Automation of a Gas Chromatographic Procedure for the Determination of Glycols in Polyester Polymers with a Laboratory Robot

Abstract

An automated gas chromatograph ic procedure for the determinat ion of g lyco ls in polyester po lymers has been deve loped. A Zymark Laboratory Automat ion System cons is t ing of a microprocessor-based contro l ler, a robot ic a rm, and several other programmable modules combines w i t h an analyt ical balance and t w o gas chromatographs t o f o r m an ef f ic ient, dependable s y s t e m. This system per forms laboratory operat ions that are normal ly per formed by an analyst, fo r example, w e i g h i n g, d ispens ing, and t ranspor t ing. Pel lets, p o w d e r s, f i lms, f ibers, and l iquids are all acceptable sample f o r m s for automated analysis. The sys tem operates cont inuous ly, and less than f ive percent down- t ime is required for maintenance. The qual i ty cont ro l laboratory realized a f i f ty percent reduct ion in both test var iabi l i ty and labor requirements for th is gas chromatograph ic procedure w h e n the laboratory automat ion sys tem was fu l ly implemented. Zymate Laboratory Automation System (Zymark Corporation) at the Pit tsburgh Conference in 1982, this hardware became commercially available as an integrated system. The flexibility provided by the modular approach enables the laboratory robot to perform the simplest or the most complex analysis. Experimental A block diagram showing the location of the system com ponents is presented in Figure 1. The robotic a rm is centrally located and fixed in position with respect to the other com ponents. Moving vertically, horizontally, and rotationally, the robot has access to a laboratory balance, a heating-stirring block, two gas chromatographs, assorted racks, and liquid dispensing stations. Two hands, a general purpose gripper hand equipped with two sets of fingers and a precision syringe hand, are manipulated by the robotic arm at the various work stations.