This paper describes an original system for automated solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) that was developed in our laboratories. The synthesizer is equipped with separate activator and batch reactors, and was designed to operate under either manual or computer control. Two metering pumps, which constitute the core of the entire apparatus, provide for the delivery and transfer of reagents and solvents in the appropriate quantities and in the correct sequence, and permit simultaneous condensation and activation operations that result in considerable time saving. Various applications to the synthesis of biologically important peptides, utilizing the most widely used strategies in SPPS, are presented as examples of this improved technology.