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Open-Source Lab, 1st Edition: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs

• written by Appropedia user J.M. Pearce
• J.M. Pearce, Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs, Elsevier, 2014
• ISBN: 9780124104624
• http://store.elsevier.com/Open-Source-Lab/Joshua-Pearce/isbn-9780124104624/

Free content

FREE access to select content from Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs.

This guide details the development of the free and open-source hardware revolution and provides you with step-by-step instructions on building your own laboratory hardware.

In the first two chapters displayed here, the author defines the basic terms of open-source software and discusses the rise of the open-source hardware revolution and how it impacts science before exploring five pragmatic advantages to joining the open-source scientific community for both your research in general, and most importantly, your equipment and instrumentation.

Key Features

• Numerous examples of technologies and the open-source user and developer communities that support them
• Instructions on how to take advantage of digital design sharing
• Explanations of Arduinos and RepRaps for scientific use
• A detailed guide to open-source hardware licenses and basic principles of intellectual property

Description

Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Scientific Research Costs details the development of the free and open-source hardware revolution. The combination of open-source 3D printing and open-source microcontrollers running on free software enables scientists, engineers, and lab personnel in every discipline to develop powerful research tools at unprecedented low costs.

After reading Open-Source Lab, you will be able to:

• Lower equipment costs by making your own hardware
• Build open-source hardware for scientific research
• Actively participate in a community in which scientific results are more easily replicated and cited

Examples

For a collection of free and open-source scientific hardware see this collection on Thingiverse or this for a collection specifically focused on optics.

For more printable open-source scientific equipment see the Learning Category at Thingiverse or any of the subcategories including engineering, math, physics, and biology.

Pearce discussing options: http://learningforlife.capd.fsu.edu/3d/

Table of Contents

Preface

1. Introduction to Open-Source Hardware for Science
2. The Benefits of Sharing - Nice Guys and Girls Do Finish First
3. Open Licensing - Advanced Sharing
4. Open-Source Microcontrollers for Science: How to Use, Design Automated Equipment with, and Troubleshoot
5. RepRap for Science: How to Use, Design, and Troubleshoot the Self-Replicating 3-D Printer
6. Digital Designs and Scientific Hardware
   1. OpenSCAD, RepRap, and Arduino Microcontrollers
   2. Physics: Open-Source Optics
   3. Engineering: Open-Source Laser Welder, Radiation Detection, and Oscilloscopes
   4. Environmental Science: Open-Source Colorimeter and pH Meter
   5. Biology: OpenPCR, Open-Source Centrifuges and More
   6. Chemistry: Open-Source Spectrometers and Other Chemical Research Tools
7. The Future of Open-Source Hardware and Science

See also

• Building research equipment with free, open-source hardware
• Open-source colorimeter
• Open-source 3D-printable optics equipment
• Open source science
• Open source 3-D printing of OSAT
• Category:Open source optics
• Open-source hardware
• Open-source hardware for science in Ecuador

External Links with Open Hardware for Science

• Tekla Labs - Tekla Labs is creating a library of open source DIY (do-it-yourself) documents that guide in the construction of quality lab equipment.
• Open Source Physiology Lab - this site is devoted to the collaboration and development of 3D printing physiology equipment
• Open Lab Tools - U. of Cambridge - created open source microscope prototype that cost around US$800, whereas conventional microscopes cost between US$15,000 and US$80,000 ^[1]
• Open Neuroscience
• Backyard Brains micromanipulator
• Sensorica
• Hackteria
• Gnome X Scanning Microscopy
• 3D printed scientific equipment in Africa- “TReND in Africa” (Teaching and Research in Neuroscience for Development) is a higher education charity dedicated to improving university level science education and research in sub-Saharan Africa.
• DIYBioprinter
• 50 Cent origami microscope
• open-ephys - open-source electrophysiology

Supporting publications

• Pearce, Joshua M. 2012. Building Research Equipment with Free, Open-Source Hardware. Science 337 (6100): 1303–1304. DOI: 10.1126/science.1228183
• Pearce, Joshua M. 2013. Free Innovation Accelerator, Analytical Scientist, Issue #1113, Article #303, December 17th, 2013.
• Pearce, J.M., 2014. Laboratory equipment: Cut costs with open-source hardware. Nature 505, 618. doi:10.1038/505618d
• Joshua M. Pearce "Bone replacements and heart monitors spur health revolution in open source 3D printing" The Conversation, Feb 28, 2014. Reprinted: Live Science

