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To control fluid flow in our final device we constructed pneumatic controlled water valves. We use electric powered air valves to control these so-called quake valves and build a circuit to control the air valves with a microcontroller. This enables us to precisely move fluids on our final device via a software interface. We constructed macroscopic quake valves with 3D printed negatives out of PDMS via soft lithography. The valves can be scaled down and are require now special equipment for their manufacture. A detailed protocol for manufacturing macroscopic fluidic chips with 3D Printed negatives can be found here at the subitem "Soft lithography".
The valve is made of three PDMS layers. The lower layer carries the water channel with a sinus shaped dome at the valve position. The middle layer is just a thin and therefore elastic membrane. The upper layer carries the air channel which as a cylindric dome at the valve position The three layers are shown in the figure below.
Explosive drawing of a quake valve.
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