Skip to content

Safety and Regulatory Information

Safety information

The OT-2 has been designed for safe operation. Refer to the specifications and compliance guidelines in this section to ensure safe usage of your robot. These guidelines cover safe use of input and output connections for the product, including the power and data connections, as well as warning labels found on the OT-2 and related hardware. Using the device in a manner other than those specified in this manual may put the user and equipment at risk.

Safety symbols

Various labels on the OT-2 and in this manual warn you about sources of potential injury or harm.

Symbol Description
Yellow warning or caution triangle Warning or Caution alerts users about:
  • Potentially hazardous conditions.
  • Equipment damage.
  • Actions that may result in personal injury or death.
  • Potentially lost or corrupted data.
  • An unrecoverable interruption of the operation being performed.
Yellow electrical warning triangle Electrical shock: alerts users about instrument components that might pose a risk of electrical shock if the instrument is handled improperly.
Yellow pinch point warning triangle Pinch point: alerts users about instrument components that might pose a risk of injury due to moving parts.
Yellow heavy object warning triangle Heavy object: alerts users about potentially heavy objects that may require 2 or more people to lift properly.

Notes, tips, and cautions

Throughout this manual, you'll find specially formatted text blocks. These callouts provide helpful information that may not be obvious in the ordinary course of using your OT-2. Pay special attention to warnings: they are only used in situations where you run the risk of personal injury, damage to equipment, loss or spoilage of samples or reagents, data loss, or other harm.

Callouts used in the OT-2 manual look like this:

Note

Sample note: This is something you ought to know, but it doesn't pose any danger.

Tip

Sample tip: This is something you might want to know, but is wholly optional.

Warning

Sample warning: This is something you need to know because there is risk associated with it.

OT-2 warnings, cautions, and notes

Electrical safety

Always observe the following electrical safety warnings and cautions:

Type Description
Yellow warning or caution triangle Warning: Connect the Opentrons OT-2 Liquid Handler to a grounded/earthed (⏚) electrical outlet only.
Yellow electrical warning triangle Warning: The Opentrons OT-2 Liquid Handler contains AC power fuses. If a fuse requires replacement, contact Opentrons support.
Yellow electrical warning triangle Warning: Do not use the AC power cable if it is frayed or damaged. The use of damaged power cords can cause an electric shock hazard resulting in injury or damage to the OT-2.

Biological safety

Specimens and reagents containing materials taken from humans should be treated as potentially infectious agents. Opentrons recommends using safe laboratory procedures as explained in Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (BMBL) 6th Edition.

Under normal circumstances, the OT-2 does not create detectable aerosols from source liquids. However, under certain conditions, it is possible to generate aerosols from source liquids. When operating with BSL2 or above source liquids, precautions against aerosol exposure should be considered in accordance with your local regulatory bodies.

To minimize the potential risk of aerosol exposure from the OT-2, it is a good practice to:

  • Perform maintenance as described in the Maintenance chapter.
  • Properly install and secure all instrument covers, pipettes, modules, and labware.
  • Use proper pipetting technique to aid in the mitigation of aerosols.

Additional safety practices

Type Description
Yellow warning or caution triangle Warning: The OT-2 has not been certified for use with explosive or flammable liquids. Do not load plates, tubes, or vials containing explosive or flammable liquids into the OT-2 or otherwise operate the instrument with explosive or flammable liquids in the interior.
Yellow warning or caution triangle Caution: Use good laboratory practices and follow the manufacturer’s precautions when working with chemicals. Opentrons is not responsible or liable for any damages because of, or as a result of, the use of hazardous chemicals.
Yellow warning or caution triangle Caution: Keep corrosive materials, agents, or otherwise damaging materials away from the OT-2.
Yellow warning or caution triangle Toxic fumes: If the user is working with volatile solvents or toxic substances an efficient laboratory ventilation system should be used to remove any vapors that may be produced.

Product labels

The OT-2 may display one or more of the following labels for:

  • Electrical hazards
  • Electrical Testing Laboratories (ETL)
  • General warnings
  • High-voltage
  • Intellectual property
  • Pinch points
  • Power and fuse ratings
  • Products
  • WEEE

Compliance standards

The OT-2 complies with all applicable requirements of the following safety and electromagnetic standards.

Safety standards

Rule ID Title
IEC/UL/CSA/EN 61010-1:2001 Safety requirements for electrical equipment for measurement, control, and laboratory use—Part 1: General requirements
IEC/UL/CSA/EN 61010-2-010:2015 Ed. 3 Safety Requirements For Electrical Equipment For Measurement, Control And Laboratory Use—Part 2-010: Particular Requirements For Laboratory Equipment For The Heating Of Materials
IEC/UL/CSA/EN 61010-2-051:2015 Ed.3 Safety Requirements For Electrical Equipment For Measurement, Control And Laboratory Use—Part 2-051: Particular Requirements For Laboratory Equipment For Mixing And Stirring

Electromagnetic compatibility

Rule ID Title
IEC 61326-1:2013 Electrical Equipment for measurement, control, and laboratory use–EMC Requirements, Class A
EN 61000-3-2:2014 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)–Part 3–2: Limits–Limits for harmonic current emissions
EN 61000-3-3:2013 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)–Part 3–3: Limits–Limitation of voltage changes, voltage fluctuations and flicker in public low–voltage supply systems, for equipment with rated current ≤ 16 A per phase and not subject to conditional connection
KN 61000-6-3:2012 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)–Part 6–3: Generic standards–Emission standard for residential, commercial and light–industrial environments
EN 61000-3-2:2014 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)–Part 3–2: Limits–Limits for harmonic current emissions (equipment input current ≤ 16 A per phase)
IEC 61000-3-3:2013 Ed.3+A1 See EN 61000–3–3:2013 above
IEC 61000-6-1:2016 Electromagnetic compatibility (EMC)–Part 6–1: Generic standards–Immunity for residential, commercial and light–industrial environments
EN 61000-3-3:2008 See EN 61000–3–3:2013 above
FCC Part 15 Subpart B, Sections 15.107 and 15.109 as a Class A digital device
IC ICES-003:2016Ed.6 Information Technology Equipment (Including Digital Apparatus) Limits and Methods of Measurement

FCC warnings and notes

Warning: Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by Opentrons could void the user's authority to operate the equipment.

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following:

  • This device may not cause harmful interference.

  • This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at their own expense.

CISPR 11 Class A

Warning: This is a Class A device, designed for use in industrial settings. Using it in a residential environment may cause radio interference.

WEEE policy

Opentrons is dedicated to adhering to the EU Directive on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE – 2012/19/EU). Our goal is to ensure that our products are properly disposed of or recycled once they reach the end of their useful life.

Opentrons products that fall under the WEEE directive are labeled with the symbol, signifying that they should not be thrown away with regular household waste but must be collected and handled separately.

If you or your business have Opentrons products that are at end of life or need to be discarded for a separate purpose, contact Opentrons for proper disposal and recycling.