THMS600 and TS1500 Stages

the TS1500- heats from room temp to 1500 degrees C.
*Has one TMS93 control box *If you're going to heat 300 degrees C or above use the Ehein water pump *If heating, use N2 gas purge

the THMS600- cools to -200 and heats to 600 degrees C
*Has one TMS93 and one LNP control box *If you're going to heat 300 degrees C or above use the Ehein water pump *If heating, use N2 gas purge *If cooling, use 2 liter LN2 dewer

Ehein pump

Used to keep the stages' body cool. Attach all the tubes. *Be sure these are hooked together before running pump!* Fill the pump up with demineralized water. One tube attaches to the front of the pump and the tube with only one metal attachment goes into the tall green tube on the side of the pump. Plug in the pump. If it makes a lot of noise but doesn't run, there's not enough water in the reservoir. Unplug the front tube and you should see the water level in the green tube drop. Fill the green tube slowly with water, letting it equilibrate with the water in the reservoir. When enough water has been added, plug tube back in front. Plug in and it should run.water cooling diagram for TS1500

Gas Purge

If heating to high temperatures, it's often a good idea to pump in some inert gas to keep stuff from oxidizing and dirtying the slides. Make sure the N2 is turned on in the web lab room (Arms 358), about 2-3 PSI, and the carrier gas is turned on behind the spectrometer. Hook the tube into the clasp perpendicular to the side with all the wires. Make sure the an empty clasp is letting the gas out on the opposite side. be sure to turn off the main N2 tank when done for the day.

LN2 cooling for THMS600

Connect the digital plug to the lower control box. Connect the tubes from the upper control box to the left thick tube and the tiny tube on the left side of the stage. The tiny individual tube with the metal clips on the end is placed near the viewing lens on top of the stage. It prevents condensation on the window. The metal feet fit into the holes around the lens (though not well). The pump tubes again get attached, both on the end where the control box attaches. The LN2 dewer also attaches on this end, on the right. Make sure it's at least half-full. When you put the top on- do not take back out! Frost will build up on the little screen on the inside. Before completely shutting the container, let it equilibrate. The snaps should close easily after the noise has settled down. LN2 cooling diagram

TMS93 control boxes

To start a new run, hit NEW (8). The underscore indicates what blank is being filled in. First is RATE then LIMIT, then MIN. Rate is how fast you want it to go. the machine will tell you if you're too fast. LIMIT is the final temperature you want to reach and MIN is how long the machine will hold the temperature you requested. After inputting all these, hit ENTER and ENTER again. Then hit START(0). To change any control, hit its button RATE, LIMIT, or MIN and enter the new number and hit enter. If you hit EXIT twice, the machine will drop all that it is doing and just go back to room temp.

LNP control box

The THMS600 top control box has a manual/automatic switch for the LN2 pump. It automatic setting works just fine. Make sure this box is working before cooling.

Attaching the stages

Take off the rotating microscope stage. Both the heating stages will fit on, just tighten the feet until they're under the path of the beam. turn on VIEW and an upper light to align. Often you will have to lower the power of your lenses- 5X top and bottom works pretty well, though 4X on the bottom would be a little bit better. Extra lenses can be removed because they often get in the way with the cooling tubes. If you need to take off the feet for any reason, use a metric hexagonal wrench.

Fix

The stage windows get dirty and broken. To clean them, use a damp qtip and dry using a khimwipe. The supersonic cleaner can also be used. To fix a broken window, unscrew the top of the stage by hand or using opened pliers. Replace the window, restacking the silicon rings. If the rings are dirty, they can be cleaned with soap and water.