Challenge: A biology student asked the TW Design Team to design a tissue dissociator that would speed up the number of tissue samples that she could process at once. The dissociator is made of a gearbox system and motor that can rotate multiple test tubes at the same speed and direction. The customer requested the instrument to be able to autonomously change the direction of the motor at specific intervals, display the RPM of the motors, and have an intuitive user interface.
Solution: The TW Design Team created a tissue dissociator made out of laser cut acrylic, powered by a series of motors, and interfaced with an Arduino Nano. The test tubes are powered by twelve 5V motors, allowing them to rotate with consistent speed and direction. An Arduino Nano is used to process all signals from the buttons and power actuations to the motors. They also connected the Arduino to a Hall-Effect sensor to be able to detect the RPM of the motor and display it onto the monitor. The final result is a benchtop instrument capable of semi-autonomous dissociation of tissues, allowing the student researcher to save time in her experiment.
Technology Types: Laser Cutting/Engraving, Electrical Engineering Tools
Equipment: Epilog Laser Fusion M2, PACE Soldering Station
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