AUC Cell Alignment Tool

The Spin CAT alignment tool is used to align cell housings in standard 4 or 8-hole rotors used in the Beckman-Coulter XL-A/XL-I analytical ultracentrifuge. When properly adjusted, the Spin CAT can guarantee repeatable cell alignment to better than 0.1 degree. The tool is intended for use with cell housings that have solid bottoms with rectangular cutouts and a screw ring on the top only; it will not work correctly with cells that have screw rings on both the top and bottom of the housing.

 

Tool Description

The Spin CAT tool consists of two parts: a fixed body and a rotating steel key.The tool is designed to engage the bottom of the rotor: the leg fits into the rotor’s center hole and the key fits into any of the sample holes.

To align a cell simply insert the cell into the desired rotor sample hole, install the Spin CAT tool so that the key fits into the slots in the cell housing bottom and then rotate the Spin CAT arm until it reaches the calibrated stop position.

Although the Spin CAT tool is calibrated to work with Spin Analytical cell housings it is a simple procedure to adjust the tool’s stop position to work with any cell housing.

AUC Cell Alignment Tool User Manual
AUC Cell Assembly Instructions