How to Automate an Existing Microscope with Prior Scientific Components

Updated

Prior Scientific sells microscope automation components that can be fitted to existing microscopes, including Olympus, Nikon, Leica, Zeiss, and Prior's own OpenStand platforms. The practical route is to identify which axes you need to motorize (XY, Z, filter, objective), confirm the component matches your microscope model and interface, then add the controller and software. If your microscope or workflow falls outside the standard range, Prior also offers custom design and contract manufacturing.

What can be automated

Prior's imaging components cover the main motorized functions around a microscope:

  • Motorized XY stages — move the sample in the horizontal plane (for example, the ProScan H100A Motorized XY Stage).
  • Focus drives and single-axis Z stages — motorize focus.
  • Laser autofocus — maintain focus automatically during long scans or time-lapse work.
  • Filter wheels and filter turrets — switch emission/excitation filters (for example, the HF108B High-Speed Ultra-Thin Filter Wheel and HF108FC Widefield Filter Turret).
  • Objective changers — switch objectives under software control.
  • Nanopositioning devices — for the fastest and most accurate objective and sample positioning, with travel up to 1 mm.

These are the building blocks. Which ones you need depends on the experiment, not on the brand alone.

Matching components to your microscope

The key selection variables are:

Variable What to check
Microscope brand/model Prior lists components for Olympus, Nikon, Leica, Zeiss, and Prior OpenStand
Axis required XY stage, Z focus, filter, objective — or a combination
Interface/mounting Whether the component is made for your stand and how it attaches
Precision need Standard motorized stages vs. nanopositioning (up to 1 mm travel)
Control Controller and software that drive the chosen components

Because the same function (for example, an XY stage) exists in different form factors for different stands, the model and mounting interface matter more than the function name. Confirm the specific part against your microscope before ordering.

Applications this supports

Prior lists these application areas for its automation components:

  • Atomic Force Microscopy
  • Super-Resolution and Confocal Microscopy
  • Automated Fluorescence Microscopy
  • High Content Screening Automation
  • Automated High Throughput Screening
  • Metrology Automation
  • Automated Slide Scanning
  • Pathology

Use this as a filter: if your task is, for example, automated slide scanning or high-content screening, the required axes and speed/accuracy demands are already implied by that application.

When standard components are not enough

If your microscope or workflow does not fit the standard range, Prior offers custom solutions and contract manufacturing for OEMs — design and manufacturing services for specific requirements. This is the path when you need a non-standard interface, a custom configuration, or a product built around your application rather than adapted from a catalogue part.

Practical next steps

  1. Define the axes you need to motorize (XY, Z, filter, objective).
  2. Note your exact microscope brand and model.
  3. Match each axis to a Prior component listed for that stand.
  4. Confirm the controller and software that will drive the set.
  5. If nothing standard fits, contact Prior about custom or contract manufacturing.

Prior describes itself as providing automated microscope parts and solutions for over 100 years, with the OpenStand platform as a flexible, automated, fully customizable system for optical microscopy and imaging (upright, inverted, and large-format configurations). That platform is relevant if you are building a system rather than retrofitting an existing stand.