Production Capacity up 350% with Automated Dispensing
- Aug 22
- 5 min read
Updated: Sep 4
Medical equipment manufacturer automated precise gel casting process using Cyth's multi-channel syringe pump system controlled by LabVIEW.
Project Summary
Medical equipment manufacturer automated precise gel casting process using Cyth's multi-channel syringe pump system controlled by LabVIEW.
System Features & Components
Multi-channel Kloehn syringe pumps for precise dispensing of five liquid solvents
Stepper motor control with encoder feedback via Modbus TCP communication
SICK proximity sensors for conveyor position monitoring and dispensing synchronization
Custom LabVIEW user interface with preset and manual measurement capabilities
Automated conveyor integration for continuous production workflow
Custom aluminum frame and fiberglass housing fixtures for pump mounting
Outcomes
Production capacity increased by 350%, enabling processing of over 1,000 cartridges daily
Quality consistency improved dramatically with measurement accuracy reaching ±0.3%
Material waste reduced by 35% through improved processes
Annual labor cost savings of $180,000 achieved through operational efficiencies
Return on investment realized in just 14 months, demonstrating rapid payback period
Technology at-a-glance
NI CompactRIO real-time control system
LabVIEW control architecture
Kloehn syringe pumps and pump manifolds
Custom multichannel pump housing fixtures
Precision stepper motors controlled via Modbus TCP communication protocol
SICK proximity sensors
10A time delay fuse
Custom aluminum frame and fiberglass housing
Enabling Scientific Research & Advancements
Each time a genetic disease is diagnosed in a medical lab or a breakthrough discovery is made in DNA research, gel electrophoresis technology plays a central role in separating and analyzing the DNA fragments that make these scientific advancements possible.
This common laboratory technique, which sorts DNA molecules by size using an electric current through a gel medium, is foundational to many medical discoveries, forensic investigations, and research advancements that directly impact public health and safety.
The manufacture of gel electrophoresis cartridges, the consumable components essential for this process, has traditionally relied on labor-intensive manual processes, creating inefficiences and bottlenecks for laboratories worldwide.
A leading medical equipment manufacturer was intimately familiar with this issue; their manual gel casting operations required skilled technicians to precisely measure and mix five different liquid solvents for each cartridge, creating quality inconsistencies, production limitations, and escalating labor costs that threatened their ability to meet growing market demand.
Many of their pharmaceutical customers were demanding higher volumes of high-quality cartridges to support their expanding research and diagnostic initiatives. The cartridge manufacturer realized that their manual processes were hindering their ability to grow and threatening existing client relationships. They needed an automated solution that could deliver precision, scalability, and the reliability that their customers depend upon.
Manual Processes Limit Growth
The medical equipment manufacturer was faced with a critical operational bottleneck. Their gel electrophoresis cartridges were in high demand, but their manual casting processes greatly limited their growth potential.
Their existing workflow required skilled technicians to manually measure and dispense five different liquid solvents in precise ratios to achieve their proprietary gel mixture. This time-consuming process introduced variability that could impact cartridge performance:
Scalability constraints: Manual processes couldn't scale to meet growing demand, forcing the company to hire additional staff or decline orders
Quality variability: Human error in measuring and mixing solvents led to inconsistent gel properties and customer complaints
Material waste: Imprecise measurements resulted in significant waste, directly impacting profit margins
Cost Reduction & Competitive Differentiation
The medical equipment manufacturer needed to automate the casting of their electrophoresis cartridges to keep up with market demand and preserve profit margins.
Market expansion requirements: Growing demand required that they triple production capacity within 18 months.
Quality standardization: Customer application requirements demanded consistent gel properties with less than 2% variation.
Cost reduction pressures: Rising labor and material costs squeezed profit margins.
Competitive differentiation: Faster delivery times and superior quality consistency could provide a significant competitive advantage.
