Campden 5100mz Vibrating Microtome 

Description

Campden 5100mz Vibrating Microtome 

The Campden 5100mz Vibrating Microtome is an oscillating blade microtome, the result of considerable experience in the design and manufacture of tissue slicers. It is a lower cost sibling of the Campden 7000smz-2 Vibrating Microtome. It has a slightly lower performance specification, but does share several features and concepts with its more sophisticated brother.

The Campden 5100mz Vibrating Microtome is supplied with a fixed blade holder and the 5100mz Plus is supplied with the optional adjustable blade holder and Opti-Cal unit.

A number of researchers have found that certain combinations of oscillation frequency, amplitude and tissue advance rate can give superior slice quality for a given tissue. The Campden 5100mz Vibrating Microtome allows these combinations to be developed solely by input from the keypad.

Experienced users of oscillating microtomes will no doubt be aware that large amplitudes and/or high oscillation frequencies can lead to excessive vibration and unstable tissue fluid. The Campden 5100mz Vibrating Microtome benefits in this area by being built on a substantial rigid base giving good immunity to secondary vibration transmission.

The Campden 5100mz Vibrating Microtome features a removable blade holder mounted on a deep section parallel leaf spring assembly giving exceptional resistance to vertical z-axis deflections and motion errors.

Blade motion is by non-contact magnetic attraction giving a high degree of immunity from out-of-plane forces whilst allowing variable oscillation rates and amplitudes.

The blade is advanced into the tissue under motor control via a rotary control knob on the remote keypad allowing continuous adjustment of speed. This is particulary useful when different areas of tissue need to be cut at different speeds. Blade retraction is carried out at maximum speed and only after the uncut tissue has been lowered away from the blade, eliminating the possibility of the blade being dragged back across the uncut tissue causing damage.

Feedback on the oscillation axis allows close control over vibration amplitude. Positional feedback on the advance axis allows the instrument to remember the slice start and stop position.

Raising the tissue up into the path of the advancing blade controls section thickness. This movement against gravity reduces lost motion and uncertainty to a minimum allowing section thickness to be controlled accurately. A spring loaded dovetail arrangement for mounting the tissue bath gives a positive location of the bath while still allowing quick and easy removal.

A remote membrane keypad with LCD display allows the user to control the instrument and set the parameters governing blade frequency, section thickness, etc.

The instrument is supplied with a tissue bath having a ceramic magnet to locate and retain the specimen platen. A fixed specimen platen with removable speciemn support is supplied as standard. The rotational position of the specimen platen can be adjusted using the tool provided. An adjustable specimen platen is available as an optional extra.

The Campden 5100mz Vibrating Microtome’s tissue bath is located and held in place within the outer bath by magnets.

For enhanced observation of the tissue cutting process, a magnifying glass with integral cold light source is available as an optional extra.

The magnifier has a magnification factor of 1.5x and incorporates a circular array of variable power white LEDs allowing cold light illumination of the cutting process. The power cord for the magnifier/light source plugs directly into the Campden 5100mz Vibrating Microtome and requires no other source of power.

The Opti-Cal non-contact metrology device from the 7000smz slicer is available as an option. It is able to monitor the blade edge travel profile giving an indication of blade alignment error. If used together with the optional alignment blade holder (also from the 7000smz slicer) it will allow the blade to be adjusted relative to the lateral motion axis minimizing the out-of-alignment error of the blade edge resulting in a potentially cleaner slice.

Packing List includes 5100mz vibrating microtome, Tissue Bath Assembly, Outer Bath Assembly, Tool Case (excluding Adjustable Blade Holder and Opti-Cal), Mains Lead, and Operator Manual.