I’ve been
interesting in 3D printing and its application in the lab for
a while now. I’ve argued elsewhere
online about how I think that a 3D printer is a smart move for
any lab or department, offering a handy way to easily produce a wide
array of custom lab equipment. I’ve also posted on this blog in the
past about my own use of 3D printing to make immune
molecules and my first custom plasticware – an adapter
to allow 50 ml conical use with a 15 ml tube rotater.
However I’m
lucky enough to be in a lab with a PI who also sees the potential of
3D printers for a biology lab – so he bought one! This has given me
more leeway to play around designing labware, as I can squeeze prints
and measurements to refine models in between experiments.
I thought I’d
start simply with the basics; tube racks. Or more specifically, tube
holders which can be easily configured in different arrangements into
racks (e.g. using something like Tinkercad,
which I used to make the models). So far I’ve made holders for
(micro-) centrifuge tubes of the three tube sizes most important to a
wet lab biologist: 1.5
(2), 15, and
50 ml.
All of these STL
models are freely available on my
Thingiverse page, as are the few larger racks I’ve made and
tested out, along with a few other bits and bobs. I encourage
those of you out there with printers to try them out - please let me know if you do.
More
importantly, I’d invite everyone to think about what tasks in the
lab could be made easier, quicker, or even possible, through the
addition of pieces of plasticware that don’t currently exist. Think
about them, then find someone with a printer and have a chat about
making them real!
