Parallel steps

Some protocol steps can run in parallel, or concurrently, to speed up protocol runtime on your Flex or OT-2. In Protocol Designer, you can execute steps like pipetting, moving labware, or running another module in parallel with a Thermocycler profile.

Additional Documentation

You can read more about concurrent module actions in the Opentrons Python Protocol API.

First, add a Thermocycler step and create a profile. Protocol Designer separates this Thermocycler step into two parts, shown in the protocol timeline on the left: Start profile and Wait for profile to complete.

Two Thermocycler profile parts, Start profile and Wait for profile, are added to the protocol timeline.

If you leave this Thermocycler step as is, the robot will wait for the profile to complete before executing any other step. To perform other steps while the profile runs, click and drag to move additional steps inside the Thermocycler profile.

The robot will perform other steps in parallel while running a Thermocycler profile.

Here, your Flex will transfer and mix liquids, and pause the protocol so you can move labware while the Thermocycler profile runs.

Note

There's no limit to how many steps you can add inside a Thermocycler profile. If it takes the robot longer to execute these parallel steps than it takes to complete the profile, your Thermocycler will hold samples at the module's last state, like its last step or cycle temperature.