12 Loading the Bath and Bath Assembly Options

The Tissue Bath Assembly can be loaded to the Stage when the instrument is in either the Startup or Preparation screens. In these screens, the Stage and Advance axis will be fully retracted.

The spring-loaded lever should be pushed rearward. Slide the Tissue Bath Assembly with the dovetail arrangement until a positive stop is met. When it cannot be inserted further, releasing the lever holds the bath in place. Figure The instrument is supplied with an Inner Tissue Bath which has a ceramic magnet to place and retain the Tissue Mount. Three Tissue Mounts are included: a Standard Mount, a Rectangular Mount for use with multiple or larger samples, and an Adjustable Angle Mount are supplied as standard.

A Spanner is provided for ease of handling of the Standard Mount, thereby avoiding contact with the prepared tissue specimen. Typically, the Inner Bath and a tissue Mount with the prepared tissue specimen are fitted into the Outer Bath Assembly prior to loading onto the Stage. Figure If the Tissue Mount type has not been used in the previous session, ensure the correct mount has been selected in the Preparation screen.

The Standard and rectangular Tissue Mounts have removable stops to provide support to the tissue when slicing. To add/remove the stops, use the 1.5mm Hex driver supplied in the toolkit, on the M2.5x5 stainless steel button head screws. There is a washer also for each screw.

Yellow Warning When slicing, if the blade hits the removable stop, the inner tissue bath is designed to slide with the advance as a safety feature. This will of course damage the edge of the blade edge where it makes contact. To avoid doing this set the limits (see section 14) and reduce the speed at the end of a slice. Ensure the inner tissue bath is pushed back (all the way in) fully before slicing.
Red Warning Potential risk of damage to equipment and specimen warning - If the Adjustable Angle Mount is to be used, extra care is required to prevent blade contact with the tissue mount during Move/Slicing operations.

When crushed ice is used in the surrounding outer bath, the need to regularly drain the excess water is present when refilling the ice. For drainage, the option to replace the screw-in drain plug with an elbow swivel connector and drain tube is supplied as standard. The tube may be shut off by using the pinch-clip supplied, or by replacing the tube and pinch-clip with a cap over the barbed end of the elbow swivel connector also included. Figure

Yellow Warning Users wanting to customize the Outer Bath/Inner Bath/Tissue Mount assembly must ensure that the total weight including contents does not exceed 800g to prevent overloading of the Stage drive motor.
Once the bath assembly has been loaded, select the Figure Slice button to load the bath to the "Home" position and enter the Move screen (see section 13).