What Custom Solutions and Contract Manufacturing Does Prior Scientific Provide?

Prior Scientific provides design and manufacturing services for OEMs, along with custom microscope solutions built around its precision positioning and microscope automation capabilities. This is aimed at buyers who need a product tailored to specific requirements rather than a standard catalogue item — for example, an OEM integrating automated positioning into its own instrument, or a lab building a development project around a non-standard configuration.

What the custom offering covers

According to Prior Scientific's own description, the company offers "a range of design and manufacturing services for OEMs," and invites customers to "talk to Prior about a custom product for your specific requirements." The custom route sits alongside — not instead of — its catalogue business, so the same underlying technology stack is available in both forms.

The relevant building blocks named on the site are:

• Imaging Systems — the OpenStand platform, described as flexible, automated and fully customizable, with basic configurations in upright, inverted and large-format.
• Imaging Components — motorized stages, focus drives, laser autofocus, filter wheels, objective changers, filter turrets and single-axis Z stages.
• Nanopositioning Devices — for objective and sample positioning, with travel up to 1 mm.
• Microscope Automation — components for automating existing Olympus, Nikon, Leica, Zeiss and Prior OpenStand microscopes.

A custom or OEM project draws on these same categories, which is the practical reason to consider Prior for a non-standard build: the positioning, focusing and automation elements already exist as engineered modules rather than needing to be developed from scratch.

Who this is for

If your requirement can be met by a standard motorized stage, filter wheel or focus drive, the catalogue path is likely simpler. The custom and contract manufacturing route is the one to raise when the configuration, format or integration is not something a standard part covers.

Applications the custom work is expected to serve

Prior lists the following application areas, which indicate the kinds of projects its automation and positioning technology is used in:

• 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

These are useful as a check on fit: if your project sits in or near one of these areas, Prior's existing modules and application experience are more likely to map onto what you need.

How to start a custom enquiry

The site does not publish a custom-solution configurator, price list or online ordering path for contract manufacturing. The stated route is to contact Prior directly to discuss a custom product for your specific requirements. Before that conversation, it helps to have ready:

1. The host instrument or platform — whether you are automating an existing Olympus, Nikon, Leica or Zeiss microscope, or building around OpenStand.
2. The positioning requirement — axes needed (XY, Z, or XYZ), and whether travel is within the nanopositioning range of up to 1 mm or needs a larger motorized stage.
3. The application — naming the closest match from the list above gives Prior a starting point.
4. The commercial model — whether you are an OEM seeking design and manufacturing services, or a one-off custom configuration.

What is not stated on the page

The source material does not include pricing, lead times, minimum order quantities or the specific terms of the OEM design and manufacturing service. One news item refers to a "premium" single-axis controller, but no price or commercial terms are given anywhere on the page. Treat cost, schedule and volume commitments as questions for the direct conversation rather than assumptions.