[3dem] Calling Teamtomo: our CERES ICE-Shield isn't working properly

[Sabrina Berkamp]

Hi Richard!

We have had the CERES ICE-shield for a while and it works reasonably well in our hands! 

Couple ideas:
When we first had it installed we noticed that the CERES ICE-shield would block the ion beam after a couple uses and never return to the correct position. It turns out Delmic had started using a new type of screw to mount the CERES and this screw would expand (or shrink?) differently than the surrounding materials in cold temperatures. End result was that the shield would slip out of it’s normal, calibrated position and end up somewhere else. Swapping the screws that mount it fixed this problem.

Our TFS Aquilos maintenance engineer mentioned that the gas pressure used to insert and retract the CERES Ice shield should also be checked. Too little or too much air pressure would result in CERES being in the wrong position, and could result in it ending up in a different position each time. You should be able to adjust the pressure next to the press-release valves on the unit. A small leak in the tubing would also cause pressure loss and a wrong insert distance. 

I supposed you have checked that the CERES doesn’t touch anything or get’s jammed? Not all crashes result in a touch alarm unfortunately. The bracket that it’s mounted on is also not bend? I think it was designed to hold a much lighter part after all.

If you have any questions or want to chat about CERES, we can always message back or schedule a zoom call! 

Sincerely,
Sabrina Berkamp
Postdoc

Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH
Ernst-Ruska Centre for Microscopy and Spectroscopy with Electrons / ER-C-3 Structural Biology
Institute for Biological Information Processing / IBI-6 Cellular Structural Biology
Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52425 Jülich, Germany
Phone: +49 2461 61 2032
https://go.fzj.de/erc3-ibi6
Email: s.berkamp at fz-juelich.de


> On Jan 20, 2024, at 9:00 PM, 3dem-request at ncmir.ucsd.edu wrote:
> 
> Message: 2
> Date: Sat, 20 Jan 2024 12:56:19 +0000
> From: "Walsh, Richard Michael" <Richard_Walsh at hms.harvard.edu <mailto:Richard_Walsh at hms.harvard.edu>>
> To: "3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu <mailto:3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu>" <3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu <mailto:3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu>>
> Subject: [3dem] Calling Teamtomo: our CERES ICE-Shield isn't working
> 	properly
> Message-ID:
> 	<MN2PR07MB60135523DB19AFCB01E38C85DB772 at MN2PR07MB6013.namprd07.prod.outlook.com <mailto:MN2PR07MB60135523DB19AFCB01E38C85DB772 at MN2PR07MB6013.namprd07.prod.outlook.com>>
> 	
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
> 
> We have heard of several sites using the CERES Ice-Shield on their Aquilos with no issues, but we have a reoccurring problem, during the thinning stage and its effecting our lamella quality.
> 
> 
> When using the CERES Ice-Shield in tandem with AutoTEM, we notice that each time the stage moves, the ice shield retracts and re-inserts, and thus during the thinning stage of the AutoTEM automation, the shield blocks reference image collection, thus resulting in a misplaced pattern and inconsistent lamella quality.
> 
> 
> Link to Video For Reference: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dyQR57ZPr6SQv_AypQvH-uOSCqPkD9jp/view__;!!Mih3wA!E4y-pfw8EsMkATaLFu-CyxAq6fvhvv2ObUTsGRwM7Zuf9I7SZj3gejlAO1pKmek9JdeXQL0L8NxOyAI8Sr8M5sPNdEuM68CYxg$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dyQR57ZPr6SQv_AypQvH-uOSCqPkD9jp/view__;!!Mih3wA!E4y-pfw8EsMkATaLFu-CyxAq6fvhvv2ObUTsGRwM7Zuf9I7SZj3gejlAO1pKmek9JdeXQL0L8NxOyAI8Sr8M5sPNdEuM68CYxg$> 
> 
> 
> So far neither Delmic nor ThermoFisher have any idea how to resolve this problem.
> 
> 
> Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
> 
> 
> best regards,
> 
> 
> Richard
> 
> 
> 
> Richard M. Walsh , Ph.D.
> 
> Managing Director
> The Harvard Cryo-EM
> Center for Structural Biology
> 
> Harvard Medical School
> 250 Longwood Avenue
> SGM 102
> Boston MA 02115
> 
> Phone: (617) 432-9042
> Email:Richard_Walsh at hms.harvard.edu <mailto:Richard_Walsh at hms.harvard.edu><mailto:Richard_Walsh at hms.harvard.edu <mailto:Richard_Walsh at hms.harvard.edu>>
> Web: cryoem.hms.harvard.edu <http://cryoem.hms.harvard.edu/><https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://cryoem.hms.harvard.edu/__;!!Mih3wA!E4y-pfw8EsMkATaLFu-CyxAq6fvhvv2ObUTsGRwM7Zuf9I7SZj3gejlAO1pKmek9JdeXQL0L8NxOyAI8Sr8M5sPNdEuMOhc5rw$ <https://urldefense.com/v3/__http://cryoem.hms.harvard.edu/__;!!Mih3wA!E4y-pfw8EsMkATaLFu-CyxAq6fvhvv2ObUTsGRwM7Zuf9I7SZj3gejlAO1pKmek9JdeXQL0L8NxOyAI8Sr8M5sPNdEuMOhc5rw$> >
> -------------- next part --------------
> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
> URL: <http://mail.ncmir.ucsd.edu/pipermail/3dem/attachments/20240120/e2d37cfe/attachment-0001.html <http://mail.ncmir.ucsd.edu/pipermail/3dem/attachments/20240120/e2d37cfe/attachment-0001.html>>
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Subject: Digest Footer
> 
> _______________________________________________
> 3dem mailing list
> 3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu <mailto:3dem at ncmir.ucsd.edu>
> https://mail.ncmir.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/3dem <https://mail.ncmir.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/3dem>
> 
> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> End of 3dem Digest, Vol 197, Issue 20
> *************************************

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.ncmir.ucsd.edu/pipermail/3dem/attachments/20240122/893d6b8e/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: smime.p7s
Type: application/pkcs7-signature
Size: 5761 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://mail.ncmir.ucsd.edu/pipermail/3dem/attachments/20240122/893d6b8e/attachment-0001.p7s>