Project
# | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
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1 | Low Cost Solution of Thermal Cycler for LifeFoundry, Inc. Area Award: Interdisciplinary Work |
Pei Liu Shaoyu Meng Yuanjiu Hu |
Xinrui Zhu | design_document0.pdf final_paper0.pdf other0.brd other0.ino other0.ino other0.sch presentation0.pdf proposal0.pdf video video |
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Names and NetIDs Shaoyu Meng smeng9 Yuanjiu Hu yhu49 Pei Liu peiliu3 Company background LifeFoundry, Inc. is a startup based in the research park focusing on the automatic control of synthetic biology processes. Their main goal is to build low-cost and high-throughput devices that will facilitate the research in this field. Problem statement Thermal cycler is a device that will raise and lower the temperature of a sample plate repeatedly during a synthetic biology process, namely 30+ cycles will take several hours to complete. However, existing products are expensive and often require manual input. Thus researchers need to be physically in the lab to conduct experiments. In addition, current products mostly use fans to cool the block, which is not the most effective solution for repetitive cooling operations. Solution description We are planning to design a prototype of such machine that will cost less than $400. It will also have remote control and a water cooling system. The addition of a water cooling system gives researcher more flexibility when a large number of heating/cooling operations are needed. Also theoretically, water cools the block faster than air, thus saving time. A modular design of this project would consists five parts. Power System: Use AC to DC power converter to power PCB board(5V) and heating pad(12V). We choose AC over battery because we want to have a steady voltage, as well as more precise control in heating rate. Heating Pad: Heating pad goes under the sample plate. It is designed to be built with a matrix of resistors that we are able to control the temperature rising process of thermocycler. Water Cooling System: Water cooling system comes together with the heating pad. They are designed to be on the same aluminum slab for better heat conduction. Consists of a water tank and electronically controlled pump and water pipes under the heating pad. Because water is separated from the system, any possible leakage will not contaminate the sample and damage the PCB board. Sensor: Multiple temperature sensors(thermistors) will be installed above the sample plate and below the sample plate for uniformity and redundancy. Microcontroller: Microcontroller will handle the PID algorithm of heating/cooling rate and the communication between computer and PCB board for automation. The input signals include sensor data from multiple spots and signals from the computer to change the program parameters. The output should be the connected to heating pad and water valve. Novelty Currently, thermal cyclers We are the first to offer water cooling feature in such machines. We think many of the existing machines on the market today are ridiculously overpriced, and we intend to disrupt this niche market by offering our low-cost solution. Look into: An example of current overpriced product https://www.coleparmer.com/i/eppendorf-6332000029-thermal-cycler-eco-115-or-230-vac/9394439?PubID=UX&persist=true&ip=no&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIjKeS9OeV1gIVArXACh3jzg7gEAYYASABEgLxkvD_BwE Peltier effects / solid state refrigerator https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermoelectric_cooling |