Introduction to Open-Source Hardware for Science - Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs - page 9

FIGURE 1.6 Open-source orbital shaker using 3-D printable components. Source: Open sourced by
Jordan Miller at the University of Pennsylvania ( http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5045 ) .
For example, as seen in Figure 1.7 , it is now possible to make a <$50 customizable automated
ilter wheel that replaces a $2500 commercial version (or a factor of 50X savings). The ilter
wheel changer in Figure 1.7 uses an open-source Arduino microcontroller to operate. All of
the code to make and use it is open-source, including the design files, which are scripted in
OpenSCAD, itself an open-source software tool. It was writen carefully in OpenSCAD to be
parametric, so other scientists can easily adjust the number or size of filters for their specific
applications. A few months after it was published, the designs had been downloaded over 750
times, and presumably in use in labs throughout the world.