Mottaghi Maryam, Bai Yuntian, Kulkarni Apoorv, Pearce Joshua M
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Western University, 1151 Richmond St., London, Ontario N6A 5B9 Canada.
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Western University, 1151 Richmond St. London, Ontario N6A 5B9 Canada.
HardwareX. 2023 Jun 22;15:e00445. doi: 10.1016/j.ohx.2023.e00445. eCollection 2023 Sep.
Proprietary bottle rolling systems automate some laboratory applications, however, their high costs limit accessibility. This study provides designs of an open source bottle roller that is compatible with distributed digital manufacturing using 3-D printed parts and readily-available commercial components. The experimental results show that the open source bottle roller can be fabricated for CAD$210 (about USD$150) in materials, which is 86% less expensive than the most affordable proprietary bottle roller on the market. The design, however, is more robust with enhanced capabilities. The design can be adapted to the user's needs, but is already compatible with incubators with a low profile (dimensions 50 cm x46 cm x8.8 cm) and capable of being operated at elevated temperatures. The systems can be adjusted to revolves from 1 to 200 RPM, exceeding the rotational speed of most commercial systems. The open source bottle roller as tested has a capacity greater than 1.2 kg and can roll twelve 100 mL bottles simultaneously. Validation testing showed that it can operate for days at 80 RPM without human intervention or monitoring for days at both room temperature and elevated temperatures (50 °C). Future work includes adapting the designs for different sizes and for different fabrication techniques to further reduce costs and increase flexibility.
专用滚瓶系统可实现一些实验室应用的自动化，然而，其高昂的成本限制了其普及性。本研究提供了一种开源滚瓶的设计方案，该滚瓶使用3D打印部件和现成的商业组件，与分布式数字制造兼容。实验结果表明，开源滚瓶的材料成本为210加元（约合150美元），比市场上最实惠的专用滚瓶便宜86%。然而，该设计更坚固，功能更强。该设计可根据用户需求进行调整，但已与外形尺寸较小（50厘米×46厘米×8.8厘米）且能够在高温下运行的培养箱兼容。该系统的转速可在1至200转/分钟之间调节，超过了大多数商业系统的转速。经过测试的开源滚瓶容量超过1.2千克，可同时滚动十二个100毫升的瓶子。验证测试表明，它可以在80转/分钟的转速下在室温及高温（50°C）下连续运行数天，无需人工干预或监测。未来的工作包括针对不同尺寸和不同制造技术调整设计，以进一步降低成本并提高灵活性。
