The Z366-250-A50 is a 3-position 50 mL conical tube insert for the Hermle Z366-250 swing-out bucket on the Z366 / Z366-K chassis 4-place rotor — sold as a 2-pack. Each insert holds 3 × 50 mL conical tubes; the 4-bucket rotor configuration takes 2 packs (4 inserts) for full symmetric loading, delivering 12 × 50 mL conical tubes per cycle in swing-out geometry on the deep cold-chain Z366-K chassis (−2 °C at max speed). Sister insert to the Z366-250-A50R (50 mL round-bottom) — same volume, different tube envelope geometry.
Key Specifications
| SKU | Z366-250-A50 |
| Type | Tube insert — 3 × 50 mL conical |
| Pack quantity | 2 inserts per SKU (full 4-bucket configuration takes 2 units = 4 inserts) |
| Per-insert capacity | 3 × 50 mL conical tubes |
| Per-cycle throughput (full configuration) | 12 × 50 mL conical per cycle |
| Tube format | 50 mL conical Falcon-style (29 mm OD, 116 mm length) |
| Compatible bucket | Z366-250 swing-out bucket |
| Compatible rotor | Z366-250 4-place swing-out rotor |
| Compatible chassis | Z366, Z366-K (refrigerated), and -E voltage variants |
| Max. operating speed (with insert + tubes) | Per Z366-250 spec — 4,500 rpm at 3,780 × g maximum |
| Max. radius | 16.7 cm (0.0 cm radius correction — full radius preserved) |
| Temperature at max speed (Z366-K refrigerated) | −2 °C |
| Geometry | Swing-out (0–90°) — flat sediment surface |
| List price | $523 (2-pack) |
Compatibility & When to Order This SKU
Insert pairing — Z366-250 swing-out bucket only. Order this SKU when:
- Adding 50 mL conical workflow to an existing Z366 / Z366-K + Z366-250 install — order 2 units for full 4-bucket symmetric loading (12 tubes/cycle).
- Deep cold-chain 50 mL conical prep — when the workflow needs the Z366-K's −2 °C cold-chain integrity for cold-stable analyte preservation in 50 mL conical format.
- Bucket-insert flexibility — when the lab uses the same bucket for multiple tube/bottle formats and needs the bucket-insert path (vs the direct-fit Z366-250-B50 alternative on the HC rotor variant).
- Replacement inserts if a current set is damaged or worn.
A50 vs B50 — Bucket-Insert vs Direct-Fit Trade-Off
The Z366 chassis offers two paths for swing-out 50 mL conical workflows:
| Configuration | Per cycle | Approach |
| Z366-250-A50 (this SKU) | 12 × 50 mL conical | Bucket + insert on Z366-250 rotor (flexibility — bucket holds other A-inserts too) |
| Z366-250-B50 | 16 × 50 mL conical | Direct-fit bucket on Z366-250-HC rotor (higher throughput, dedicated to 50 mL conical) |
Pick the A50 when the lab uses the bucket for multiple formats (the bucket holds A10, A100, A20, A250, etc.); pick the B50 when 50 mL conical is the dominant workflow and throughput matters most.
Application Profile
4-bucket symmetric loading. All 4 buckets must use matching A50 inserts for symmetric balance.
Per-insert symmetric loading. Within each insert, the 3 conical tubes should be balanced symmetrically — pair tubes by mass with the third position symmetric to the insert's central axis.
Design Architecture
Deep cold-chain 50 mL conical clinical-research and biobank prep — patient sample fractionation, aliquot prep, freeze-storage workflows at 12 × 50 mL conical per cycle on the near-freezing cold-chain swing-out chassis.
Cell-culture pellet recovery in 50 mL — pelleting cells from suspension culture batches at deep cold-chain temperature for downstream-stable cell preparation.
Density-gradient prep in 50 mL — Ficoll, Percoll, sucrose-gradient prep where the swing-out flat-sediment geometry preserves gradient interfaces and the deep cold-chain integrity supports gradient stability.
Cold-stable protein prep at 50 mL — TCA, ammonium-sulfate, organic-precipitation in 50 mL working volume at near-freezing temperature.
Mixed-format Z366-K core facilities — labs that handle multiple tube/bottle formats on the same chassis benefit from the bucket-insert approach over dedicated direct-fit buckets.
Educational and graduate-level teaching — molecular biology and clinical-research curricula using 50 mL conical at moderate throughput on the deep cold-chain chassis.
Ordering & Configuration
4-bucket symmetric loading. All 4 buckets must use matching A50 inserts. Mixed-bucket configurations produce mass asymmetry.
Tube cap confirmation. All 50 mL conical tubes must be securely capped before spinning at 4,500 rpm.
Z366-250-A50 ships as 2 inserts. 50 mL conical tubes are operator-supplied (commodity Falcon / Corning / equivalent formats). The Z366-250 bucket is sold separately.
Confirm at quote: bucket pairing (Z366-250 in inventory), chassis pairing (Z366 or Z366-K), tube format (50 mL conical Falcon-style; round-bottom uses A50R), workflow throughput need (A50 at 12/cycle vs B50 at 16/cycle), pack count (2 packs for full 4-bucket configuration), and lead time.
Warranty: 5-Year Hermle warranty (3 years full + 2 years drivetrain) on the inserts.
Z366-250 50 mL workflow paths (Z366 / Z366-K chassis):
- Z366-250-A50 (this product) — 3 × 50 mL conical insert (12/cycle, bucket-insert flexibility)
- Z366-250-A50R — 3 × 50 mL round-bottom insert (different tube envelope)
- Z366-250-B50 — 4 × 50 mL conical direct-fit bucket (16/cycle, dedicated higher throughput on HC rotor variant)
Pick A50 for bucket-insert flexibility; pick B50 when 50 mL conical throughput is the dominant workflow driver.
