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Gate valve closing with plasma on

PostPosted: Thu Oct 07, 2021 3:43 pm
by trevorbruce
Hello- thank you for letting me join the forum. Has anyone had the issue of the gate valve closing while the plasma is still on? It seems to be happening after the plasma has been on for 20 minutes

Re: Gate valve closing with plasma on

PostPosted: Sat Oct 09, 2021 10:09 am
by TomerWeizmann
Welcome.

We have encountered a similar fault. It required Fluidigm’s on-site service and replacing of the gate valve (sometimes cleaning the mechanism and changing the o-rings may help).

As a temporary workaround, you may try opening the gate valve ‘manually’ via Service Mode (consult with your FSE). Keep a close eye that it stays open, and I also recommend to confirm that the QC (tuning and beads etc.) are normal after this procedure.

Good luck :-)

Re: Gate valve closing with plasma on

PostPosted: Tue Oct 12, 2021 8:26 pm
by trevorbruce
Thank you- we are scheduling a Fluidigm visit

Re: Gate valve closing with plasma on

PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2021 11:04 am
by desireeBCRT
Hi,
we also had our gate closing about that time after plasma was lit. Sometimes with a shutdown and error "Argon supply insufficient" but most times also with plasma staying on. In our case, it was a failure at the gas manifold sitting behind the argon inlet on the side of the instrument. A loose connection of a cable, that made the instrument "think" that there was insufficient argon when it actually wasn't the case.

Good luck and please let us know what the issue was on your instrument.

Desiree

Re: Gate valve closing with plasma on

PostPosted: Fri Oct 29, 2021 10:56 pm
by trevorbruce
Our field service engineer replaced the micro board, and that seems to have resolved the issue