of the key sizes, named above.

An offset hexagon key wrench set is required; for the key sizes 1.5, 2.5 and 3 mm screw driver type tools with handle are recommended. Furthermore, a ball point hexagon key wrench in the sizes 2.5 and 3 mm offers advantage in some situations.

 

·         Because the 0.9 mm hexagon key wrench is often not included in any set, an offset hexagon key wrench 0.9 mm should be purchased separately.

 

 

Important

To tighten or loosen a bolt, use always an (offset) hexagon key wrench, never a ballpoint hexagon key wrench!

 

 

 

 

 

       PCON

 

In the scanner Pannoramic Confocal key sizes of 6mm and 8mm are also required!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Screw drivers

In some cases screw drivers for “Cross head Philips® screws” are used in the following sizes:

 

 

 

PH 00           60 mm

PH 0             60 mm;

PH 1             80 mm;

PH 2             100 mm;

PZ 2             100 mm;

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Combination wrenches

open and offset ring ends, chrome-plated; small heads metric

 

 

Used in:   SCAN and P250

 

Size: 10 and 5.5 mm metric

 

Remark: The size 10 combination wrench is delivered with the SCAN scanner.

 

The 10th wrench is used to open / close the cover locks and to loosen / tighten the shipping bolt in the SCAN scanner; the truss nuts are also tightened with the 10th wrench.

The 5.5th wrench is used to loosen / tighten the fixing nut for the chromatic aberration adjustment bolt in the DESK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              Wrenches

                   open end, small heads; metric

 

Used in:   All scanners

 

To loosen or tighten the compression-type connection of the spindle to the rotor, 2 additional metric wrenches are required since spring of 2014.

 

·       This connection occurs always on the spindle connection of newer type X-Y-stage units and other kind of spindle driven units.

 

·       8mm open end wrench, chrome-plated; small heads (metric)

·       6mm open end wrench, chrome-plated; small heads (metric)

·       The thickness of the wrenches is about 2mm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

        Tweezers     (recommended)

Used in:   All scanners

 

Two types;

  • fine and spiky,
  • big and blunt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Flat nose pliers (recommended)

 

Used in:   All scanners

 

To hold bolts, nuts or other small pieces flat nose pliers or any equivalent gripping pliers is recommended. 

 

·       The pliers should not be used to tighten or loosen bolts or nuts!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other pliers (recommended)

 

Used in:   All scanners

 

For any kind of electronics pliers see also:

·       http://shop.nws-tools.de/index.php/en/electronic-tools.html

 

 

The shown pliers are collected from:

·       http://shop.nws-tools.de/index.php/en/electronic-tools/finish-72/economyline.html

 

 

All pliers have a length of:

 

Length [mm]        120

Length [inch]        4 3/4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vernier caliper

 

Used in:   All scanners

 

For distance measuring, to check the correct size of parts and the check of adjustments a digital caliper with a nominal resolution of 0.01 mm and a length of 150 mm is recommended.

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                   Protective eye wear

Used in:   All scanners

 

Please use always a protective eye wear if the slide loading test is in progress and you are looking closely at the loading procedure! It may happen that a slide can fly in peaces during the process, mainly if the adjustment is incorrect!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              Autocollimator and dovetail ring adaptor

 

 Used in:  P250, SCAN and MIDI

 

The autocollimator is used to find the correct filter position of the filter wheel in the turret unit.

 

 An autocollimator is an optical instrument for non-contact measurement of angles. They are typically used to align components and measure deflections in optical or mechanical systems. An autocollimator works by projecting an image onto a target mirror, and measuring the deflection of the returned image against a display with a scale, either visually or by means of an electronic detector. A visual autocollimator can measure angles as small as 0.5 arc seconds.

 

 

 

 

Precautions     

Never look directly into the beam of the autocollimator!

The LASER beam has often a power of 0.01W only, but this is enough to harm the retina of the eye!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              Fluorescent light source

 

Used in:         P250, SCAN and MIDI

 

The light source is used to illuminate the field of view, if the fluorescent scan modus is selected.

 

·       For our purposes, we can also use the user’s light source.

