My Version of a DIY paristaltic pump
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Ultimately it will be used on a calcium reactor. But at the moment, I'm just putting it through its paces... and I'm sure im over due for an update on accuracy... I will do it this weekend and see how it maintained flow rates...Very nice build!Did you use only for top off? It would be awesome to make dyi stepper motor based doser like ghl with esp32 or raspberry zero control.
It would be extremely easy to configure it to run on an open source controller, I have ideas that would simplify coupling a stepper with a paristaltic pump... something that most DIY guys can accomplish with very little skills... I just need to find time to do it...
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Nice
For people interested in a 3D-printed version of this, I haven't built it personally, but:
http://2017.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Hardware
I was looking at that design awhile back, and it looks pretty robust. All open source, 3d print files available, source code for the arduino, uses Nema 17's. They claim about $100 in parts to build one.
I'm curious though what the longevity of running a nema17 24/7 would really be though.. Seems likely to fail at some point. Isn't that what they use in the DOS, and Neptune says "don't do that"?
http://2017.igem.org/Team:Aachen/Hardware
I was looking at that design awhile back, and it looks pretty robust. All open source, 3d print files available, source code for the arduino, uses Nema 17's. They claim about $100 in parts to build one.
I'm curious though what the longevity of running a nema17 24/7 would really be though.. Seems likely to fail at some point. Isn't that what they use in the DOS, and Neptune says "don't do that"?
OP
OP
$100 is a great price for the entire project. And it looks a lot better than mine.
The way I understand it, is that the NEMA rating is the physical size of the stepper (mounting holes etc.), not necessarily the make up of its windings and configuration. There are some high amperage high torque ones and there are cheaply made ones
What's the price of that pump?
I have to admit, the control code for it looks pretty slick. They have a youtube video of it in operation, and the controls are a beauty. Supposedly you can also drive it over USB, so, you could hook it to a reef-pi or something pretty easily. Even if you don't use the project box, I bet you could just use the code for the one you built and it would work perfectly with no modifications.
Not trying to knock what you've done so far. Your build is awesome, especially the pump head, but speaking as a lazy programmer, I am all about re-using code that already exists.
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No offense taken, I opted not to use the ardiuno and simply purchased a driver and controller for the stepper. I had plans of giving it all the bells and whistles, but my coding skills are less than on par. I went with what I knew. This was simply a proof of concept for me, I wanted to see if I had the capability to make one.... not owning a 3D printer and seeing your post makes me want one even more!!!I have to admit, the control code for it looks pretty slick. They have a youtube video of it in operation, and the controls are a beauty. Supposedly you can also drive it over USB, so, you could hook it to a reef-pi or something pretty easily. Even if you don't use the project box, I bet you could just use the code for the one you built and it would work perfectly with no modifications.
Not trying to knock what you've done so far. Your build is awesome, especially the pump head, but speaking as a lazy programmer, I am all about re-using code that already exists.
OP
OP
You know, I looked and looked.... and looked for a reasonably priced peristaltic pump like that and couldn't find anything. That is worth purchasing to see how well they work.
The silicone tubing I am currently using has an inner diameter (ID) of 6mm and an outer diameter (OD) of 9mm. When making the pump, I took that into consideration when I designed the pivoting frame, I left a 3.048mm gap between the rollers and frame. this morning the new tube showed up with 6mm ID 8mm OD. The thinner wall of the tube prevented the roller to pinch off the tube to prevent a siphon. I would have to cut a new pivot frame to accommodate the new tube. The only time it would pinch would be if the motor stopped with a roller sitting at the 12 o'clock position. I didn't have the time to cut it, so I ended up taking the pivot frame off and put it in the oven for 15 minutes at 200 degree, it made it pliable enough to bring the sides in 1mm. That didn't work so well because the position of the right side of the frame didn't change in reference to the rotary head, in other words, it didn't pinch off the smaller tube.
With that in mind I still made one out of the thinner walled tube and timed it to feed 500ml.
6mm x 9mm Low Setting 1:37
6mm x 8mm Low Setting 2:09
6mm x 9mm High Setting 1:05
6mm x 8mm High setting 1:33
For the time being I will keep with the 6mm x 9mm for the tests, and will make this my base line, in 4 weeks I will run tests again and hope for consistency.
Keeping in mind that this is just a prototype and hope to get input for improvements.
I just happened to be home when the pump kicked on, it's a bit noisy, I suspect it's from the washers on the rotary head. But you can also hear noise from the stepper motor too, and that will be something that can't really be changed unless we find a quieter motor.
Hello, I am very familiar with stepper motors in the CNC industry. The noise is not from the stepper motor- it is more due to the (cheap) driver.
A cheap way to correct the noise, popular in the 3D printer market, is adding a TL smoother in between the driver and motor. That will get rid of 95% of the electronic noise
https://www.amazon.com/ARQQ-Smoother-Pattern-Elimination-Clipping/dp/B071WG3SZQ
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where abouts?
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OP
This afternoon I was able to run the monthly test (6 weeks later) and found that the results weren't surprising. Knowing that the tube had to be broken in, the times went down. The previous test was done on 17 December with the 6mm ID X 9mm OD. Just to recap, I ran 4 tests to time how long it took the pump to transfer 500ml of RODI water at 2 separate speeds (Low and high) and averaged them out to get the results. Here's last months:
17 DEC 2018
6mm x 9mm Low Setting 1:37
6mm x 9mm High Setting 1:05
And here's today's:
29 JAN 209
6mm x 9mm Low Setting 1:52
6mm x 9mm High Setting 1:11
There was a 15 second loss on the low setting and only a 6 second loss on the high speed. If my suspicions are correct, now that the tube is broken in, the results of the next test should be pretty close to what I got today.
Although I would like to get with @garbled and make another prototype based on the one he shared. Adding a display and the ability to calibrate it, was what I wanted to do from the start. With his 3d printer and my laser, perhaps we can come up with something great.
17 DEC 2018
6mm x 9mm Low Setting 1:37
6mm x 9mm High Setting 1:05
And here's today's:
29 JAN 209
6mm x 9mm Low Setting 1:52
6mm x 9mm High Setting 1:11
There was a 15 second loss on the low setting and only a 6 second loss on the high speed. If my suspicions are correct, now that the tube is broken in, the results of the next test should be pretty close to what I got today.
Although I would like to get with @garbled and make another prototype based on the one he shared. Adding a display and the ability to calibrate it, was what I wanted to do from the start. With his 3d printer and my laser, perhaps we can come up with something great.
ChronicReefH2o
Active Member
I love this idea, but this won't be an everyday Joe project. Unless you have the time and patients for a long work time, I see my time being use else where. Overall, this is a great build you have. How long did it tank to make one?
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Most of the time spent was in the design phase, that took me a few days, working on it here and there. but once it was ready to be cut, it took less than 8 hours to go from raw material to finished product.
This was something that I just wanted to see if I could accomplish with the resources in front of me. Many people that have a 3D printer can take some of these ideas and tweak things to fit their skill set.
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