Level
Level any nest
Two-axis static level of decks, nests and platforms. Redundant high-precision MEMS accelerometers cross-check each other. Zero with one key; the light bar turns green when level.
ALPHA UNITS IN PRODUCTION · LAUNCHING AT SLAS2027 · PATENT PENDING
ZACK.Exact.
Z-Axis Coordinates & Kinematics
The wireless SBS-format leveling and motion plate for lab automation.
ZACK sits in any SBS nest to check level, then rides through your workcell like a sample plate, recording every tilt, handoff and bump.
Nest B3 · example
X+0.0021°
Y−0.0013°
StateLEVEL
Z-Axis
Level and height reference at the nest, where the plate actually sits.
Coordinates
Where each plate is and how it is placed, step by step through the workcell.
Kinematics
How it moves between steps: rotation, acceleration, shock and settle.
The blind spot
Your plates pass through five instruments. Do you know how they're handled?
- A spirit level doesn't fit in a nest, and it can't follow a plate through a robot.
- Nest level and gripper handoffs drift after moves, crashes and service visits.
- Rough transfers, drops and fast rotations stay invisible until an assay fails or a plate lands in the wrong place.
- Validating a multi-instrument workcell still comes down to watching it run.
What ZACK does
One plate, five jobs.
Ride along
Go where plates go
Load ZACK like a plate. It streams live over Bluetooth LE or Wi-Fi, and keeps logging with timestamps when the link drops in incubators, cold storage and enclosures.
Handoffs
See every handoff
Tilt, rotation, shock with push/pull direction, drop, bounce, move and placed events, plus vibration. Mark a step with a key press, then compare nests and handoffs run to run.
Pipetting heads
Check head parallelism
Press a 96-channel head onto ZACK. A head that isn't parallel shows up as tilt and rebound on the sensors. A quick screen. For per-channel measurement, see LabBoxZero.
Teaching lid
Show the tip in the well
Swap in the cutaway PCR-plate lid. Its well bottoms sit 10 mm above the nest, so engineers and scientists can see tip heights inside the wells.
Coming
Learned handling signatures
Your PC learns patterns such as grip-and-release from logged runs and loads them onto ZACK, which recognizes them live.
Contact-point estimate
Where on the plate a force acted.
See it in motion
Every job, animated.
Ride along
One plate. The whole workcell.
ZACK travels hotel to reader with your plates. Every event is timestamped and tied to the step you marked, so you can see which nest, which gripper and which move needs attention.
Run 14 · illustrativeEvent
00:00:04Plate hotellevel ✓
00:01:12Desealerplaced · 0.4 s settle
00:02:37Liquid handlertilt 0.3° in nest
00:09:05Plate sealerbump on handoff
00:10:48Readerfast rotation flagged
Example values for illustration. Real runs export to CSV from the on-device dashboard.
How it works
Three steps, no fixtures.
Step 1
Zero and level
Place ZACK in a nest and press zero. Read two-axis level on the light bar or in the dashboard.
Step 2
Send it through the process
Schedule ZACK like any plate. It streams live and buffers when the link drops.
Step 3
Review every move
Open the on-device dashboard to see each tilt, handoff and event with timestamps, then export raw data to CSV.
BUILT · IN ALPHA WITH ZACK
ZACK Hub, included
Every ZACK comes with ZACK Hub, which turns each run into a readiness record per station that engineers, schedulers and AI agents check before a run.
Every station gets a readiness verdict.
Ready?
Pass, fail or unknown.
How sure?
How strongly the measurements support the verdict.
Until when?
When the station should be checked again.
Based on what?
The measurements behind the verdict.
For engineers
- Station baselines
- Drift over time
- Run-by-run comparison of nests and handoffs
- CSV export
- Audit trail
For schedulers and agents
Any MCP-capable agent can read live level, motion events, device status and each station's verdict, start or stop a recording run, request a level check, or flag a station for re-verification. Integrates through REST/WebSocket, MQTT and SiLA 2. Built MHS-ready: includes a draft driver for Anthropic's Model Hardware Standard (MHS), pending the MHS release.
Guardrails
Role-based access. Agents can read data and request checks. They can never change calibration, zero, baselines, firmware or robot settings. Every agent action is logged.
Every ZdefLabs tool ships with its own hub. LabBoxZero is next.
Preliminary specifications
Built to the plate standard.
| Footprint | ANSI/SLAS microplate, 127.76 × 85.48 mm |
| Height | 10.0 mm (14.6 mm with the PCR teaching lid) |
| Housing | CNC 6061 aluminum, cobalt-blue anodized; white lid and keys; gasketed lid; flat base |
| Level sensing | Redundant high-precision, low-noise MEMS accelerometers, cross-checked |
| Motion sensing | MEMS inertial sensors (gyroscopes + accelerometers) for motion and rotation |
| Environment | Temperature / humidity sensor (reference) |
| Level accuracy | Target ±0.01° after calibration (to be confirmed) |
| Level indicator | Green light bar inside ±0.1° (adjustable) |
| Sample rates | Up to 1 kHz, set per sensor |
| Outputs | Fused orientation, raw per-sensor streams, events (shock with direction, drop, bounce, rotation, move, placed), vibration, marks |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth LE; Wi-Fi (joins the lab network); USB-C (charge, setup, data) |
| Software | On-device web page and ZACK Hub (included): readiness records, CSV export, API and agent access (in alpha). |
| Logging | 16 MB on-board flash, timestamped; records through link loss; configurable rates and outputs |
| Power | Rechargeable Li-ion via USB-C; power switch; auto sleep with wake-on-motion |
| Controls | 2 keys (zero / record, mark / Wi-Fi); R / Y / G status light bar |
Preliminary values from the alpha design. Final specifications follow field testing.
In the box
- ZACK with flat lid, plus the PCR teaching lid
- Spares: M2 screws, USB-C cover, hex key
- Calibration certificate
- Compact aluminum carry case
Calibration & service
Each ZACK is calibrated before it ships and comes with a calibration certificate. Annual recalibration and service are included in the readiness subscription.
Alpha program
Get it exact with ZACK.
Tell us about your workcell and we'll set up a demo or an alpha unit. Quotes open at launch, SLAS2027.
Join the alpha programBook a demoEmail us with "ZACK alpha" or "ZACK demo" in the subject.
info@zdeflabs.xyz