 

 

Precautions

Never look directly into the beam of the fluorescent light source! The lamp emits also ultraviolet light with very high intensity. To prevent your eyes from harm (damage) use always sun glasses with a high filter factor of UV light if the fluorescent light source is switched on and you are adjusting the beam mainly if the cover of the turret unit is removed. For further precautions please, refer to the manual for the fluorescent light source you are using!

 

See also:       X-Cite Series 120Q” and “Xcite120PC_UserGuide

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                   SOLA-SM-II-Light-Engine

 

 Used in:  P250, SCAN and MIDI

 

 

Sola-SM-II-Light-Engine® offers a more cost-effective solution in relation to the HxP light engine® or to the Lumencor SPECTRA light engine® and may be used in Fluorescent scan sessions of any scanner type.

 

  • Because the Light engine emits white light, only single band filters can be used.

 

 

 

 

See also:       Users manual

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fluorescent filter blocks

 

Used in:         P250, SCAN and MIDI

 

A set of filter blocks in the wave lengths red, green and blue is used to adjust the fluorescent filter unit and to scan the fluorescent tissue.

 

  • The specified wave lengths of the filter block and the exciting and emitting wave length of the stained tissue have to match each other.

  

·       For our purposes, we can also use the user’s filter block(s).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              Utility knife, scissor

Used in:   All scanners

 

To cut labels and inscriptions a scissor with a blade length of at least 10 cm is helpful.

To cut strips and foils, to open packaging and others, a utility knife is required.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              Universal multi meter

 

Used in:   All scanners

 

To check voltages and fuses and to measure resistances, any kind of multi meter can be used; we recommend the use of the UNI-T DT830E or any equivalent type.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              Paint-brushes

 

Used in:   All scanners

 

To remove bits of broken glass from the magazine channel, slide rails and from other parts, paint-brushes in 2 cm and 4 cm width are often very helpful; furthermore, any kind of dust can also be removed from the units by the use of a brush.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

              Computer configuration

 

Used in:   SCAN, MIDI and DESK

 

The following configuration is true for service purposes until the software version 1.14 and the operating system Windows xP®.

Since the software version 1.15 and the operating system Windows7® x64bit please use a configuration as described under “Computer configuration and conditions” in the chapter “Prerequisites

 

Processor:                               Intel Pentium dual core, 2.6 GHz or higher

Ram:                                        4GB           or more

HDD:                                        400 GB      or more

USB 2.0 ports:                        6                 or more

VGA card:                                PCI 16x       

FireWire ports:                        1

FireWire extension card:      2 controllers

LAN controller and network connection

 

Monitor:  17” color LCD         or larger    Resolution:   1024 x 768 or higher

Keyboard, Mouse

Barcode dongle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Software requirements

 

 

Following requirements are mainly based on software versions with the operating system Windows®´xP 32bit until the software version 1.14. If an operating system Windows® 7 x64bit is used, please refer to “Prerequisites” and “Software and driver installation

 

 

 

 

Slide scanner program      with dongle or actual license file

 

·       Please make a security backup of the file MicroscopeConfiguration.ini before parameter values are modified!

 

The MicroscopeConfiguration.ini and the MicroscopeSettings.ini are situated:

 

Before version 1.14.

The *.ini files are found in the directory specified for the program Slidescanner.exe or MScan.exe respectively.

 

Version 1.14.

The *.ini files are found in the directory:

C:\ Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\3DHISTECH\SlideScanner\

 

All Users: this directory is true if the SlideScanner software was installed for “All Users”; otherwise, the software is installed to the user that was logged on during the install procedure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slide viewer program         with dongle or actual license file

 

The slide viewer program is found in the directory, specified during installation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slide scanner service program    with actual license file

 

 Service program (SlideScannerService.exe or MService.exe) with actual license file

 

Important

·        Please make a security backup of the file MicroscopeConfiguration.ini before parameter values are modified!

 

Versions before 1.14

The service program has to be copied (is found) into the directory specified for the program Slidescanner.exe / MScan.exe.

