open source syringe pump

[jem]

http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2014/september/science-just-got-cheaper-and-faster-design-library-lets-researchers-print-their-own-syringe-pumps.html

+

http://3dprint.nih.gov/discover/3dpx-000674

personally I think these pumps are pants... only good for continuous flow but it might be of use to some of you. You can also buy the nema 17's with lead screws on ebay for like 25 euro.

[Cathal Garvey]

The guys from Briefcase Biotec used linear actuators with simple 3D
printed syringe/actuator holders. They'd probably be happy to share the
designs/parts?

--
Twitter: @onetruecathal, @formabiolabs
Phone: +353876363185
Blog: http://indiebiotech.com
miniLock.io: JjmYYngs7akLZUjkvFkuYdsZ3PyPHSZRBKNm6qTYKZfAM

[scoc...@gmail.com]

Pushing small aliquots of media through a 0.22um syringe filter is a pain to say the least. A simple pump like this could save me some time and calluses. I prep fresh protoplast isolation media every day and having to make stocks without a vacuum filter setup is something I dread. Those disposable bottle top filters are so expensive! Thingiverse also had some examples of similar machines for the same purpose. Why a dumb syringe pump would ever retail for $800 is beyond me. Slap the word laboratory and its a 400%+ markup. Glad to see academic labs are utilizing 3D printers for their hardware.




Sebastian S. Cocioba
CEO & Founder
New York Botanics, LLC
Plant Biotech R&D

---

From: Cathal Garvey
Sent: ‎9/‎23/‎2014 8:16 AM
To: diy...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [DIYbio] open source syringe pump

[Nathan McCorkle]

Nice!

Main article:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0107216

BOM is here (.DOC):
http://www.plosone.org/article/fetchSingleRepresentation.action?uri=info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0107216.s002

$96.72 for the NEMA 17 version (including a $40 raspberry pi).

Why do you say they'd only be good for continuous flow? I'd assume
they're good for any flow that can deal with the small amount of
pulsing the steppers would impose.

[John Griessen]

On 09/23/2014 01:56 PM, Nathan McCorkle wrote:
> Why do you say they'd only be good for continuous flow? I'd assume
> they're good for any flow that can deal with the small amount of
> pulsing the steppers would impose.

Dispensing with syringes is a mature business with suppliers like Nordsen EFD
selling machines that carefully apply solder paste, adhesive, etc with little or no
oozing and quantifiable dot volumes. They do it with forward pressure, then pull back, a
and it's non-linear real-world stuff with recipes that work and not so much theory.

This one's just a crude thing, so getting an equilibrium after non-repeatable start up effects
is all you can hope for. That's because it has so little control, no sensors, and rough edges
on parts made by filament extruders in stretchy plastic.

Even some low cost practical adhesive dispenser for $100 from China on ebay
uses solenoid valves, pressure and vacuum also to get less oozing of the syringe contents.

To me, this seems like another good app for lab gear based on micro python so the
"recipe programming" is easier than the usual microcontroller development cycle,
and scientists might even customize the timing of it for an oddball soup of live
critters to be dispensed in a quantifiable way even though it loves to ooooze out
every time the syringe pump stops. Adding a sensor for pressure could be done
in a non-invasive way -- not touching the syringe contents -- so no contamination or clean up.
Pulling on the syringe plunger would be possible with
some kind of latch grabber same as or similar to the one in the open hardware docs we're talking about:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0107216

What pulling gets you is a way to counter all the low tolerance fit of parts,
and parts that store some spring energy and have friction by pulling back on
the syringe plunger to stop oozing. Instead of sensing pressure, a force sensor
could be mounted in the syringe handle gripper and capable of reading force
pushing and another one for force pulling. If your parts fit and slide well and
you know your syringe plunger diameter, one could calculate recipes for various syringe
diameters, then empirically improve each size's recipe.

[John Griessen]

On 09/23/2014 07:16 AM, Cathal Garvey wrote:
> The guys from Briefcase Biotec used linear actuators with simple 3D
> printed syringe/actuator holders. They'd probably be happy to share the
> designs/parts?

If not, just scanning ebay could turn up cheap parts to try out:

201174145982 Two Firgelli PQ-12 f 5Vdc Linear Actuator looks new untested

231327513259 Haydon Switch Stepper Motor Rotary Linear Actuator E43H6Q-3.6-001


What would really get the price down is if one could get results 3D printing
fine toothed gears. Not with a filament printer, but...it's coming.

Meanwhile find a stepper with small light form, add a gear on its shaft,
make a frame to hold one or two more gears, the syringe plunger and syringe,
and the syringe driver with rack for the gears to drive. Rack and pinion style
means the long part is the plastic syringe plunger holder with gear teeth.
The long part is not metal, so costs can be lower. Like 75 cents in proto qty.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/0-5-Modulus-plastic-rack-and-pinion-lever-linkage-rod-Transmission-lever-linkage-rod/1739130800.html

[Nathan McCorkle]

On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 10:43 AM, John Griessen <jo...@industromatic.com> wrote:
> Meanwhile find a stepper with small light form, add a gear on its shaft,

These are probably too small for most folks' needs:
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Treatment-2-phase-4-wire-stepper-motor-micro-screw-stepper-motor-stepper-motor-slide-slide/1111641517.html

> make a frame to hold one or two more gears, the syringe plunger and syringe,
> and the syringe driver with rack for the gears to drive. Rack and pinion
> style

Hey, that's a pretty good idea!

