Re: [ccp4bb] Home Source Options

[Roger Rowlett]

Paul, We've been running an Oxford Diffraction (now Agilent) Gemini system for nearly two years now. We have the older PX Ultra source for protein, and a Ruby (135 mm) detector. As an educational institution, we actually do a lot of structure solution in-house, both for convenience and for instructional purposes. The newer Supernova source is (I think) about 4X brighter than our source, and the units are smaller and consume less power as well. The software, CrysalisPro, is very good at integration and scaling, and interfaces well with CCP4. We are running our sources at about 30% of the available time, and are still acceptably strong after 18+ months. We anticipate needing to replace them at our current usage rate every 24-36 months, or when they fail. They are about $3000 each at last check. Cooling is 2L/min of tap water, power supply is nothing special, just 240V and 120V supplies, 15-25A, if I recall correctly. I think the newer sources may have less in the way of power requirements. The only maintenance issues we have had is with the cooling plumbing: we replaced a couple of solenoid valves, a pump, and a flow meter due to clogging/sticking, but I think most of these issues may have originated in the factory, not during operation. The electronics seem to be pretty robust. We are replacing the brass main cooling pump fairly frequently, but they are not very expensive, and are available from a third party vendor. The biggest expense has been the cryogens for the cryojet. We did quite a bit of research before writing a successful proposal for our XRD instrument. At least as of 2 years ago, we couldn't afford to purchase or operate any other instrument in a small college environment. Rotating anode sources are out of the question in terms of maintenance and cost of operation for us. The sealed tube sources are the way to go, and Oxford was the first to offer a sealed tube instrument with capability similar or equivalent to rotating anode sources. The data I can get out of the PX Ultra/Ruby CCD is similar to that of a Rigaku RU-200 + RAXIS-IV system I used at the NIH. We spent a little over $400K for the entire system 2 years ago. Maintenance has been minimal in terms of cost, even if we totaled up the cost of parts we replaced under warranty. For $12K/yr (last time it was offered to me), Oxford/Agilent will give you 100% maintenance, which is not a bad deal if you don't want to deal with maintenance yourself. Cheers, Roger Rowlett On 9/26/2010 10:06 PM, Paul Smith wrote: I'm interested in opinions/advice on home source systems. As synchrotron beamlines are more powerful and more accessible than ever, a home source is really only needed for crystal screening, if at all. With that idea in mind, what are options out there for buying and running a home source in the most cost friendly way possible? I'm aware of most of the options from the big players (Rigaku, Oxford, Bruker), but I would like input on which setups cost the least to buy, run year in and year out, and require the least in terms of facilities setup (cooling water, power supply, etc.) Any positive/negative experiences worth sharing? Thanks, --Paul