Digital Designs and Scientific Hardware - Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs - page 228

FIGURE 6.70 (a) The OpenPCR case and (b) running detail.
The OpenPCR has a sample capacity of 16 0.2 ml tubes. It can operate at temperatures from
10 to 100 °C (±0.5 °C). The average ramp rate is quite fast and is about a degree per second.
The heat block for the OpenPCR is currently machined out of a highly thermally conductive
alloy of aluminum, until 3-D printing of metals becomes common. 69 The block is insulated
at the sides to ensure a uniform temperature across the block and tight contact with stand-
ardized 200 μl PCR tubes. This results in a temperature which is uniform within ±0.3 °C. The
OpenPCR is completely programmable/automatable—so you can set up the initial, cyclic and
inal steps from either a connected computer or after it has been set up to run as a stand-alone
until One of the primary features of the OpenPCR is the heated lid that can range from the am-
bient temperature in your lab up to 120 °C. The heated lid heats up the tops of your tubes and