A History of Innovation
What began as a simple idea has today evolved into a powerful business model helping address customer needs and advance technology in laboratories around the world. The idea? That Aim Lab could significantly boost the efficiency of laboratories by automating some of their time-consuming manual processes associated with managing samples before or after analysis. Aim Lab designs and manufactures automated solutions for leading analyser providers to reliably process the large numbers of samples received daily in pathology, industrial and environmental laboratories around the world.
As a culmination of 40 years of experience, our approach to developing unique automation solutions that deliver both innovation and reliability is two pronged:
(i) to challenge the currently accepted existing technology (or the “status quo”), and
(ii) to simplify our product designs to add functionality without complexity.
Through collaboration with our partners and end users, we strive to provide added value to their analytical offerings so together we accomplish shared success. Our partnerships aren’t based on a piece of paper: they’re driven by building strong relationships through the mutual respect gained from working together closely on a custom solution. We genuinely want to create something that differentiates our customers’ products in the market. To do this, we go the extra mile to really understand their needs. It is this depth of understanding together with our obsession to create a better way of doing things that leads to the development of new smarter solutions.
Pathology Automation
Aim Lab’s (formerly Ai Scientific) first pathology automation system, the PathFinder Mark II, was an impressive looking system that automated various tasks including tube id, tube type recognition, liquid volume detection, decapping, aliquoting, foil sealing and sorting of tubes into destination racks. Tubes were loaded directly into pucks on a carousel.
The Mark II was first installed in 1998 and won an Australian design award at the time.
Liquid Autosamplers
Aim Lab has been manufacturing autosamplers for more than 35 years and over this time, the Company has manufactured over 15,000 autosampler units.
The first autosampler that Aim Lab manufactured was the AIM100/101 which was initially produced in 1979 and was one of the first autosamplers on the market. It incorporated a moving sample tray accommodating either 10 x 10 or 8 x 8 sample racks. Sample positions were moved to the sample probe which travelled both along a “y” axis and up and down a “z”-axis.
The AIM1250 autosampler was the Company’s second-generation autosampler and was released in 1993. It improved and refined the core design elements of the AIM101 incorporating XYZ “random access” sampling, a more compact design, a higher sample capacity and a wider choice of accessories.
The AIM1250 won a prestigious Australian Design Award in 1993. In 2006, the Mark III version of the AIM1250 was released with new electronics and capabilities. The AIM1250 was finally retired in 2015 after 22 years of service!
