One thing that irks most laboratories is the cost of running a lab. Research laboratories are run in a non-profit mode with most of their money coming from Government grants or other sources of funds. Their motive is not profit and the primarily goal is to educate, discover and if possible invent. That requires money. Some money can be made by licensing an invention but for more basic researchers there is always a cash crunch. Laboratories tend to look for areas where they can repair and design new instrumentation.
Joshua Pearce at Michigan Tech makes some interesting products that will enable making of scientific equipment. They have been creating some interesting lab equipment using 3D printers that were really expensive to buy but now can be easily printed in the laboratory. There have been several collections that are openly available by the Michigan group – for example, see this pipettor that is available in Thingsverse. Interesting link is here and also watch the video below.
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