We fixed the pipette holder to the Z-axis sliding table and a stepper motor and tested if a pipette tip could be ejected from the micropipette using this mechanism. It worked!
Yuki fixing the pipette holder.
With it working, we could finally attach this to the 3D printer.
We attached the micropipette + Z-axis sliding table + stepper motor to the 3D printer.
We also attached the refeeder to a stepper motor and observed its motion. Due to the protrusion that we added to the refeeder design being in the wrong position and not at the refeeder’s centre of gravity, the refeeder could not reliably rotate from position 1 to position 2 and back to position 1 precisely. Hence, we adjusted the position of the protrusion and reprinted the refeeder.
Design of new refeeder. (Credits: KK)