NetNotes


Edited by Bob Price University of South Carolina School of Medicine Bob.Price@uscmed.sc.edu


Moving Scanning and Transmission Electron Microscopes Microscopy Listserver Dear Fellow Microscopists, we are currently planning to


move our equipment, which includes 3 SEMs (JEOL 6500F, EVO 50, Supra 40), 2 TEMs (JEOL 1230, JEOL 2100), 2 XRD, 1 XCT (NIKON), 1 Confocal (Zeiss LSM 510), 2 AFMs (Bruker Dimension Icon, Bioscope), and other smaller optical microscopes and prep equipment to our new facility. We were asked to consider the pos- sibility to move all of them ourselves. My questions to the group are 1. If we were to entertain this possibility, I would like your opinion on mistakes that we can or need avoid. 2. Some advice if there is a low-cost alternative to getting the instruments moved by manufac- turers. Te estimates came in well above $100K. 3. Which instru- ments should we have help moving? 4. I am confident on moving the XCT, XRD, confocal, the EDS/EBSD/STEM detectors, and even the SEMs. I am quite concerned about moving the TEMs, especially if we need any custom tools to disassemble the instruments. Has any- one moved TEM themselves? Can you please share your experience? Rooban Venkatesh K G Tirumalai rthirumalai@i2at.msstate.edu


My knee-jerk reaction is to tell you that aſter they have spent


heaven knows how much to build a new facility, they should not quibble over the costs of properly moving the equipment so that you do not end up with a collection of very costly boat anchors! I would move the smaller optical microscopes myself, in fact, I have done so, but anything that requires forkliſts to move is beyond my pay scale and expertise. You may hear from third-party providers who can do this for you at a lower cost, and I’d say that may be a good option for you. Good luck and congratulations on the new facility. Lee Cohen-Gould lcgould@med.cornell.edu


Hi Lee! You are elected for the best reply (you made me laugh


with your “costly boat anchors”…never thought about it, not a bad idea indeed!). Me tending to be cynical with incompetent peo- ple, I would ask the management: “Should you need someone to drive your Ferrari to the next state, would you hire the first kid you find in the street?”. Tis way they would understand, I guess. Stephane Nizet nizets2@yahoo.com


My knee-jerk reaction is to ask why the project manager didn’t


include moving costs in the initial budget. Having professionals move all scopes and QC them in the new location should be part of


the renovation costs. Anything under service contract must


be moved or approved by the company that issued the contract. Michael Cammer michael.cammer@nyulangone.org


We just recently moved to a new lab. 1. Local crews (physi- cal plant for the institution) usually do not do well with unwieldy,


60 doi:10.1017/S1551929522000566


heavy objects. Tere are many stories from various colleagues about watching their TEM fall. 2. You will want to schedule service with the TEM/SEM manufacturer or service engineer of choice to tear down and then re-install the instruments. Tey will also make sure they are up and running to specifications. 3. You can contract your own riggers and shippers. Tey will still be expensive because of lia- bility insurance. However, they will have the proper equipment and expertise. We asked our EM manufacturers who they trust to con- tract for that work. 4. If you contract the riggers and shippers, your institution *should* have insurance that you can tap into if some- thing goes awry. You will have to double-check with your admins. John Shields johnshields59@gmail.com


1) If you need to use riggers to move the instruments over


thresholds, through loading docks, or other difficult “terrain”, be sure to find riggers that specialize in scientific equipment with high centers of mass. I’ve had success using companies that move CT scanners and MRIs for hospitals, and you should be able to receive a referral from Zeiss, JEOL, or another micro- scope manufacturer. This is obviously important when mov- ing TEMs. 2) Find a retired field service engineer from JEOL, Zeiss, or Phillips/FEI/TF to quote you on the move. They will be cheaper if they are available and willing to help. 3) All can be moved yourself if you have the time, patience, and reasonable level of care. Take lots and lots of pictures of cables, label the cables with different colored tapes. Take more pictures. I agree with Michael that anything you can’t lift, or crate, should be hired out for multiple reasons. All EMs are tricky to move and even trickier to get working again after a move, especially if they are over a few years old. Vibrations can kill sources, knock in- ternal connections loose, knock boards askew, and inadvertent impacts can be fatal for both instrument and unskilled mover. No experience with moving XRDs, but they look as heavy and bulky as electron columns, and probably have nearly as much lead shielding. Chris Winkler crwinkler@ncsu.edu


You can move these instruments by yourself, but the TEM


will have a very high center of gravity. Thresholds and navi- gating slopes can be dangerous to the microscope and crew. If you are not confident that you can move a microscope safely to the new facility, it should be left to professionals. Consider the liability of injuring yourself or students in the process. You should discuss this with your laboratory safety and facilities to make sure you are not violating safety procedures or building code by connecting or disconnecting the instrumentation. Con- sider the impact on your research and the amount of time it will take to do this move and restore the systems without assistance. I suspect several months downtime to move 5 EMs for a non- professional. Are you competent enough to recalibrate the mi- croscope and spectrometers after a move? Consider the potential


www.microscopy-today.com • 2022 May


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72