Technical Information, Tutorials, Articles, and Links

ASI takes great pride in offering unsurpassed technical support to all of our customers. We think that the customer-supplier relationship should start long before the customer actually makes a purchase. When you purchase one of our high quality products, we appreciate your business and want to insure that you are happy with it. If you have any questions or concerns at all, we want to hear about them.

Whether it be a thermal drift error in the nanometer range that we can only advise you on, or an actual component failure, you can be assured that we will give it our immediate attention. Our philosophy here at ASI is simple:

The employee takes great care of the customer, the company takes great care of the employee, and the customer is so happy he tells all of his colleagues about us, thus completing the circle.

Please be assured that when you purchase a product from us we want it to be a rewarding experience for all. The information listed here is provided to help you find the solutions that you are looking for, and if you need any help at all please do not hesitate to contact us.

We know that an informed customer is a happy customer, and we also realize that you may not have a staff of electrical, optical, and mechanical engineers to help you in selecting a system. We have included a number of tutorials, other articles of interest, and links here as a service to you, our customer. Of course, we are happy to talk with you as well, so please do not hesitate to contact us.

• MS-2000 Stage System (Typical) ( as a 1165KB pdf )
• MS-2000 Operations & Programming ( as a 395KB pdf )
• MFC-2000 Focus Controller (Typical) ( as a 680KB pdf )
• CRIFF Feedback Focus ( as a 510KB pdf )
• Auto Focus ( as a 483KB pdf )
• MS-4 Open-Loop Stage ( as a 76KB pdf - discontinued model)
• MS-4-360R Rotating Stage ( as a 74KB pdf )
• SC-2000 Shutter Controller ( as a 310KB pdf )
• SC-2 Shutter Controller ( as a 361KB pdf - discontinued model)
• TTL-2 Shutter Controller ( as a 64KB pdf - discontinued model)
• MPPI-2 Microinjector ( as a 189KB pdf )
• FW-1000 Filterwheel ( as an 518KB pdf )
• LC-150 Video System ( as an 84KB pdf )
• Cooke Camera CamWare ( as an 2412KB pdf )

• Typical Stage Installation
• Typical Z-axis Installation
• Typical Linear Encoder Installation
• Typical Transmitted-Light Shutter Housing Installation
• Optimal Alignment Procedures for MS-2000 Controllers ( as a 52KB pdf )

• Frequently Asked Questions
• Troubleshooting Guide for MS-2000 & MS-4000 Stage and Z-Drive Systems
• Troubleshooting Z-Drive Problems
• Tips for Installing Z-Drives on Zeiss Axio-series Microscopes
• Improvision's Openlab Release Notes, including ASI Hardware Support Page
• Improvision's Volocity Release Notes, including ASI Hardware Support Page
• Tips on using Scanalytics IPLab Eval v3.53 with ASI's MS-2000 Controllers
• Version History of ASI Contoller Firmware
• Product Compatibility Table

• MS-2000 control using NI's LabVIEW^™ 6.1 and USB
• MS-2000 control using NI's LabVIEW^™ 6.1 and the Serial Port
• MS-2000 control using NI's LabVIEW^™ 7.0 and the Serial Port
• MS-2000 control using Media Cybernetics^® Image-Pro^® Plus
• MS-2000 control using USB on a Mac^®
• SC-2000 Firmware Update
• WK USB Driver Installation Pack

• Overview of Photometry Systems
• Overview of Imaging Systems
• Overview of Microscope Automation
• Choosing a Video Camera
• Some Points to Consider When Adding an Automated Stage to a Microscope
• Some Points to Consider When Adding a Motorized Stage and Z-Axis Drive to a Microscope ( as a 20KB pdf )

Articles

• "Micropositioning for Microscopy" ( as a 1069KB pdf from Biophotonics International^® magazine, May 2003)
• Why We Are So Precise
• Advantages of our Z-axis Drives
• Microscope Auto-Focus ( as a 6KB pdf )
• Lead Screw Pitch and Encoder Resolution for the MS-2000 Stage [TechNote 101] ( as a 18KB pdf )
• Ultimate Resolution of Optical Microscopes and Video Systems [TechNote 102] ( as a 19KB pdf )
• Comparison of TILL Imago CCD Cameras to an “Ideal” Intensified Camera [TechNote 103] ( as a 22KB pdf )
• Repeatability Performance of ASI Stages [TechNote 105] ( as a 149KB pdf )
• Theory of Operation of ASI Linear Encoders [TechNote 106] ( as a 252KB pdf )

• October 2007, featuring PhotoTrack
• July 2007, featuring Time-lapse Microscopy
• December 2006, featuring PZMU-2000
• October 2006, featuring Discounted Labophot
• November 2005, featuring the CRIFF
• Special July 2005, featuring the SmartMove Adapter
• July 2005, featuring the PZ-2200
• December 2004, featuring the PZM-2000
• October 2004, featuring the SC-2000
• July 2004, featuring the MS-8000
• April 2004, featuring the MS-4000 on Nikon's 80i
• February 2004, featuring the SZ-2000
• October 2003, featuring the PZ-2000

Links

• A few folks that use our stages
• Some neat educational sites

We are always working to improve our products, and welcome your input. Please use the form below to inform us about software bugs and other problems you may have discovered. Include your software/firmware version, if known.

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