[John Griessen]

On 09/24/2014 04:33 PM, Nathan McCorkle wrote:
> On Wed, Sep 24, 2014 at 10:43 AM, John Griessen <jo...@industromatic.com> wrote:
>> Meanwhile find a stepper with small light form, add a gear on its shaft,
>
> These are probably too small for most folks' needs:
> http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Treatment-2-phase-4-wire-stepper-motor-micro-screw-stepper-motor-stepper-motor-slide-slide/1111641517.html
>

Here's the type I was thinking of to drive a plastic rack (syringe handle pusher/puller):

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/20mm-2-phase-4-phase-hybrid-stepper-motor-6-wire-stepper-motor-micro-mini/1111628662.html


50 cents each in tens....and has a gear on it already!

A custom version might be available for that price in hundreds...

[jem]

Hi Nathan,

I've seen these pumps being used in protospace in utrecht and I've tried them against direct extrusion where the syringe is directly driven, not through a tube. The application in question is 3d printing, you just don't really get the precision, as you have to factor in the length of the tube, the bend, time delays etc. So for fixed dispensing of liquids, its good. As for retraction, again there is a delay and I have not found this to work so well. I think being able to shut off the tip of the syringe is the only way to stop drips, and I have a few ideas about that. :-)

[John Griessen]

On 09/25/2014 04:50 AM, jem wrote:
> I think being able to shut off the tip of the syringe is the only way to stop drips, and I have a few ideas about that. :-)

Nordsen EFD does too -- it's a mature product with a lot more complexity than "retract to control drips".
EFD valves cost thousands, and Chinese copies of off-patent versions cost $250 each.

Doing a little extra "control" work, with sensor inputs and a direct syringe drive with short stiff
luer-lock tips may get close to "dispensing valve" performance with a price low enough for rows of them.
I'm thinking of bio-printer apps for the "rows of them".

With the concept of small footprint, (all the dispense machinery in a small area vertically from
the dispense tip), and rows of them mounted on a X-Y carriage, you could load up several media
to dispense, and load up more of the ones you need more of. Each syringe would need to be movable
vertically some distance for clearance so only one is low for dispensing and the others
don't interfere with the surface you are printing on.

A tip shutoff flap of rubber would be a good thing -- not for use until you want to park that tip.
Such a solenoid operated flap valve would be for the purpose of stopping drying, curing,
degrading in air, etc. Using such a simple external flap valve could be done whenever the tip is
moved up rather than closing the output stream with a needle valve from inside.

It's complicated. It will need lots of testing and always have a messy potential
and be difficult to keep sterile. Long output tubes flowing pastes will tend to be drippy.

I think the syringe pump part can be cost reduced effectively though, and that has many more apps
than bio printers. Something that needs to come along with a non-dripping syringe drive
is sterilizable or throw-away-sterile tubing ports for pressure sensing. If you can sense
pressure in long paths, you can control pressure and flow.

Has anyone ever seen
a luer-lock fitting with a diaphragm seal to another port besides in and out? With a thin
diaphragm, one could measure and respond to pressures in long tubes, microfluidic passages, etc.

[John Griessen]

On 09/23/2014 11:21 AM, scoc...@gmail.com wrote:
> Pushing small aliquots of media through a 0.22um syringe filter is a pain to say the least.

How many are close to buying a crude, simple, good for continuous flow mostly
syringe pump able to drive skinny 1cm diameter and fat 2cm diameter syringes
with a stroke of 12cm?

A first cut of a kit could be done in several weeks. Price would not include
more than 30% markup + shipping + any taxes (Texas sale tax).

Are there just 4 of you world wide and 2 have already kludged it from various parts
and won't buy again for a year?

John Griessen
kitmatic open SCAD microcontroller systems engineer interested in evolving
syringe pump designs a good bit past the state of this art:
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0107216

[Patrik D'haeseleer]

On Thursday, September 25, 2014 2:24:15 AM UTC-7, John Griessen wrote:

On 09/24/2014 04:33 PM, Nathan McCorkle wrote:
> 
> These are probably too small for most folks' needs:
> http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Treatment-2-phase-4-wire-stepper-motor-micro-screw-stepper-motor-stepper-motor-slide-slide/1111641517.html

Here's the type I was thinking of to drive a plastic rack (syringe handle pusher/puller):

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/20mm-2-phase-4-phase-hybrid-stepper-motor-6-wire-stepper-motor-micro-mini/1111628662.html

We've actually been using some small and cheap linear stepper motors for the BioPrinter project at BioCurious, but we found that they had a hard time ejecting fairly viscous alginate solution through a thin enough needle for bioprinting.

We're currently planning to adopt the Michigan Tech Open Source syringe pump design so we can put on a heftier NEMA 11 or 17, and switch to a higher volume syringe at the same time. 

We were just playing with some pressure sensors yesterday as well - so we can better check on the performance of the syringe pumps. The SM5812-030-G-3-LR sensor can handle up to 30psi and has an amplified output (unamplified pressure sensors tend to have an output around 40mV), so hooking it up to an Arduino is a snap. Not as cheap as I'd prefer ($17.35 at Mouser), but acceptable.

Patrik