|
Posted by on September 30, 2008, 12:06 pm
On Tue, 30 Sep 2008, psaffrey@googlemail.com wrote:
> Date: Tue, 30 Sep 2008 07:33:34 -0700 (PDT)
> Newsgroups: comp.robotics.misc
> Subject: Pipette robot
>
> I'm looking for some advice on a hobby robotics project.
> I'm a PhD computer scientist working in a biology lab as the computing
> dogsbody. Among other things, we do microarray experiments, which
> involve pipetting DNA fragments, antibodies and other additives into a
> 2d array of wells:
> http://shop.arrayit.com/ProductImages/microplate/Microplate-Microarrays-600.jpg
> This is currently done by hand - once each for each additive. It takes
> ages and is very tedious. There are pipettes that do several wells at
> once, but apparently they're not very reliable. There are also
> commercial robots, but I'm told they're very large and expensive.
> I wondered if I could build a lego robot to do the job, as much for
> fun as anything else. I would build some sort of gantry, like a
> loading crane you see at rail-freight stations and ports, and a
> mounting for a pipette, then use servos to move along the rows,
> possibly with some other error correcting mechanism.
> I'm looking for some advice on equipment. I did a robotics course when
> I was an undergraduate, using an MIT handyboard. These cost about ?200
> in the UK. I could also buy a Lego mindstorms kit, about ?150, but I'm
> not sure how ideal this is for the application. Also, I'd much rather
> have a simple C compiler (as with the Handyboard) than the all-singing
> Windows only graphical interface I'm guessing I'll find for the
> Mindstorms device.
> Does anybody have any advice on this?
> Peter
A couple of considerations:
If you're looking for open source tool chains etc. then you could do a lot
worse than Arduino/AVR with a couple of stepper drivers for the robotic
smarts (Google is your friend). An Arduino is available at about $USD 26
from hvwtech.ca -- tool chains are free (gcc or Wiring) ...
As for the gantry, you might be able to use ball-bearing drawer sliders to
build the framework much less expensively than with purchasing a
Mindstorms kit straight up ... as such, a local surplus house or home
building centre would have the parts lying around ...
given that you are likely in a sterile environment, you may not want to
use wood for the base/platform construction, and other materials should be
selected for their non-porous surface, and ability to clean/sterilize same
...
Similar projects would include the fab at home project, or any home build
gantry mill project (scaled down -- you don't need the torque, and likely
won't generate the same forces as metal cutting tools) ...
problems relate to pipette management (up/down/x/y/z) -- thumbwheel
presumeably ... will still need to be addressed, but a stepper with a
rubber wheel using friction could sort that out pretty simply ...
Sounds like fun -- good luck ...
---- Posted via Pronews.com - Premium Corporate Usenet News Provider ----
http://www.pronews.com offers corporate packages that have access to 100,000+
newsgroups
| 
Yahoo! 
Google 
Windows Live 
del.icio.us 
digg 
Netscape 
XML site map
> Newsgroups: comp.robotics.misc
> Subject: Pipette robot
>
> I'm looking for some advice on a hobby robotics project.
> I'm a PhD computer scientist working in a biology lab as the computing
> dogsbody. Among other things, we do microarray experiments, which
> involve pipetting DNA fragments, antibodies and other additives into a
> 2d array of wells:
> http://shop.arrayit.com/ProductImages/microplate/Microplate-Microarrays-600.jpg
> This is currently done by hand - once each for each additive. It takes
> ages and is very tedious. There are pipettes that do several wells at
> once, but apparently they're not very reliable. There are also
> commercial robots, but I'm told they're very large and expensive.
> I wondered if I could build a lego robot to do the job, as much for
> fun as anything else. I would build some sort of gantry, like a
> loading crane you see at rail-freight stations and ports, and a
> mounting for a pipette, then use servos to move along the rows,
> possibly with some other error correcting mechanism.
> I'm looking for some advice on equipment. I did a robotics course when
> I was an undergraduate, using an MIT handyboard. These cost about ?200
> in the UK. I could also buy a Lego mindstorms kit, about ?150, but I'm
> not sure how ideal this is for the application. Also, I'd much rather
> have a simple C compiler (as with the Handyboard) than the all-singing
> Windows only graphical interface I'm guessing I'll find for the
> Mindstorms device.
> Does anybody have any advice on this?
> Peter