MULA, A DIY 3D-printed Pipetting Robot, Enabling Accurate Liquid Handling For Chemistry And Biology Laboratories 3D Printer Model

Author: @
License: CC BY-NC
File formats: stl
Download type: zip
Size:453.3KB

The file 'MULA, A DIY 3D-printed Pipetting Robot, Enabling Accurate Liquid Handling For Chemistry And Biology Laboratories 3D Printer Model' is (stl) file type, size is 453.3KB.

Summary

Abstract:

The implementation of automation has already had a considerable impact on chemical and pharmaceutical industrial laboratories. However, academic laboratories have often been more reluctant in adapting such a technology due to the high cost of commercial liquid handling systems. We present here a detailed description of the setup, validation, and utilization of a multifunctional liquid automation (MULA) system that can be used to automate various chemical and biological tasks. Considering that such a setup must be highly customizable, we also designed MULA with respect to modularity, providing detailed insight as far as possible. Including all 3D-printed parts and the used Hamilton gastight micro syringe, the total construction cost is approximately 700 €. This allows us to achieve a highly reliable and accurate system that exceeds the precision of a classical air displacement pipette while still retaining the ability to use closed vial (septa) setups. To encourage other groups to adapt this setup, detailed instructions and tips for every step of the process are provided, along with the complete CAD design of MULA and control code, which are freely available for download.

This "Thing" includes the STL files for all 3D-printed parts that are needed to build our liquid handling robot “MULA”.

We decided to upload the parts also on thingiverse to make our project more visible to non-academic individuals :)

See MULA in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2CdjFTsFvs&t=10s

If you are curious from reading the abstract and want to know what this project is about, make sure to check out the main article below!

The main article (openly available) describes the whole process of building and initializing MULA (you will also find the complete BOM and a demo video in the supporting information here):
https://www.hardware-x.com/article/S2468-0672(24)00075-0/fulltext

The mendeley data repository contains all other relevant files and information (assembly manual, software, cad files):
https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/3m3t4f9ft3/3

Printed on a MK3S+ with a 0.6 mm Nozzle; If you own a Prusa printer, you find the presliced 3MF files on Printables: https://www.printables.com/model/1019242-mula-a-diy-3d-printed-pipetting-robot-enabling-acc

30Vial_rack.stl 408.1KB
30Vial_top.stl 220.1KB
Bumper_30_mm.stl 55.7KB
Gantry_X.stl 46.4KB
Gantry_Y.stl 87.0KB
Gantry_Y_mount.stl 96.7KB
Idler_mount.stl 123.2KB
Limit_switch_mount.stl 41.5KB
M4_spacer_12_.stl 56.7KB
M5_spacer_12_.stl 53.3KB
M5_Spacer_14_.stl 59.5KB
M5_spacer_6.stl 42.9KB
M5_spacer_7.stl 51.6KB
Rack_mount_5mm_acrylic_A.stl 42.1KB
Rack_mount_5mm_acrylic_B.stl 42.1KB
Rack_mount_A.stl 42.1KB
Rack_mount_B.stl 42.1KB
Stepper_mount_I.stl 108.6KB
Stepper_mount_X_left.stl 122.2KB
Stepper_mount_X_right.stl 116.6KB
Stepper_mount_Y.stl 109.0KB
Z_Gearbox_A.stl 131.5KB
Z_Gearbox_B.stl 54.0KB