Blog > Introducing our NEW rotary microtomes!

Introducing our NEW rotary microtomes!

Published on April 22, 2022

We at Precisionary Instruments have been making tissue slicers for over 15 years. Now, we would like to launch a brand new product line: ROTARY MICROTOMES!

What are rotary microtomes?

A microtome makes tissue sections by making cuts that move vertically downward against a knife. A “rotary” microtome uses a rotational handwheel to control the cutting movement (see Figure 1). One rotation of the operating wheel produces a complete cycle of cutting (both downward and upward strokes). A rotary microtome can be used to cut ultrathin sections, often paraffin-wax embedded sections for pathology and histology studies.

How Rotary Microtomes work
Figure 1. How rotary microtomes work. Your sample is typically embedded in a specimen block, which is then held in the specimen holder. As the specimen block travels vertically in an up-and-down motion, thin slices are cut over a knife. These thin sections can then be plated on a glass slide.

Our new models

We offer three (3) brand new models:

Key features of our new rotary microtome models

  • Heavy and stable unit core, idea for serial sections in large numbers.
  • RF-600 manual model comes with 2 specimen clamp holders, one for universal cassettes and one for large paraffin blocks.
  • RF-800 and RF-1000 models come with LCD touchscreen control panels
  • RF-1000 had fully automated cutting abilities that are controllable through the touchscreen, the side control panel, and the foot pedal.

Applications

Technical Specifications

To help you learn more about our rotary microtome models, here are the technical specifications in a simple and fun comparison table!

Rotary Microtome ModelRF-600RF-800RF-1000
Microtome TypeManualSemi-AutomatedFully Automated
Section Thickness Range0μm – 60μm adjustable as follows:
    0μm – 2μm (in 0.5μm increments)
    2μm – 10μm (in 1μm increments)
    10μm – 20μm (in 2μm increments)
    20μm – 60μm (in 5μm increments)
0-99.9μm (in 0.1 μm increments)0.5μm – 100μm adjustable as follows:
    0.5μm – 5μm (in 0.5μm increments)
    5μm – 20μm (in 1μm increments)
    20μm – 60μm (in 5μm increments)
    60μm – 100μm (in 10μm increments)
Trimming Thickness Range0μm – 60μm adjustable as follows:
    0μm – 2μm (in 0.5μm increments)
    2μm – 10μm (in 1μm increments)
    10μm – 20μm (in 2μm increments)
    20μm – 60μm (in 5μm increments)
0-999μm (in 0.1 μm increments)5μm – 600μm adjustable as follows:
    5μm – 10μm (in 5μm increments)
    10μm – 100μm (in 10μm increments)
    100μm – 200μm (in 20μm increments)
    200μm – 600μm (in 50μm increments)
Minimum Section Thickness0.5µm0.1µm0.5µm
Specimen RetractionNone0-99μm (Optional on/off)0-220μm (Optional on/off)
Horizontal Specimen Stroke23mm28mm20mm
Vertical Specimen Stroke58mm57mm60mm
Specimen Head Rotation7-degrees rotation in X-Y axes4-degrees rotation in X-Y axes8-degrees rotation in X-Y axes
Specimen Feed SpeedCoarse handwheel (manual)Electronically adjustableElectronically adjustable
Dimensions (L x W x H)22 in x 16 3⁄4 in x 11 1⁄2 in22 3⁄4 in x 16 in x 12 9/16 in19 1⁄2 in x 16 7/8 in x 12 in
Weight54 lb67 lb60 lb
Voltage & PowerNone100-120V, 60Hz100-120V, 60Hz
Additional Accessories
(Included for FREE!)
  • Universal paraffin specimen clamp

  • Box of 50 cutting blades

  • Box of 50 cutting blades
  • Universal paraffin specimen clamp

  • Foot pedal controller

  • Side control panel

  • Box of 50 cutting blades

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