I’ve been playing a bit with a Duet 6 axis control board, designed originally for 3d printers. It has everything one needs for some liquid handling applications: 6 axis control for motion kinematic, perhaps peristaltic or syringe pumps, digital IO for controlling sensors, etc., and multiple serial connections with application software for linking up to a higher level controller and or smart devices - shakers, decappers, etc. It’s about $250 on Amazon. Pretty easy to program, if you know how to load up open source firmware and run G code.
As I play with it, I’m thinking 3d printers and liquid robots have a lot of commonality. Has anyone made up their own liquid handling system around something like this?
Very very cool idea. Bioprinters kind of hit this mark, but they’re strictly dispensers for the most part. 3D bioprinting - Wikipedia. I like these machines a lot though and I wonder how widespread they are and whether they are increasing in usage.
I’ve worked with a couple of bio printing companies, and yes, their tools are functionally near identical to “regular” printers. That area is definitely growing fast and will accelerate for sure. DIY 3d printed steak, anyone?
I have made a DIY liquid handler for my master’s thesis by modifying an Ender 3 Pro using 3D printer parts and some additional electronics. When I graduate, I’ll send a link to the repo with all of the source code and the solidworks files/STLs.
Dan, absolutely. Opentrons has been an inspiration for me since their inception. Since Opentrons the DIY printer arena has become even more user friendly, so I figured there would me more application specific development around controllers like the Duet. Certainly an area I’m pushing Festo to explore as well as dabbling myself.
