Hydraulic observation chip

byu_hydraulic_observation

chip Nordin Microfluidic and 3D Printing Lab design, checked in CAD Valves

Nordin Microfluidic and 3D Printing Lab, Brigham Young University

Hydraulic observation chip. A computer drawing from its design files, not a photograph: its body drawn see-through, its channels in orange. Its bubble trap, a sealed pocket that holds no liquid, is not drawn in orange. — Drawn from its design files, not photographed: the body see-through, the channels orange. The device is 9.12 mm × 8.89 mm × 4 mm.

Cross-section of Hydraulic observation chip: the resin in blue, the liquid in orange; a square marks the close-up. — Cross-section where it crosses the most channels. The square marks the close-up. The bar is 2 mm.

Close-up of the cross-section of Hydraulic observation chip, 1 mm across, around its channels. — Close-up, 1 mm across, around its channels. The bar is 200 µm.

Description

A test chip for one of the lab's valve designs, with a bubble trap: a sealed cavity with a grid of square pillars. The lab places bubble traps near the centre and close to the parts, so bubbles get stuck in the trap during printing instead of damaging the device. The chip also has a serpentine channel that winds through ten levels.

Developed at the Nordin Microfluidic and 3D Printing Lab, Brigham Young University.

Prints in a custom resin with NPS or avobenzone as the UV absorber.

Citation

Nordin Microfluidic and 3D Printing Lab, Brigham Young University