WOW! First time viewer. As an engineer with a background in electronics and biotechnology among others, I found this fascinating. I've considered building a PCR but never got around to it. Thanks.
11 місяців тому
Great! Thank you so much. Greetings from a bioeng grad student, universidad del Cauca, Colombia.
I've been building a PCR machine, based on OpenPCR, I used an aluminum block, to hold the tubes, and I'm using a peltier to heat and cool the block. My ramp rates are decent until 80 degrees then it heats up very slowly, So, I'm planning to add resistive heaters (cartridge heaters) to aid in heating until 95 degrees, and also provide better control over the temperature, avoiding hysteresis due to a on-off controller.
@@izzitMichaela it used to be a Physical kit, but now they no longer make it. The firmware is available on github. I'm a noob at programming, so I couldn't figure out how to use that firmware, so I wrote my own simpler version. I have now shifted from Arduino UNO to ESP8266
:) i used a water cooled cycler in... let me remember... in 1998-2000. You know, I remember even a thermocycler consisted of 3 glycerol baths with different temperatures. And a mechanical arm moved tubes from one bath to other :)
Cool way to do the tempereture. Have you thought of using a Peltier device? With that you can make it too hot to touch in a couple of seconds and not only that but if you flip the power poles the hot side can become the cold side so you can control the temp. The only down side is there not very efficient power wise but heat and cool quickly! Awesome channel!
Thank you!! I love peltier chips! I was actually messing around with those too, I really like the ability for them to act as heat sinks as well. In my 'part 3' of this series I elected to use cylindrical heating coils that 3D printers use to heat up, which actually were way more efficient (I changed the design around to allow the heaters to be inserted directly under the tubes)
Great job! I was also thinking about peltierelement like other people also commented but of course, this also have its dissadvantages. Also, I did not see if there was a resistor between the Aurduino and the transistor. There shall be a limiting resistor since there is 5 V from the microcontroller and ~0,7 V at the base of the transistor, i.e. 4,3 V difference. With max 20 mA from microcontroller a 215 ohm resistor or greater will do. Max resistance depends on the amplifier (hFE) of the datasheet of the transistor depending on how much current you need flowing through it.
I would have thought a Peltier battery would have been the better choice for the heater/cooler as it would heat and cool at roughly the same rate and the polarity would dictate the effect.
Awsome Progress, now I know why I could not beat you in any game by the time you were 8 years old unless it required a serious amount of luck. I'm trying to figure out why you need to cool the block as opposed to just shutting off the heaters, look up "heat anticipator" used in thermostats to keep room temp stable by anticipating the temp rise and cutting off heaters in advance of set point to maintain steady temp.
That's super interesting - I hadn't heard of heat anticipators before. I needed a cooling system because the PCR reaction needs a very fast cooldown time (like 5 degrees of cooling per second) and I was skeptical that just turning off the heaters would make that change happen.
Very good job I actually think about making PCR machine so i just found your wonderful video I hope If I can help you in any way and shear information and skills
Hey! So, I was actually able to reach out to my local Maker's Space and get access to some aluminum and a drill press for machining. I'd recommend looking into your area's Maker community! If not, companies do offer the service at a price, judging by a quick Google search. I'll throw the cad files online soon, it'll be in the description!
Super cool!! I just had one question as I'm new to this. Why do you need to use a transistor to turn the SSR on/off? The arduino is capable of outputting a 5v signal through one of the digital pins. Couldn't you just have the arduino turn the SSR on/off by turning on/off one of the pins and directly attaching the pin to the SSR?
Thanks for the comment! So, although the voltage would have been fine, I was running into issues with current draw. Since the arduino is controlling the screen, thermometer, and pump, I felt drawing more current for the heaters might mess up the board
so cool you are amazing!!! i am a biomedical engineer and i am going to start a business in my country and start with a design pcr device your video was so helpful, can you introduce me websites or videos that i can collect information about this device ???this is so important for me i will be grateful if you help me.
WOW! First time viewer. As an engineer with a background in electronics and biotechnology among others, I found this fascinating. I've considered building a PCR but never got around to it. Thanks.
Great! Thank you so much. Greetings from a bioeng grad student, universidad del Cauca, Colombia.
I've been building a PCR machine, based on OpenPCR, I used an aluminum block, to hold the tubes, and I'm using a peltier to heat and cool the block. My ramp rates are decent until 80 degrees then it heats up very slowly, So, I'm planning to add resistive heaters (cartridge heaters) to aid in heating until 95 degrees, and also provide better control over the temperature, avoiding hysteresis due to a on-off controller.
