[3dem] Subangstrom AutoGrid clipping station

[Thomas Cleveland]

Hi James,

We tried this. I really wanted to like it, and maybe if I had kept trying I
eventually would have gotten used to it, but I didn't care for it. The hole
that the clip and grid fit into was too small to see into easily (you can
only look top-down or through a narrow channel, so your depth perception is
lacking), so I found it very difficult to tell if the ring and grid were
seated/centered correctly before applying the C-clip. In addition, the
dimple that the ring fits into is very shallow, so it's also hard to seat
the ring just by feel.

The clip area of the Thermo clipping station is wide open so you can see
much better. Only after the ring/grid are seated do you then rotate a metal
plate with a guide hole over the grid, through which you apply the clip. I
actually didn't realize the reason for the FEI/Thermo design until I tried
the SubAngstrom clipping station. Then it became quite obvious why you
would want the guide hole to rotate into place *after* the fact, and be out
of the way while you are trying to center the grid!

As an aside, it's important to note that the SubAngstrom clipping tools
ONLY work on this SubAngstrom clipping station. They are a lot cheaper and
we thought we would save some money by getting them, but they don't work on
the Thermo clipping station. The SubAngstrom tool seems to fit in the
Thermo clipping station OK, but something is different about the tip and
they release the C-clip too early, so it doesn't get into the ring.

Tom

On Wed, Jul 7, 2021 at 2:23 PM James Streetley <
James.Streetley at glasgow.ac.uk> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> I’m wondering if anyone could share any experience on the Subangstrom grid
> clipping station:
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__subangstrom.com_Sample-2DPreparation-3Fproduct-5Fid-3D102&d=DwIFaQ&c=-35OiAkTchMrZOngvJPOeA&r=L7-zyQ-04fFCMRqzLIOnx7H0exGZHwIQe_wMPuY600I&m=JtOiPU26X_EIP-32RaPCjCyn5hf2CtfPQDDDFCE_LjE&s=wclPY9oshVe6Kyi2ETiPp1M7Gem68Eyb2ZyC2gml6uU&e= 
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__subangstrom.com_Sample-2DPreparation-3Fproduct-5Fid-3D102&d=DwMGaQ&c=-35OiAkTchMrZOngvJPOeA&r=L7-zyQ-04fFCMRqzLIOnx7H0exGZHwIQe_wMPuY600I&m=_XdOBEqKoE38GQtuoibTbbjduZEvgpqZDgUdqVggqrI&s=a3ZpLCpUGbLZxu07Xk9htywFIppKsWLwZnv9u7P-3Sk&e=>
>
> As a facility with JEOL instruments, we have no experience with AutoGrids
> yet and no existing clipping station, but JEOL have produced adaptors for
> AutoGrids in their CRYO ARM series which we are interested in so will soon
> need a way of clipping grids.
>
> Are many labs using the Subangstrom version or sticking with the original
> Thermo version? Any experience or advice gratefully received!
>
> Thanks,
> James
>
> Dr James Streetley
>
> SCMI Facility Manager
> Scottish Centre for Macromolecular Imaging
> Sir Michael Stoker Building
> 464 Bearsden Road
> Glasgow
> G61 1QH
> United Kingdom
>
> +44 141 330 4025 (office)
> +44 141 330 7495 (microscope suite)
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.gla.ac.uk_researchinstitutes_iii_cvr_scmi_&d=DwIFaQ&c=-35OiAkTchMrZOngvJPOeA&r=L7-zyQ-04fFCMRqzLIOnx7H0exGZHwIQe_wMPuY600I&m=JtOiPU26X_EIP-32RaPCjCyn5hf2CtfPQDDDFCE_LjE&s=wQB1n6Jnz1ATbVElgJOn34FYK7pLykQCxdOSj1-djQ0&e= 
> <https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.gla.ac.uk_researchinstitutes_iii_cvr_scmi_&d=DwMGaQ&c=-35OiAkTchMrZOngvJPOeA&r=L7-zyQ-04fFCMRqzLIOnx7H0exGZHwIQe_wMPuY600I&m=_XdOBEqKoE38GQtuoibTbbjduZEvgpqZDgUdqVggqrI&s=0-a0B-aSYmU9KvcVMoNQ6hKQCT8ypSYDV3rGgDgCpm4&e=>
>
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