Photonic
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Looking for thoughts on my product ideas!
I've been working on designing some products that I was thinking about having produced mainly because I'm sick and tired of the overpriced low quality
junk that seems to be on the market. I've done some basic cost analysis and I think I might be able to have these things made for pretty low costs
with only the highest quality of materials and workmanship. Prices are just ball park at this point based on what I've heard back from suppliers and
manufacturers. All products would be made in the US.
I was hoping to get some feedback on my designs if you guys wouldn't mind. I don't really know if they'll ever become something tangible, however, all
feedback would be welcome!
This is a 100mL Reaction block. It has a thermometer well in it to stick a thermocouple. I was thinking about making these guys in a couple different
sizes and anodizing them. Another feature that I'm working on is adding a cooling jacket to them so that you can keep them cold for low temperature
reactions. These guys are made to sit on top of a hot plate so you can stir while transferring heat to your flask - a replacement for heating mantles,
and oil baths.
Price might be between $20-60ea depending on size.
Solid PTFE GL45 Caps are another thing I was looking to get my hands on. Pricing for these I estimate to be in the $5-10 range each. Around the same
for PTFE Stoppers as well.
Solid PTFE Thermocouple adapters which would be around $12each and could accommodate a wide range of thermometers with different inserts. 24/40 size
pictured.
Lab Jacks! These are something I've wanted for a long time. This guy would be solid aluminum except I was thinking about using stainless steel for the
rods and screw. Pricing would be somewhere in the $40-60 range with anodizing included. I was thinking about adding some features to these guys that
would set mind apart from all of the ones currently on the market - things like inserts to prevent that awful squealing noise when lifting a load, and
maybe the option to have a magnetic stirrer built into it, or stepper actuated lifting for process control.
Right now these are just a idea at this stage. Anyway, I appreciate any feedback you guys have for me.
Thanks!
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aga
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The reaction block sounds like a Good idea.
Done any maths on heat transfer thru the block ?
Things like uniformity would be worth investigating.
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blogfast25
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@Photonic:
What are your credentials/qualifications in the area of design, if I may ask?
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Sulaiman
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The heating block is nice,
... my concern would be that all flasks of a given capacity (e.g. 500 ml) are not the same diameter, so my flasks may not fit nicely.
Borosilicate NS24 thermometer adapters are now about £4 incl. p&p
and a borosilicate tube sealed at one end takes small thermocouples nicely,
I suspect that embedding a thermocouple in ptfe would give an annoyingly long time lag.
I would love an economical lab jack,
I don't know (others may chip in with practical experience) but I think that I would like mine a little longer to give more stability at height.
Or maybe one more 'scissor' layer ?
just random thoughts
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DJF90
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These things already exist, you're just trying to make them for less than they are typically sold.
Nice CAD skills though!
[Edited on 29-6-2016 by DJF90]
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PHILOU Zrealone
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It already exists...you simply need a IR lamp used to give heat to chiken offsprings ...chicks...just realized the origin of "hot chicks idiom"...the
lamp cost like 9.5€!
This radiates upward a big metalic divergent socle with a lot of glass fiber wool for internal insulation arround the lamp...the diameter is big
enough, and the collar is deep enough (above the lamp) to allow for all flask size to be set above and conveniently heated while hold in place by
conventional lab clamps and systems.
Eventually a cover mantle (fiber glass fabric) is set above the flask to keep the heat focussed onto the flask.
Usually there is a dimer or a T probe onset to allow for increasing the intensity of the heating.
By changing the height of the flask and the isolation you can acheive the same...
Aluminium is a bad idea for a lab lifting/support structure...better make all in stainless steel.
[Edited on 30-6-2016 by PHILOU Zrealone]
PH Z (PHILOU Zrealone)
"Physic is all what never works; Chemistry is all what stinks and explodes!"-"Life that deadly disease, sexually transmitted."(W.Allen)
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aga
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Inspired by the lab jack image you posted, i made one out of wood.
http://www.sciencemadness.org/talk/viewthread.php?tid=66844
Make a kit for say $15 and you'll get buyers.
Total cost price would be around $1.50 F.O.B. if you get them made in China, = $13.50 margin.
Worldwide lab jack sales are probably not huge though, so don't get excited.
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Dr.Bob
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All of those are great things for the lab, and if you can make them cheaper, great, but all are already made in bulk by someone who sells them
wholesale for less than your cost. The real challenge is that science resellers have a huge mark-up, due to the low volume and fickleness of buyers,
as well as corporate rules than make buying science stuff a pain. All of your ideas are good, but some may not be practical cost wise.
Solid PTFE is hard to use, I have had pieces made from it, and it warps easily, and does not seal tightly without a liner. I already have white caps
like that with PFTE liners for $2 each, and they work, so why bother. I also have some PTFE thermometer adapters like you show for $12, some still
like new. Most people prefer the glass ones, but I have the Teflon also.
A well made Jiffy Jack is a great idea. But I replaced some lab jacks with SS threaded rods years ago, they were great, but just the cost of the
threaded SS rod/nut package was more than $45 each back in 1984. I already have some used lab jacks that I can sell for $40-50 which mostly just
need cleaning, and some people sell really cheap Chinese made ones for less, but they likely break after 3 uses.
The Al hot block is great, I have used them. The key I learned after doing chemistry for 30 years is that cylindrical vials and bottles work just
fine for many reactions, they are cheaper than most rbfs, and 90% of chemistry can be done without jointed flasks. So I do much of my work in 20 ml
Scintillation vials, or media bottles, which can be used in many heating blocks, dry blocks, ChemGlass reacting blocks, oil baths, etc, and are cheap
and easy to scale up in. And those types of heating blocks are cheap and simple, just holds drilled into a block of Al. So I mostly use them now,
and the size uniformity of vials and tubes are much more consistent than rbfs. But even they change between vendors, some test tubes from Fisher and
VWR are different enough to not all fit in the same racks well, even if marked the same.
For some reactions, rbfs are best, strong bases, vacuum or pressure, addition funnels, etc. But for many reactions, a simple vial, test tube, or
bottle works fine, and you can do multiple reactions at once, to allow making different compounds in parallel, testing multiple reaction
conditions/reagents/catalysts at one time, or even scaling up reactions by just running several little ones at once. But maybe pick one item to try
out and see if you can make it better, faster, or cheaper.
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aga
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Media rules.
Doesn't matter quite so much if the reaction works or not, so long as it looks Cool in a photo, or video.
Times they are a'changing.
Hopefully for the better, but it doesn't seem so just yet.
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RocksInHead
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That labjack reminds me of a freaking tank, I love it!
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