DIYed peristaltic pump

[ah wa!]

I've finally completed my diy peristaltic pump. The flow rate is adjustable using pulse width modulation from about 1 drop/sec to I don't know( too lazy to measure it). The pump have worked fine for about 1month already but it is very noisy. I'm using a metal geared geared motor. Maybe changing to a plastic geared motor will solve the problem? Anyone with lots of experience with different types of geared motors?

The problem is that high torque geared motors are not easily available locally and most vendors do not let you try it before buying. It is like playing Russian roulette where you have no control over whether you will get a noisy model/unit.

Below are some photos of the pump.

[Zero Oxygen]

Look real pro man.

[ah wa!]

Here are some more photos.

[roidan]

looks good

[ah wa!]

Thanks for the compliments. Here comes the last photos. Right now, using it for topup. Going to built a diy denitrator to run with it.

[Cookiemunster]

Wow excellent design. Well done. I was contemplating to build one too but never had the time.

Why don't you try using a stepper motor. The control would be easier and much more precise.

It looks great anyway. Good job!

[typrobin]

whao!!!

wat a piece of DIY...perfect design...looks like it's a commercial equipment....

[roidan]

ah wa...

make 1 for me leh

[weileong]

I oso want!

Are those tygon tubings?

[ah wa!]

Wow excellent design. Well done. I was contemplating to build one too but never had the time.

Why don't you try using a stepper motor. The control would be easier and much more precise.

It looks great anyway. Good job!

Hi,

Thanks.

I didn't use stepper motor because it is more expensive and the controller will be more complicated and expensive too. Yah, it is more precise, but I'm not using it for medical purposes. If you calibrate it before using. It should be accurate enough for dosing, denitrator and other reef purposes.

[ah wa!]

ah wa...

make 1 for me leh

Hahaha. I've spent so much time sourcing for suitable materials and building it. Especially the bearings. That I think it will be better for you to buy it from commercial sources.

I still save some money compared to commerial units with adjustable flow rate but add in the time I spend and it will be a different story. For me, it is the DIY metality and not the cost saving that drive me to built it.

I've chosen silicon tubing because it is relatively cheap(compared to other specialised materials) , good enough for reef applications and last longer.

[Cookiemunster]

Hahaha. I've spent so much time sourcing for suitable materials and building it. Especially the bearings. That I think it will be better for you to buy it from commercial sources.

I still save some money compared to commerial units with adjustable flow rate but add in the time I spend and it will be a different story. For me, it is the DIY metality and not the cost saving that drive me to built it.

I've chosen silicon tubing because it is relatively cheap(compared to other specialised materials) , good enough for reef applications and last longer.

Yes I understand what you mean. But its certainly the feeling of accomplishment.

Its a great DIY. Well done. Can appreciate all the machining and tubing parts you had to source. Not easy.

[ervine]

I too was considering building one but too many things to consider, so I didn't bother... maybe you can share some of your schemetics?

As for the tubing right, i believe there's a reason why they don't use normal silicone tubing, because the proper tubing collapses and slides more readily or something, so the strain on the motor is not that much or something like that lah...

[ah wa!]

I too was considering building one but too many things to consider, so I didn't bother... maybe you can share some of your schemetics?

As for the tubing right, i believe there's a reason why they don't use normal silicone tubing, because the proper tubing collapses and slides more readily or something, so the strain on the motor is not that much or something like that lah...

Yah, I agree that there are many things to consider when building this. It may looks simple but only when you start to think seriously or start to do then will you realised that it is not so easy. The worst part is that unlike a kalkwasser reactor or a protein skimmer which one can obtain the building plans from the internet easily. I've searched the net for days but couldn't find any plans or guides telling you how to do it. In the end, I've to designed it based on my understanding of the basic working principle.

The first part is getting a geared motor of low rpm and with sufficient torque to drive the pump head. Finding a suitable bearing is also a problem. At first I bought those wheels used in sliding windows. Knowing that the wheel diameter has to be small so that it will exert sufficient pressure on the tubing to create an air tight condition, I bought the smallest wheels available but it was still too big. I tried to search for suitable bearing but could only find those that are oversized. Companies that have suitable ones like those used in harddisk drive...etc only due with large order and wouldn't entertain non commerical customer.

I'm forced to KIV the project until a few months ago when I have more free time. I started to dismantle all the spoilt DVD player, VHS player etc lying around in search for suitable bearing. At last I found it!!! It has a small diameter and is very smooth, I think the roller is made of teflon!!!! It was almost a god's gift for this project! After weeks of searching, brain storming, sawing, filing and soldering etc. I've finally managed to complete it!

