Welcome to iGEM Aachen 2016

Integrated Practices

We have also taken into account the needs and thoughts of the public to improve our project.

Dark Bench

Idea

Our project forced us to grapple with the inconvenience of having to handle chemicals that are destroyed, when exposed to too much light. The laboratory, that was kindly made available for us, is located in a building with a glass front and many people work there with us. Working protected from light without causing us or others inconveniences seemed impossible. That is how the idea for the “Dark Bench” emerged.
The most important questions we asked ourselves and others working with light sensitive materials were: Does our design really constitute an advantage opposed to the usual solutions like aluminum foil and cardboard? And: Can we make it affordable?

Design

The Dark bench is a light controlled space which facilitates the handling of the photo-sensitive caged amino acids. It is entirely made using laser-cut parts and readily available resources to make it a Do-It-Yourself and inexpensive device. As all the parts are assembled with help of angles and hinges, the Dark bench can be dismantled and assembled with little effort.
It´s features comprise:

Convenient hand hole design
Sliding drawer
Optical window/UV protection window
Safelight

Click for detailed information.

Cost Calculation

“Or, if someone else built it for you, how much would it cost.”

Dr. David Mishler, Austin, Texas

That was Dr. Mishlers concern, when he gave us some feedback to the design of our model. At first he seemed to be interested in our Hardware part, but was skeptical if having the advantages would be worth the price. We estimated the costs to build one darkbench at about 200 $.

Detailed calculation.

Component	Specifications	Quantity	Costs^* [€/piece]	Costs^* [$/piece]	Final^* [€]	Final^* [$]
Opaque plexiglas 4mm	50X100 cm	5	22.45	24.63	112.25	123.15
Transparent plexiglas 3mm	25X50 cm	1	7.5	8.23	7.5	8.23
Screws	M3X10	155	0.05	0.05	7.75	7.75
Screws	M3X16	10	0.08	0.09	0.8	0.9
Screws	M3X20	25	0.09	0.10	2.25	2.5
Washer	3.2mm	200	0.02	0.02	4	4
Angles	3X3X3cm	18	0.41	0.45	7.38	8.1
Hinges	4X2.5cm	18	0.82	0.90	14.76	16.2
Door Knob	-	1	2.39	2.62	2.39	2.62
Long sleeve gloves	-	1	1.69	1.85	1.69	1.85
Adhesive	-	1	1.05	1.15	1.05	1.15
Cable ties and Mounts	1.9X1.9cm	1	2.29	2.51	2.29	2.51
Foam Rubber sheet 3mm	10X60cm	1	1.13	1.24	1.13	1.24
Foam rubber Sheet 6mm	30X30cm	1	1.71	1.88	1.71	1.88
Plastic Sheet	50X100cm	1	1.25	1.37	1.25	1.37
UV foil	blocks λ<540 nm, 50X30cm	1	3.87	4.25	3.87	4.25
Neodymium cube magnets	4X4X4mm	2	0.29	0.32	0.58	0.64
LED Strips	625 nm, 150 cm, 12V, 2.7W	1	1.47	1.61	1.47	1.61
Regulated Power Supply	12V, 600mA	1	9.35	10.26	9.35	10.26
Switch	1A	1	1	1.10	1	1.10
Total^*					184.47	202.37

^*As on 16^th October 2016

Assembly

“I think it could make work with photosensitive substances easier. The questions what is the inconvenience to building the box versus the added convenience of using it.”

Dr. David Mishler, Austin, Texas

LIPs Stick
Steps to build your own LIPs Stick

Conclusion

We are very content with the design of our “Dark Bench”. We think it is convenient to work with and can help avoid production of unnecessary waste.
The manual for building the “Dark Bench” can be downloaded here.