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DremelFuge - A One-Piece Centrifuge for Rotary Tools by cathalgarvey is licensed under the Attribution - Share Alike - Creative Commons license.
© 2009 by cathalgarvey
Instructions
Dremelfuge is a home-made Centrifuge, a potentially hazardous tool. Use your own common sense, and don't take anything you've seen me do or say to be an endorsement of safety. Centrifuges require some care in order to be used safely, and a home-made centrifuge in particular will have hazards that you should be ready for if you try to use it.
If you want to use Dremelfuge, use your head and take safety precautions:
1) Print or buy Dremelfuge. If printed, use maximum infill for stability.
2) Attach Dremelfuge securely, either by tightening a chuck securely or screwing a rotary tool disc-holder securely to the center of the Dremelfuge.
3) Seat your drill or rotary tool so that Dremelfuge's shaft/axle is vertically oriented. Seat the drill/tool with the Dremelfuge into a metal chamber (such as a cooking pot) for safety, and wear eyegear and any other personal protective items you can muster in case of disintegration.
4) Starting at the lowest speed and ramping up, with no tubes or loads attached, test Dremelfuge for safety at whichever speeds you intend to use it.
5) Once proven safe at the intended speed, you can start to test and use Dremelfuge under load, that is with desired lab samples. Make certain at all times that identical tubes or columns are used, with identical amounts of fluid or mass on either side. Always balance the Dremelfuge perfectly, or accidents may result.
Here are some RCF values (g-forces) to expect when it is used with a standard 1.5ml microcentrifuge tube:
@3000 rpm - 453 rcf
@10000 rpm - 5,031 rcf
@16,680 rpm - 14,000 rcf (The highest on a standard lab centrifuge I use every day!)
@33,000 rpm - 51,520 rcf (Highest on a Dremel 300)
I have successfully spun full tubes at 33,000 RPM on a Shapeways printed Dremelfuge. "Innocent" brand smoothie sediments into pretty layers within a few seconds.
Flying bits of microcentrifuge tubes pose a blinding or injurous hazard. Dremelfuge is unlikely to break; I have yet to break one, whether from Shapeways or Makerbot.
If you enjoy Dremelfuge or feel it has aided you significantly, please consider a donation to the email address mentioned in the .scad file below, using Paypal.