I'm sorry but I do not have pics of the various stages of construction. The whole place is so messy that I didn't bother to take pic.

As for the tubing. I've considered most of the materials that are commonly used for peristaltic pumps like tygon, santoprene, viton, pvc and silicon etc......Different materials have different characteristic which made them suitable for certain demanding environments/fluids. I went to shops specialising in industrial tubings to have a feel of the different tubing. When price, flexibility, resistance to salt water, lifespan etc are all taken into consideration. I decided to use silicon. The silicon tubing is different from those aquarium type, it is tougher and more expensive.

Actually, the tubing is not suppose to slide over the bearing, the bearings are suppose to roll over the tubing therefore causing minimal frictional forces. If the tubing are rubbing against the bearing because the bearing is jammed, the tubing will be damaged within a very short time.

Feel free to let me know if you're diying it and have any question. I'll try to help if I can.

[Eric]

I've finally completed my diy peristaltic pump. The flow rate is adjustable using pulse width modulation from about 1 drop/sec to I don't know( too lazy to measure it). The pump have worked fine for about 1month already but it is very noisy. I'm using a metal geared geared motor. Maybe changing to a plastic geared motor will solve the problem? Anyone with lots of experience with different types of geared motors?

The problem is that high torque geared motors are not easily available locally and most vendors do not let you try it before buying. It is like playing Russian roulette where you have no control over whether you will get a noisy model/unit.

Below are some photos of the pump.

Impressive...............

Eric

[ervine]

Yah, I agree that there are many things to consider when building this. It may looks simple but only when you start to think seriously or start to do then will you realised that it is not so easy. The worst part is that unlike a kalkwasser reactor or a protein skimmer which one can obtain the building plans from the internet easily. I've searched the net for days but couldn't find any plans or guides telling you how to do it. In the end, I've to designed it based on my understanding of the basic working principle.

The first part is getting a geared motor of low rpm and with sufficient torque to drive the pump head. Finding a suitable bearing is also a problem. At first I bought those wheels used in sliding windows. Knowing that the wheel diameter has to be small so that it will exert sufficient pressure on the tubing to create an air tight condition, I bought the smallest wheels available but it was still too big. I tried to search for suitable bearing but could only find those that are oversized. Companies that have suitable ones like those used in harddisk drive...etc only due with large order and wouldn't entertain non commerical customer.

I'm forced to KIV the project until a few months ago when I have more free time. I started to dismantle all the spoilt DVD player, VHS player etc lying around in search for suitable bearing. At last I found it!!! It has a small diameter and is very smooth, I think the roller is made of teflon!!!! It was almost a god's gift for this project! After weeks of searching, brain storming, sawing, filing and soldering etc. I've finally managed to complete it!

I'm sorry but I do not have pics of the various stages of construction. The whole place is so messy that I didn't bother to take pic.

As for the tubing. I've considered most of the materials that are commonly used for peristaltic pumps like tygon, santoprene, viton, pvc and silicon etc......Different materials have different characteristic which made them suitable for certain demanding environments/fluids. I went to shops specialising in industrial tubings to have a feel of the different tubing. When price, flexibility, resistance to salt water, lifespan etc are all taken into consideration. I decided to use silicon. The silicon tubing is different from those aquarium type, it is tougher and more expensive.

Actually, the tubing is not suppose to slide over the bearing, the bearings are suppose to roll over the tubing therefore causing minimal frictional forces. If the tubing are rubbing against the bearing because the bearing is jammed, the tubing will be damaged within a very short time.

Feel free to let me know if you're diying it and have any question. I'll try to help if I can.

Interesting, interesting... what motor are you using to drive it?

[ah wa!]

It is a 12VDC low rpm metal geared motor that I've bought from Farnell components.

[magern2]

Cool. Looks like a device you would find in a hospital. Seen it there before.

[ah wa!]

Yes, it is widely used in hospital for intravenous drip, dialysis, extraction of platelet from donors etc....

[tigershark]

ah wa! wat can i say? a hardcore DIY monster....

[Benz...]

hmm.. this is interesting... good job on getting the unit to work... i can understand where the noise is coming from.. you might wanna change the type of gearing.. to a pvc/rubber based one.. should be able to act both as a damper as well as to drive your unit.. if you free... i dnt mind sitting down with you and see if we can help you solve your issue... there is are materials in the market now with the ability to withstand the high torque..

[Jimng]

Wow, real PRO job......

I was reading up quite a bit on this and there were some good suggestions offered:

-Use stepper motor from OLD 5.25" Diskette Drive

-Pulse it using 555 timer chip

Hope it helps....