 

Versions 1.14. and higher:

The service program (the entire service pack) has to be copied (is found) into the directory:

C:\ Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\3DHISTECH\SlideScanner\

 

·   See also above “SlideScanner program”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Batch test program “b-Test.exe”

 

The test program b-Test.exe can be used to define and run test routines to moving units separately and in cycles.

The program works with predefined commands and these are arranged as needed for the test. To create your own test sequence, no programming knowledge is needed; the commands and steps are arranged by using logic.

 

See also:     Batch test program

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The address of the addressable unit can be defined with the program “Serial.exe’.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To upgrade the firmware of the stepper motor controller, start the “Atmel AVR Tools” and “AVR Studio 4”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slides for setup and checks

 

 

 

 

     Slide dimension check tool

 

Used in:         PCON_S_M_D

 

The tool is delivered with the appropriate scanner since January 2015!

 

 

 

The allowed slide dimensions are:

 

Length:          75.00 to 76.00 mm

Width:            25.00 to 26.00 mm

Thickness:    00.95 to 01.05 mm

 

 

  • If the first character of the serial number is an S the tool is used to check the slide’s dimensions for the scanners “PCON”, “SCAN”, “MIDI” and “DESK””.

 

  • If the first character of the serial number is a P the tool is used to check the slide’s dimensions for the scanner “P250”.

 

·       Please check the slide’s dimensions before filling the magazine or the tray with slides!

 

 

 

     Slide dimensions in DESK_II

 

Single width

Length:            75.00 to 76.00 mm

Width:               25.00 to 26.00 mm

Thickness:       00.95 to 01.20 mm

 

Double width

Length:            75.00 to 76.00 mm

Width:               50.00 to 51.00 mm

Thickness:       00.95 to 01.20 mm

 

 

 

 

 

     Slide dimension check tool

 

Used in:         P250

The tool is delivered with the scanner since January 2015!

 

 

The allowed slide dimensions are:

 

Length:          75.00 to 76.00 mm

Width:            25.00 to 26.00 mm

Thickness:    00.95 to 01.20 mm

 

 

 

  • If the first character of the serial number is an S the tool is used to check the slide’s dimensions of the scanners “SCAN, “MIDI” ; “DESK” and “PCON”.

 

  • If the first character of the serial number is a P the tool is used to check the slide’s dimensions of the scanner “P250”.

 

 

·       Please check the slide’s dimensions before filling the magazine!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Recommended slides

 

 Used in:        PCON, P250, SCAN, MIDI and DESK

 Slide loading test:        glass slides; 300 peaces (SCAN).

The slide loading test for the SCAN and the MIDI should be executed with and without cut corner slides. The slide dimensions should be nearly the maximum allowed dimensions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Metal etalon test slides

The allowed slide dimensions for the SCAN, the MIDI and the DESK are:

Length:           75.00 to 76.00 mm

Width:            25.00 to 26.00 mm

Thickness:      00.95 to 01.05 mm

 

To ensure, that the specified slide dimensions can be loaded, a metal slide kit with 4 test slides was created; the slides, if they are inserted, checking so the loadable slide dimensions. The test kit contains the following dimension checks:

·   The longest and widest slide

·   the longest and smallest slide

·   the shortest and widest slide

·   the shortest and smallest slide. 

 

 

 

 

     Barcode check slides

For barcode reading, a series of 19 check slides is used; the check slides containing the different barcode types with the smallest, allowed pixel size.

 

 See also:   Barcodes in practis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     DESK, slide insert check

 

The slide stud in the DESK should be able to hold the thickest allowed slide together with the cover slip (thickness = 0.17mm). Use this test slide to check the slide stud size in the DESK.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Test slide #2

 

The test slide # 2 contains 9 circles; each circle has a cross in the center. These crosses are marker positions for the preview calibration program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Calibration slide

 

In S_M_D_II-type scanners a new preview calibration slide is used.

 

The calibration slide exists in 2 versions, Single width slide and double width slide.

 

In all scanners, the calibration is done with the single width calibration slide.

In DESK_II the double width calibration slide is used to check the preview calibration result.

