An Open-source Capping Machine Suitable for Confined Spaces

TL;DR

This paper presents an open-source, compact capping machine with vision recognition, validated through repeated tests and benchmarking, offering a space- and cost-effective alternative for automated sample capping in confined laboratory environments.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel open-source capping machine designed specifically for confined spaces, integrating vision for failure detection, and validated through extensive testing and benchmarking.

Findings

Achieved 100% success rate in capping and uncapping tests.

Capped vials lost only 0.54% of content over three days.

Performance comparable to industrial and manual capping methods.

Abstract

In the context of self-driving laboratories (SDLs), ensuring automated and error-free capping is crucial, as it is a ubiquitous step in sample preparation. Automated capping in SDLs can occur in both large and small workspaces (e.g., inside a fume hood). However, most commercial capping machines are designed primarily for large spaces and are often too bulky for confined environments. Moreover, many commercial products are closed-source, which can make their integration into fully autonomous workflows difficult. This paper introduces an open-source capping machine suitable for compact spaces, which also integrates a vision system that recognises capping failure. The capping and uncapping processes are repeated 100 times each to validate the machine's design and performance. As a result, the capping machine reached a 100 % success rate for capping and uncapping. Furthermore, the machine sealing capacities are evaluated by capping 12 vials filled with solvents of different vapour pressures: water, ethanol and acetone. The vials are then weighed every 3 hours for three days. The machine's performance is benchmarked against an industrial capping machine (a Chemspeed station) and manual capping. The vials capped with the prototype lost 0.54 % of their content weight on average per day, while the ones capped with the Chemspeed and manually lost 0.0078 % and 0.013 %, respectively. The results show that the capping machine is a reasonable alternative to industrial and manual capping, especially when space and budget are limitations in SDLs.