Gel Electrophoresis Box Design for Laser Cutter
Michael Katsevman
As I was examining my photoset, I realized that depending on the
thickness of the plastic you're using, you'd have to adjust various
lengths and such. So, I did the work for you. I wrote a little python
script that takes some parameters and outputs an SVG file. This can
then be used directly or converted to DXF or whatever format you need
for the laser cutter to operate.
Attached is the electrophoresis.py. If that doesn't go through, it may
be found at: <http://logarchy.org/electrophoresis.py>
Caveat: I wrote this over the weekend, and haven't tested it yet. When
I have time I'll pop over to FabLab@SETC and try it out.
Caveat2: This doesn't include a Comb. This can be most appropriately
be constructed out of a cut up plastic card. Teeth should be roughly
1cm wide, and can vary in thickness from 2mm-6mm or so.
Cheers,
Mike.
Below is the usage information, and construction instructions:
==============================================
Usage: electrophoresis.py [options]
Units are assumed to be inches in decimal. Using 90dpi because that's what
Inkscape expects. Will implement other units later.
Options:
-h, --help show this help message and exit
-t X, --thickness=X thickness of plastic (default 0.3in)
-g GEL, --gel=GEL how high will the gel be
-l LEN, --length=LEN length of box
-x W, --width=W width of page
-y H, --height=H height of page
-i DPI, --dpi=DPI dpi for converting inches in input to pixels.
-d DISPLAY_PROG, --display-prog=DISPLAY_PROG
program used to display
-s, --silent don't display SVG when done.
==============================================
Construction instructions:
Items are printed left to right, downwards, as size of page permits:
A, B, B, C, C, D, D, E
* Glue Bs and Cs into a box, Cs on the inside, sandwiched between Bs.
* Glue BC box to A
* Glue E between Ds, 1/4 of the way up (height of E divided by 4. Same
as height of gel if specified)