Chemist Biljana Mojsoska at Roskilde University in Denmark has been working on nanosheets, an anti-bacterial coating for medical surfaces. During her research, a piece of expensive equipment failed, causing Jakub Klust and Bo Thorning at FabLab RUC to attempt to replace the machine with rapid prototyping techniques.

What they came up with turns sample vials using a servo motor, controlled by an Arduino Uno. Buttons and an encoder form the user interface, with a small display for feedback. Mojsoska’s research involves rotating vials of the coating for days at a time, so the unit must be reliable, and gear reduction on the servo is implemented to prevent excessive vibration throughout the process.

You can read more about the project in FabLab RUC’s blog post, while design specifics are available on GitHub.