The Z366-250-HC is the high-capacity swing-out rotor variant for the Hermle Z366 / Z366-K family — same 4-position swing-out geometry and same 250 mL bucket envelope as the standard Z366-250, but configured for 16 × 50 mL conical tubes per cycle via integrated high-capacity tube-rack inserts in the buckets. Where the standard Z366-250 with single-position 50 mL adapters (Z366-250-A50) gives 4 × 50 mL per cycle, the Z366-250-HC's high-capacity bucket configuration gives 4 buckets × 4 conical tubes per bucket = 16 × 50 mL per cycle — 4× the throughput at the same swing-out geometry. This is the right pick when the workflow is 50 mL conical batch processing at swing-out boundary clarity and per-cycle throughput is the operative spec.
Key Specifications
| SKU | Z366-250-HC |
| Type | Swing-out rotor — 4 position with high-capacity bucket configuration |
| Bucket capacity (envelope) | 250 mL each (high-capacity insert format converts to multi-tube layout) |
| Bucket count | 4 |
| Per-cycle throughput | 16 × 50 mL conical tubes (4 tubes per bucket × 4 buckets) |
| Compatible chassis | Z366 (120 V), Z366-K (120 V refrigerated) |
| Swing range | 0–90° (horizontal at full speed) |
| Max. operating speed | 4,500 rpm (chassis limit for swing-out at this geometry; consult brochure for HC-specific spec) |
| Max. RCF at operating speed | ~3,780 × g (Z366-250 chassis limit applies; HC bucket weight may shift this slightly) |
Compatibility & Configuration
Chassis compatibility — Z366 family only. The Z366-250-HC fits the Z366 / Z366-K. RFID-tagged; chassis applies the rotor's rated speed cap at insertion.
High Capacity vs Standard configuration. The Hermle catalog distinguishes two 4 × 250 mL rotor SKUs for the Z366:
- Z366-250 — Standard 4 × 250 mL with adapter library; with the Z366-250-A50 adapter, gives 4 × 50 mL per cycle (one tube per bucket position)
- Z366-250-HC (this product) — High Capacity 4 × 250 mL where each 250 mL bucket envelope holds an integrated 4-tube rack for 50 mL conical tubes; gives 16 × 50 mL per cycle (4 tubes per bucket × 4 buckets)
The HC variant is engineered specifically for the 50 mL conical workflow at maximum throughput. The standard Z366-250 with adapters has more flexibility across tube formats; the HC variant is throughput-optimized for the dominant 50 mL workflow.
Per Hermle catalog (2024 Hermle-Benchmark catalog): "Z366-250-HC... Max. volume: 16 × 50 ml conical" — the catalog spec confirms the 16-tube throughput.
Application Profile
16 × 50 mL conical batch workflows — the rotor's primary use case. Vaccine-prep cell-pellet recovery, recombinant-protein lysate clarification at the 50 mL aliquot scale, environmental sample particulate clarification across 16 × 50 mL parallel tubes per cycle.
Clinical-research and biobanking 50 mL workflows — when batch processing of 50 mL primary or secondary samples is the dominant workflow, the HC variant delivers 4× the per-cycle throughput of the standard Z366-250 with single-position 50 mL adapters.
Cell-culture pellet recovery from 50 mL spinner-flask aliquots — 16-tube parallel processing supports high-throughput cell-pelleting workflows in cores serving multiple research groups.
Cold-chain 50 mL workflows on Z366-K — combines the high-capacity 50 mL throughput with the refrigerated chassis's −20 °C to +40 °C temperature control.
Density-gradient preservation across 16 × 50 mL parallel — when method-development or production-scale gradient work needs swing-out boundary clarity at high per-cycle throughput.
Loading & Balance
16-tube symmetric loading via the integrated 4-tube rack per bucket. The high-capacity bucket configuration constrains tube positions within each bucket to a defined geometry — symmetric loading is enforced by the rack layout, but operator should still pre-balance bucket pairs by total mass before insertion.
Tube fit — confirm that the workflow's 50 mL conical tube format fits the high-capacity rack geometry. Standard 50 mL Falcon-style conical tubes are the design target; non-standard 50 mL tube formats may not fit the rack inserts.
Selectable accel/decel. Same chassis profiles as Z366-250 — 10 each, including unbraked for gradient and loose-pellet preservation.
Ordering & Configuration
Z366-250-HC ships as the rotor body with 4 buckets and the integrated high-capacity tube-rack inserts for 50 mL conical format. No separate adapter library required for the primary 50 mL workflow (the rack is the workflow geometry).
Confirm at quote: chassis pairing (Z366 / Z366-K), 50 mL tube format (confirm Falcon-style fit against the rack inserts), training, and lead time.
Warranty: 5-Year Hermle warranty (3 years full + 2 years drivetrain) on the rotor body, buckets, and rack inserts. Balance validation through the Hermle service network.
Z366-250-HC vs Z366-250 selection: the HC variant (this product) is throughput-optimized for the 50 mL conical workflow — 16 tubes per cycle. The standard Z366-250 is format-flexible — covers 250 mL bottles, 100/150 mL formats, plus 4 × 50 mL via single-position adapter. Pick the HC if your dominant workflow is 50 mL conical batch processing at maximum throughput; pick the standard if you need format flexibility on the same rotor body.
