Table 2. Basic liquid-handling operations available through PyLabRobot.

Composite operations exist in the interface layer for reusability, but are implemented on the backend as multiple fundamental operations to minimize the responsibility in backends, making adding new backends and devices easier.

LH method	Description	Backend method(s)
pick_up_tips	Pick up tips from a tip rack	pick_up_tips
drop_tips	Put tips back in a tip rack, reuse allowed	drop_tips
discard_tips	Dispose of the tips, reuse not allowed	drop_tips
return_tips	Return the mounted tips to where they were picked up	drop_tips
aspirate	Aspirate from a container	aspirate
dispense	Dispense to a container	dispense
transfer	Transfer liquid from one container to another	aspirate, dispense
pick_up_tips96	Pick up 96 tips from a tip rack using a single head	pick_up_tips96
drop_tips96	Drop 96 tips to a tip rack with a single head, reuse allowed	drop_tips96
discard_tips96	Dispose of 96 tips to the trash location, reuse disallowed	drop_tips96
return_tips96	Return all 96 tips to the tip rack where they were picked up	drop_tips96
aspirate96	Aspirate from a container using 96 channels at once	aspirate96
dispense96	Dispense to a container using 96 channels at once	dispense96
move_resource	Move a resource to a new location	move_resource
move_plate	Move a plate to a new location	move_resource
move_lid	Move a plate lid to a new location	move_resource