That's a great idea! Is OpenPCR a software package, or a physical kit?
@@izzitMichaela it used to be a Physical kit, but now they no longer make it. The firmware is available on github.
I'm a noob at programming, so I couldn't figure out how to use that firmware, so I wrote my own simpler version. I have now shifted from Arduino UNO to ESP8266
:) i used a water cooled cycler in... let me remember... in 1998-2000. You know, I remember even a thermocycler consisted of 3 glycerol baths with different temperatures. And a mechanical arm moved tubes from one bath to other :)
Awesome. I typed in "How to make a PCMR machine" into DuckDuckGo and this video is even better than what I searched! Thanks for making it! Subbed!
Cool way to do the tempereture. Have you thought of using a Peltier device? With that you can make it too hot to touch in a couple of seconds and not only that but if you flip the power poles the hot side can become the cold side so you can control the temp. The only down side is there not very efficient power wise but heat and cool quickly! Awesome channel!
Thank you!! I love peltier chips! I was actually messing around with those too, I really like the ability for them to act as heat sinks as well. In my 'part 3' of this series I elected to use cylindrical heating coils that 3D printers use to heat up, which actually were way more efficient (I changed the design around to allow the heaters to be inserted directly under the tubes)
@@izzitMichaela I just watched it, very awesome stuff!!! Thanks for uploading :)
Hey, thanks for the inspiration, now I want to make it myself too! Epic content:)
Great job! I was also thinking about peltierelement like other people also commented but of course, this also have its dissadvantages. Also, I did not see if there was a resistor between the Aurduino and the transistor. There shall be a limiting resistor since there is 5 V from the microcontroller and ~0,7 V at the base of the transistor, i.e. 4,3 V difference. With max 20 mA from microcontroller a 215 ohm resistor or greater will do. Max resistance depends on the amplifier (hFE) of the datasheet of the transistor depending on how much current you need flowing through it.
Thanks for the comment! The electrical engineering bit of this project is my weakest subject, but hopefully I'll get better as time goes on!
I would have thought a Peltier battery would have been the better choice for the heater/cooler as it would heat and cool at roughly the same rate and the polarity would dictate the effect.
Watching from Brazil!!! AMAZING!
Awsome Progress, now I know why I could not beat you in any game by the time you were 8 years old unless it required a serious amount of luck. I'm trying to figure out why you need to cool the block as opposed to just shutting off the heaters, look up "heat anticipator" used in thermostats to keep room temp stable by anticipating the temp rise and cutting off heaters in advance of set point to maintain steady temp.
That's super interesting - I hadn't heard of heat anticipators before. I needed a cooling system because the PCR reaction needs a very fast cooldown time (like 5 degrees of cooling per second) and I was skeptical that just turning off the heaters would make that change happen.
nice work, already excited for the next video!
I have read somewhere that the pcr tube holder tray is made up of Silver, allowing for faster temperature changes. Correct me if I am wrong.
Very good job I actually think about making PCR machine so i just found your wonderful video I hope If I can help you in any way and shear information and skills
Love your content
Cool, did yoy worked with PCR ?
Sweet!
Very cool! Best, @ahoymeghan
Very smart darling
What company did you order the aluminum parts from? Also, could you possibly upload the cad files? Thanks.
Hey! So, I was actually able to reach out to my local Maker's Space and get access to some aluminum and a drill press for machining. I'd recommend looking into your area's Maker community! If not, companies do offer the service at a price, judging by a quick Google search.
I'll throw the cad files online soon, it'll be in the description!
Super cool!! I just had one question as I'm new to this. Why do you need to use a transistor to turn the SSR on/off? The arduino is capable of outputting a 5v signal through one of the digital pins. Couldn't you just have the arduino turn the SSR on/off by turning on/off one of the pins and directly attaching the pin to the SSR?
Thanks for the comment! So, although the voltage would have been fine, I was running into issues with current draw. Since the arduino is controlling the screen, thermometer, and pump, I felt drawing more current for the heaters might mess up the board
3 hours temp cycle? Might as well use your oven! 😂
so cool you are amazing!!! i am a biomedical engineer and i am going to start a business in my country and start with a design pcr device your video was so helpful, can you introduce me websites or videos that i can collect information about this device ???this is so important for me i will be grateful if you help me.
I love you, dream girl
Can I get your codes for this?
God u are so pretty
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