[sudo-discuss] [CCL] Tekla Labs is about to launch a DIY Lab equipment contest

[Jake]

I think part of the problem with that is that if you want to make your 
openPCR do the job in a reasonable time frame, you need to be able to 
thermally cycle your fluids rapidly.

every bit of material you have that is thermally connected to the PCR 
vials and heating/cooling apparatus is thermal mass that you need to 
swing, which makes your energy demand greater on your heat pump, and/or 
slows down your PCR time.

that's why the best material for touching the vials will likely be a thin 
skin of aluminum, shaped like inverted cones on one side and flat surfaces 
on the other side, but mostly hollow.  Such a shape would be designed in 
openSCAD, modeled with a 3D printout, and either cast at OMI or Jim's or 
Bernards, or more likely ordered as a metal print from Pomoko or Shapeways 
or something.

unless you don't care about PCR time, in which case yes, you can make your 
own thermal manifold out of a block of aluminum or lead.

-jake

Aug 21, 2013 01:58:57 PM, patrikd at gmail.com wrote:
> Hi Hol,
>
> Why don't you guys use Hackteria's drill bit to drill the wells in the 
> aluminum heat block? They designed and ordered a custom bit specifically 
> to match the 17.5 degree cone angle used in OpenPCR, and they're willing 
> to let other groups borrow it. Perfect example of leveraging the global 
> DIY community!
>
> http://hackteria.org/wiki/index.php/Wild_OpenPCR
>
> Simon Field on the DIYbio list suggested a while back to cast the heat 
> block from a lower-melt alloy. That's potentially something that anyone 
> with a hot plate could achieve, and you could even use your own favorite 
> PCR tubes to make a perfectly fitting mold.
>
>Patrik