OpenClino - Open-source 3D clinostat

Open-source 3D clinostat. A clinostat is a small scale microgravity simulator.

This is based on the European Space Agency's work, specifically on Jack Van Loon's clinorotation work.

It is very difficult to access a 3D clinostat, there are some companies that sell it but can be prohibitively expensive for gravity research. OpenClino can be built for £100 using off the shelf parts. OpenClino can run in continuous clinorotation or as a Random Positioning Machine (RPM).

This is a side project for me and is very much work in progress.

OpenClino is designed to be simple, accessible, affordable, and reliable. It is designed to make use of 3D printing's strengths and requires no machining and minimum tools. To build OpenClino all non-printed parts are available off the shelf, mainly 3d printer stepper motors, belts, controllers, and skateboard bearings. All these parts are rated for thousands of hours of operation, and I have fully tested OpenClino to run for a minimum of 100 hrs without fault.

Documentation

I have provided:

• Docs in docs/1_.md/
• Code in src/
• 3D print files as .3MF in 3d_files/
• Bill of materials in docs/2_BOM.md/
• Build guide in docs/3_build_guide.md/

I will provide (TODO):

• code documentation.

Quick Usage

To run in clinorotation mode simply add these to your arduino's loop function, this will run the x axis at 30 rpm and the y axis at 60:

void loop() {
    spin_continuous(30,60);
}

Or to run as a random positioning machine, this will run a random walk routine as specified in ESA's work:

void loop() {
    RPM();
}

Don't forget to set the output pins for you motor controllers!

Collaboration

Please contact me on LinkedIn or raise an issue.

I would be happy to collaborate on this.

Contributors

Dan Dragomirescu @dragomda