The Clipping Station features a high-quality foam dewar constructed from durable, closed-cell polyethylene. The dewar integrates grid box storage and clipping tool access directly adjacent to the clipping area, minimizing sample handling and reducing exposure to ambient humidity and contaminants.

A puck-style clipping tool holder allows up to 33 clipping tools to be pre-loaded with C-clips and cooled simultaneously. This arrangement enables efficient, uninterrupted clipping of up to 33 samples in a single session while keeping all tools within easy reach.

At the core of the system is a newly designed Clipping Hub that replaces traditional rotating brass guidance cylinders with a novel seesaw mechanism. By pressing either side of a cantilever beam, the user can smoothly move the guidance cylinder into position for clipping or for placement and removal of the AutoGrid ring. This design reduces resistance, minimizes the risk of bending tweezers, and improves overall workflow ergonomics.

The clipping cavity features a shallow, dark-colored surface to enhance contrast when positioning AutoGrid rings and retrieving clipped grids with AutoGrid tweezers. Additional grooves allow visual inspection of clipped grids as well as verification of cryo-ET and FIB-SEM ring notch orientation.

The station lid is carefully balanced between accessibility and environmental protection. A central opening provides full access to the clipping hub without rotating the lid, while still limiting exposure to ambient humidity. Knurled knobs allow controlled rotation when accessing other grid boxes or clipping tools, and an optional lid insert can fully seal the opening during cooldown or extended pauses. A silicone mat beneath the station reduces movement when the lid is rotated, further improving handling stability.

The Clipping Station is compatible with NanoSoft clipping tools (including #47000-611), Thermo Fisher clipping tools, and Cryo Grid Box Storage Pucks, allowing grid boxes to be accessed without transferring them through the ambient environment from a separate dewar.

Clipping Station

NanoSoft Clipping Station

Reviews