Team:Sheffield/Contribution
Contribution
How to Build Your Own Well-Plate Reader
Building the Box
In order to build the box, we ordered pre-cut perspex, as detailed in the casing portion of the hardware page. These were ordered as simple rectangles, with sizes shown below:
180 X 97mm - Dimensions for the top and bottom sections.
190 X 92mm - Dimensions for the right and left hand sides.
190 X 180mm - Dimensions for the back.
92 X 20mm - Dimensions for the 4 shelves that hold the casings.
200 X 180mm - Dimensions for the front.
Once the perspex has arrived, the pieces need to be joined together by strong glue (we used Evo-Stik Serious Glue), to create the box as shown below.
Creating the 3D printed casings
The files used to print the 3D printed casings for the LEDs and photodiodes can be found below:
Download link for photodiode casing
These links can either be used in your own 3D printer, or outsourced to a company who will 3D print them for you at a reasonably low cost.
Creating the Array
Insert the photodiodes and LEDs into their respective printed casings. The link to the arduino code on GitHub is provided below, however your own WiFi network name and password must be provided.
Photodiode array - Arduino code
Completing the Device
The final step involves simply sliding the casings and filter into the box, and connecting to the mains via usb cables.
Then, simply run your code on the arduino, place the well-plate in the device and leave for the length of your experiment. The results will then automatically upload to the ThingSpeak server.
The following diagram is a flow chart giving an overview of how the device works.