To successfully automate their casting process, they required a system capable of:
Handling five different liquid solvents with varying viscosities
Dispensing the solvents in precise ratios with ±1% accuracy
Integrating seamlessly with existing conveyor systems
Automated Production Workflow
The medical equipment manufacturer chose to work with Cyth Systems because of their expertise in precision liquid handling automation applications across pharmaceutical manufacturing, clinical diagnostics, and research laboratories.
Cyth built an automated gel electrophoresis cartridge casting process using the NI CompactRIO platform, their proprietary LabVIEW motor control architecture, syringe pumps and precision motor controllers that seamlessly integrated with the customer’s existing conveyor system.
Multi-Channel Precision Dispensing: Proprietary five-solvent gel mixture handled by five, coordinated Kloehn syringe pumps that precisely dispensed liquid solvents of carying viscosities. Motor encoder feedback via Modbus TCP ensured ±0.5% dispensing accuracy across all channels.
Intelligent Conveyor Integration: Cartridge positions continuously measured by SICK proximity sensors as they moved left to right on the production conveyor. Synchronized dispensing sequences were automatically triggered when cartridges reached their optimal position, enabling continuous production workflow without manual intervention.
Flexible Control Architecture: Intutive system operation enabled through the custom LabVIEW user interface (UI). Operators could select from preset formulations for different gel types or manually adjust measurements based on the end customer’s requirements. To ensure consistent gel casting with the correct properties, Cyth implemented algorithms to translate user inputs into precise motor control commands and pump cycle amounts.
Automated Production Workflow: Once operators turn on the conveyor and select gel formulations through the UI, cartridges are released onto conveyor slots where proximity sensors trigger automatic dispensing as each cartridge passes the solvent pump stations, followed by automatic syringe refilling cycles that prepare the system for the next cartridge.
Diagram of plastic cartridges being cast with gel on a conveyor.
System Order of Operations:
Operator manually turns on the conveyor.
Operator uses the LabVIEW UI to either select a preset formula or to manually enters the required measurements of each of the five solvents required to make the customer’s gel.
The cartridges are systematically released by motors onto the conveyor holder slots.
As the cartridges move left to right their position is monitored using SICK proximity sensors.
When a cartridge is in the corrext position, the multi-channel pumps send a control command via the encoder to the stepper motors.
The stepper motors dispense and cast the solvents through the syringe pumps into the cartridge.
The stepper motor refills the syringe with liquid solvent for the next cartridge passing through the conveyor.
Steps 5 through 8 repeat.
Multiple sets of multi-channel Kloehn syringe pumps assemblies for dispensing solvents into cartridges.
Superior Quality Consistency
The automated gel casting system delivered significant operational improvements to the medical device manufacturer.
ROI Achieved in 14 months: Fully automated casting operations eliminated the previously manual dispensing process, ensuring consistent, hands-free production flow, and delivering a 14-month payback period.
Quality Control Improvement: Precision control over proprietary gel mixture formulations improved measurement accuracy to ±0.3%, virtually eliminating quality-related customer complaints, ensuring consistent gel quality across all cartridges and reducing material waste due to over-dispensing.
Scalability and Throughput: Automated fill cycles and continuous conveyor operation minimized downtime between cartridge casting cycles and enabled processing of 1,000 cartridges daily, increasing production capacity by 350%.
Reduced Labor Requirements: Automation of complex mixing and dispensing processes freed up skilled technicians to focus on higher-value activities, resulting in $180,000 of labor cost savings annually.
The impact of the automated gel casting system extended beyond operational improvements, fundamentally strengthening the medical equipment manufacturer’s competitive position. Their rapid delivery times and superior quality consistency strengthened existing client relationships and attracted new customers, like major pharmaceutical companies.
Furthermore, the modular design of the system built on NI CompactRIO hardware positioned the manufacturer for sustainable future growth, with plans currently underway to expand their product line and leverage proven automation frameworks throughout their broader facility.
