OMIS: An Open Millifluidic Inquiry System

OMIS is a 3D tool for performing small-scale chemical synthesis and analysis. The system is Arduino-based and consists of an automated syringe pump run by a cheap stepper motor and reaction vessels. The design is meant to allow for fabrication” in one day”, and can pump fluids at rates between 60 and 300 μL/min.

The paper, written by R.J. LeSuer, K.L.Osgood, K.E.Stelnicki and J.L.Mendez is beautifully laid out and doesn’t hide itself in the supplementary materials. The Bill of Materials laid out in the material list the device as $250, including the PETG filament for 3D printing. The paper also has CAD designs, electronic schematics, and software for your perusal followed up by step-by-step assembly pictures in the paper!

If that isn’t enough the project has it’s own (bare bones) website and an extensive GitHub listing resources and assembly instructions. In a really cool move, they out-source some of the tutorial work to a tutorial by AdaFruit on wiring up a stepper motor to an Arduino. This makes some of the most traditionally difficult steps of DIY (electronics), into one of the easiest and more rewarding bits of this project. Part designs can also be found on Thingiverse, which has the boon of a comment system so you can see problems others have run into or modifications they have made.