Final Project Idea¶
Portable Biomaterial Research Workstation¶
Background and Problem âť“¶
Based on my personal experiences for the past 3 years experimenting with biomaterials, I have encountered several pain points of biomaterial experimentations that I would love to solve to help accelerate the biomaterial research & exploration, which listed as follows:
- Needs so many equipments and supplies to start with
- Not practical for mobilization or for on-site experiments
- Currently, biomaterial diy experiments are still inconsistent
Besides, in Fab Lab Bali we also have a Mobile Fab Lab project. With this idea, I want to support the project by developing this kit as an educational tool for communities to learn about and start experimenting with biomaterials.
Inspirations ✨¶
I started by finding some inspirations from the internet
Bento Lab: Portable PCR Workstation
Beyond Plastic Bio Press Machine
Concept đź’ˇ¶
A portable, low-cost, and frugal biomaterial lab that you can bring anywhere you go to perform functions of biomaterial research and experiments.
- portable
- modular
- low-cost
- incorporating local product culture
Understanding Biomaterial Making Processes and Functions¶
In order to know what needs to be provided there, I have to breakdown the workflow of biomaterial making. The process of making biomaterials is, in general, pretty much the same.
The General Journey of Biomaterial Making:
Crushing → Measuring → Mixing → Heating / Chemical Reaction Mixing → Shaping → Drying
| Functions | Current Existing Device | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Crushing | Grinder / Food Chopper | Medium |
| Measuring | Digital Scale | High |
| Mixing | Mixing Bowl, Stirrer | High |
| Cooking/Heating | Stove | Semi-High |
| Moulding | Mould | High |
| Drying | Sun-Dried / Dehydrator | Medium |
| Pressing/Ironing | Heat Press | Medium |
| Sealing | Heat Seal Machine | Low |
| Cooling | Refrigerator | Low |
Here I’ve list down according to priorities what needs to be accomodated at the first stage. But each function can be optional depending on the material quality intended.
Since this kit is intended for beginners, I think I’ll just have to focus on the basic way of making biomaterials using agar and gelatin binders. Therefore I think I’ll focus on the “cooking process”.
More Feature Ideas¶
What if we can hack the local available lunch box for the portable lab? to make it frugal and more accessible to the locals?
- Hacking local traditional rantang lunch container. Each rantang container can be dedicated for specific functions.
- Solar-powered
- Sensor for measurement sensitivity
- Low-tech dehydrator
- Feature to automatically keeping track record of measured items (?)
- Moulds: sheets (standardized petri dish size), Cups, Plates
For a more extensive details about the idea here
Conductivity Meter Device for Green Hydrogen’s Non-Toxic Catalyst Research**¶
Background¶
In Fab Lab Bali, we have a Hydrogen Village project which aims to empower the local community through green hydrogen technology development. One of the research lines is to find a safe, environmentally friendly catalyst solution that will aid or accelerate the electrolysis process in order to produce the most amount of hydrogen gas effectively.
This research was initially proposed by Cesar Jung-Harada from the Singapore Institute of Technology, and in collaboration with Prof. Ni Made Dwidiani, a Material Science expert from Udayana University. We aim to develop an environmentally friendly catalyst based on her previous research on utilising locally sourced organic waste materials, such as tofu wastewater, pineapple juice, activated charcoal from coconut waste, etc.
Problem Statement¶
To do this, we have to carry out many hydrogen experiments with these different materials and formulations. However, setting up one hydrogen experiment alone is already tricky and can take quite some time. And in the process, there is quite a long lead time when we have to wait for the hydrogen to produce the gas bubbles. All these things are done only for us to know which of these liquid formulations have the most conductivity and can produce the most hydrogen in the shortest time. So it is not really practical to set up the hydrogen experiment every time, and it will take a very long time for us to monitor and measure the hydrogen production, let alone to carry out and test many different material formula options.
- Measurement challenges
- Lack of practicality of conducting green-catalyst experiments
- Time-intensive process for setup, execution, and long-lead time when waiting for results (waiting for gas bubbles)
- Potential toxic chemicals as by-product of the electrolysis process
To sum up, it’s difficult and takes a long time to set up the instruments for non-toxic catalyst research
Concept¶
What if we can make a low-cost and easy-to-use device that can measure the parameters needed for green catalyst hydrogen research?
The idea is to make a portable low-cost green electrolysis lab that incorporate local everyday objects, in this case the classic glass jars that everyone hes in their homes, and can be used as an educational tool and promote citizen science movement to encourage participation from the local community in finding the non-toxic catalyst for green hydrogen electrolysis process.
Sketch:
What will be measured? (Input)
- conductivity
- pH level
- dissolved solids
- toxicity level
Output:
- Display
- Data capture & visualization