Research
Generally when people talk about the engineering design cycle, they start with “Design”, but that skips over a crucial part of the design process, that being research. Before attempting to design our own fluorometer we needed to further our understanding of how fluorometers actually worked. To do this we used online resources to educate ourselves on what parts are needed for a functioning fluorometer and did research on what other IGEM teams have done in the past when making similar hardware.
Design
We took our basic understanding of fluorometers and applied them to make a design that we believed would work in a lab setting, prioritizing low cost, ease of manufacturing, and functionality specifically for 7-hydroxycoumarin. Over the course of a few brainstorming meetings, we decided on an initial design that was simple but also theoretically effective.
Build
We then used solidWorks to create a 3-D model of our first fluorometer design, along with models for some of the other essential parts for function. These models can be seen below.
Test
Due to difficulty acquiring materials, we were never able to build a physical model of our fluorometer and therefore couldn’t run tests in the classical sense. Instead, we took our design and sought input from the other students and advisors on the team to find ways to improve our design. Taking input from different perspectives allowed us to locate flaws in our design that we may not have considered, which could then be fixed in later design iterations.
Learn
The primary concerns with our initial design were light pollution from the LED potentially getting through the UV film, and an inability to use the fluorometer in a non-lab environment. We took these concerns and brainstormed ways we could improve our design.
Design
Using the concerns brought to us regarding our previous design, we redesigned the layout of the fluorometer and created an autonomous system for switching samples for use in a real world setting relevant to our project.
Build
A new 3-D model was made for our redesigned fluorometer in SolidWorks.
Test
Like with our first model, we opted to seek out input from the other members of our team. This time, there were no major concerns for our design.
Learn
Through a full iteration of the engineering design cycle, we were able to come to a design that we believed would fulfill the needs of our project. While there are likely more improvements that could be made through further iterations of the design cycle, we decided through our method of testing that our second design was sufficient.