Build Your Own Centrifuge For $200.00 (DIYbio) Project Called OpenFuge

Starting up a lab but don’t have the budget to buy new?  No worries!  Here’s a cool do it yourself (DIY) centrifuge project called OpenFuge that instructs amateurs on how to build a 9,000 RPM centrifuge for $200.00.  The easy to do build your own centrifuge was first discovered on instructables.com and has circled the web in high demand.   The OpenFuge is a relatively low-cost open-source centrifuge for DIY Biolabs and biohackers. It primarily uses commercial off the shelf parts with a few custom electronics. It aims to enable anyone to perform biological experiments, not just those with access to specialized labs.

Hacks of other lab staples have slowly trickled out. But until now a homemade centrifuge, one of the key pieces, has stubbornly lingered on the hacker wish list. To separate cells, DNA, proteins, and other materials from the soup of stuff they’re usually found in, the lab centrifuge requires high-speed spin, and early DIY attempts have been messy, and painful even. Finally, someone has produced an exquisite centrifuge for the lab bench–17-year old high schooler Karlin Yeh. Yeh hacked what he calls the OpenFuge from a friend’s broken remote control helicopter and his dad’s laser cutter. “I want to make it so every DIYbio hacker has a centrifuge that they can do experiments with,” says Karlin. Clocking in at 9,000 r.p.m. and producing 6,000 g’s, the OpenFuge exhibits lab-grade power. And while the professional equivalent costs well over a thousand dollars, it only costs $200.  Yeh has already sold out of kits on Tindie for $260 each, but you can still make your own with his step-by-step guide on Instructables.

OpenFuge Features:

Adjustable Speed & Power
Can hold up to 4 Eppendorf Tubes
Portable
Safety Interlock
Easy To Clean
Live RPM Digital Display Monitor & Timer

DIY OpenFuge Centrifuge Specifications:

For DIY people head over to:  http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:151406/#files  and cut out the attached panels.  Check out the Bill of Materials (BOM) for the list of parts needed. WARNING: LASER CUTTER REQUIRED (40 min) 

For non-DIY people head over to: https://www.tindie.com/products/CopabX/openfuge/ and purchase a kit. It comes with all electronics pre-soldered and pre-programmed.