 

Because a new, more precise preview calculation algorithm is used, a new calibration slide is required, so post corrections after preview calibration are minimized or eliminated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                         Calibration slide Carl Zeiss # 474028

 

The calibration slide #474028 is used to correct the chromatic aberration and to check the inclination of the specimen holder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

·       Live view with 20x objective and not zoomed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Test kit 3, 1725 / 06

The slide #1725 / 06 is very poor in contrast and therefore used to check the preview quality.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Test slide Abeta

 

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Test slide HE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Fluorescent compensation slide

The fluorescent compensation slide is used to create a virtual compensation image for the fluorescent scan procedure; it consists of a glass slide and a foil.

 

·       Used in the SW versions 1.14 and 1.15 only

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Important

The foil is very light sensitive! Therefore, the slide should be returned into the protecting box as soon as possible after the fluorescent compensation image had been taken.

 

  

 

·       Used in the SW versions 1.14 and 1.15 only

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     FL scan check slide

 

Important

Fluorescent slides are very light sensitive! Therefore, the slide should be returned into a light protecting box as soon as possible after the fluorescent scan is finished.

 

 See also:   FL reflector turret unit; virtual tissue

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The slides “Abeta”, “HE”, Slide #1725 / 06 and “Convallaria” are used to check the scan quality in brightfield and fluorescent scan mode.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tools used to clean optics

 

 

 

 

 

Used in:         PCON, P250, SCAN, MIDI and DESK

 

See also:   “Cleaning optics

 

     Manual air blower

By using a manual air blower, loosen dust can be removed easily.

Do not use canned air cleaner products for optics; the composition is often not exactly known and may contain contaminations; these might damage the optics surface or the coating. Furthermore, if a powerful air blow reaches the optics surface, the existing dust particles on the optics may scratch the surface or coating immediately!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Clamp forceps

 

To grip and hold lens cleaning tissues or cotton pads a clamp forceps is very helpful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Plastic blade tweezers

 

Any kind of cleaning materials like cotton batting, cleaning tissues or cotton balls can also be hold by a plastic tweezers.

The cotton material to be hold should fully cover the peaks of the tweezers and should keep a thick coating to prevent touching the surface with the peaks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Lens brush

 

To clean lens surfaces special lens brushes can be used. The use of the lens brush for mirrors is not recommended. The lens brush should be cleaned or replaced from time to time, because the dust / lint will adhere to the hairs of the brush.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Latex finger coats

To protect optics from fingerprints during execution of the cleaning procedure, finger coats are used; even so, used materials will not be contaminated if they are touched. Latex gloves can also be used but they are more expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Bottle dropper

The liquid, used to clean optical surfaces can be dosed excellent by a bottle dropper. The used liquid is 96% - 98% ethanol or methanol; available in any pharmacy, the bottle dropper also.

 

High concentrated ethanol or methanol is very hygroscopic. After some drops of liquid is dropped onto the cleaning material, close the bottle immediately, never leaf the bottle unclosed. To avoid contamination of the cleaning liquid, the pipette should never touch the material where the liquid is dropped on.

 

·       Take into account that such liquids are very flammable! The quantity of the liquid in stock for such cleaning projects must not exceed 1l; otherwise special fire prevention measures have to be taken!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Cotton batting

 

 

For some optical surfaces, like the objective lenses, a very thin tool with cotton batting is used for the cleaning procedure.

 

 

Wooden or bamboo tools

 

To reach the lens surface of the objective on the tissue side, a peak ended wooden tool was created; to clean the lens surface on the camera side a flat ended tool can be used.

 

·       To create bamboo tools, Asian chopsticks are very well suited as basic material.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Lens cleaning tissue

Such lens cleaning tissues do not scratch the optics surfaces; it can be used for mirrors and lenses both; nevertheless, each surface of the tissue can be used for one wipe only!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Lens cleaning pads

 

Because the size of one pad is large (100x90 mm), and large pads are seldom needed, it can be cut in halves or quarters.

These pads are often used to remove dust from borders of the lens or edges of mirrors. The surface of the pad can be used also for one wipe only.