This is a note for Trident users who are using 3D printed reagent needle guides. I am not knocking or condemning these 3d printed guides. This is merely my experience in using them. I purchased a set of three here on this forum. I don't know what material the seller used to print them.
They worked flawlessly for six months. One day I had a reagent B failure. After resetting and priming, it still failed to work. I tried once more to fix it by resetting and priming. It failed again. Finally, I opened the bottle to check for obstructions. The 3D printed needle guide had disintegrated into many pieces! The needle was askew and had a small piece of the needle guide lodged in it. I removed all of it, replaced the needle in the reagent without a guide, reset and primed. It worked as it should. The very next day, I experienced the same issue with reagent C. The needle guide had also broke apart. I removed that one and the one in reagent A. I printed my own in PETG and the unit functions as it should now. I'll do a six month review here of how the PETG works out. This was also a reminder to self. When failures occur, always include checking the "not so obvious!"
They worked flawlessly for six months. One day I had a reagent B failure. After resetting and priming, it still failed to work. I tried once more to fix it by resetting and priming. It failed again. Finally, I opened the bottle to check for obstructions. The 3D printed needle guide had disintegrated into many pieces! The needle was askew and had a small piece of the needle guide lodged in it. I removed all of it, replaced the needle in the reagent without a guide, reset and primed. It worked as it should. The very next day, I experienced the same issue with reagent C. The needle guide had also broke apart. I removed that one and the one in reagent A. I printed my own in PETG and the unit functions as it should now. I'll do a six month review here of how the PETG works out. This was also a reminder to self. When failures occur, always include checking the "not so obvious!"