Reviews

Review on 3D Hacker! online, November 18, 2013

“3dhacker is truly impressed by the amount of work Dr. Pearce has put into Open-Source Lab. It’s immediately clear how a teacher or researcher in any institution around the world can reduce their laboratory equipment costs by 60-90%. Additionally Dr. Pearce illustrates the benefits of open source hardware and how it’s a must if the world wants to move at the fastest pace for scientific development!” -- 3dhacker Review: Open-Source Lab

Review on Nanowerk.com, November 18, 2013

“’Open-Source Lab’ is written for a wide audience, from novices to those who are “at one with the force of open source,” who can skip the introductory material and get right to work printing their own equipment.” --Nanowerk

Review Machine Design December 4, 2013

“Pearce intends his book to be a sort of guide to creating your own open-source lab gear. The topics he covers include software rights, best practices and etiquette for using open-source hardware, open-source microcontrollers, open-source centrifuges and spectrometers, colorimeters, and even open-source laser welding. There are also some helpful hints for those who are 3D-printing their equipment for the first time.” --Machine Design

Review on Midwest January, 2014

"Pearce's examples make it abundantly clear that the more people creating and sharing their hardware designs will only help research and technology accelerate and flourish. All things considered, the Open-Source Lab is a must read for every professional and amateur scientist. Even science educators would benefit from reading it and being able to improve their teaching laboratories for their students. And while he may not cover all the issues related to social and business aspects of open-source hardware, Pearce's writing throughout the Open-Source Lab is both inspiring and instructive as he covers all the information about the new and exciting possibilities with open-source hardware and 3-D printing." -- Midwest Book Review

Amazon Review

5 stars -- "Thorough guide to save a ton of money for your lab" - Amazon Reviews

In the Media

• An Interview with 3D Printers for Peace’s Dr. Joshua Pearce - 3D Printing Industry
• Just Another Incredible Saturday Of MTU Research - CBS Detroit
• Pearce Pens a 3D Printing Guide for Scientists on a Budget - Michigan Tech News
• 3D-printing your lab equipment—it’s cheaper than you think - Elsevier Connect
• MTU Prof Writes 3D Printing Guide For Scientists On A Budget - CBS Detroit
• DIY and Save: A Scientist's Guide to Making Your Own Lab Equipment - Science Daily, Phys.org, Biomedicine, Technology.org, Hispanic Business
• Design-for-3D Printing as community organizing - Design Activism
• MTU Prof writes 3D printing guide to making your own low-cost lab equipment - 3Drs, B3D
• 3D printing can reduce science lab equipment costs by 90% - Nanowerk
• 3D Printers – Open Source Enablers Indeed - Encore
• 3D printing used to create a basement laboratory on the cheap - Geek.com
• How Scientists Can Cut Costs by Making Their Own Lab Equipment - Lab Manager Magazine
• Ready Roundup: Microsoft 3D Builder, Open Source Lab, DMG Mori, and Victoria’s Secret - Rapid Ready Tech
• Equip your lab for less - 3D print your equipment -Labonline
• DIY Guide for 3D Printed Lab Equipment - 3D Printing Insider
• Top 15 New Books About Sharing, Cities and Happiness - Shareable
• Opinion: Science Counterculture - On taking DIYbio to the next level - The Scientist (great op ed with biohack examples)
• Book of the Day - P2P Foundation blog
• Kurzweil, Labrigger
• How to build lab equipment with open-source hardware - Machine Design
• Book Covers DIY Open-Source Hardware for Science Projects - Power Electronics
• 3d printing low cost open source laboratory equipment by Dr. Joshua Pearce -DIY 3D Printing
• Open Source Laboratory Equipment - Usin'Life
• 3-D printing could offer savings on replica lab kit -- Sci Dev Net, Thomson Reuters Foundation, All Africa, The Guardian, Aid News
• Beyond Jeremy Rifkin: How Will the Phase Transition to a Commons Economy Actually Occur? - Huffington Post

International Media

Czech

• Professor MTU is the author of the 3D printing guide for scientists - O3D

Ecuador

• Open Technical Infrastructures - Free/Libre Open Knowledge Society

Italy

• Open-source for open-science: cut costs - Oggiscienza (Science Today), Libero 24x7

Lithuania

• Do it yourself and save - guide researchers to make their own laboratory equipment -Science for business and society: Mokslas verslui ir visuomenei
• Open-Source Lab: a guide for researchers to make their own laboratory equipment - Technologijos
• How to cook their own laboratory equipment - Balsas, Elektronkika

Netherlands

• 3-D-print kan spare laboratorier i u-lande store beløb - u-landsnyt

Russia

• Laboratory equipment with their own hands - CNews - the largest online publication in the field of high technologies in Russia, Russian Electronics, Just-Hiend

References