Mobile By Lee Mathews Sep. 17, 2014 2:23 pm
We’ve seen some pretty amazing microscopes here on Geek.com. One was built from Lego bricks, another made out of cardboard for just 50 cents each. Today’s installment can be whipped up by anyone with a 3D printer.
Created by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Smartphone Microscope is designed to clip onto just about any phone or tablet. .STL files are available on the PNNL website so you can print your own. It’s not the first microscope attachment for phones, but it’s a whole lot less bulky than this one from 2009. What a difference five years makes.
There are two versions custom-fitted to the iPhone 5S, one 350x and the other a whopping 1000x. For other devices, grab the multi-platform files. You’re limited to 100x and 350x magnification, but there’s an additional file that adds a slideholder to the clip.
Like the cardboard Foldoscope, keeping cost to a minimum was a must for the PNNL. They wanted to produce something that could be discarded, if, for example, it became contaminated during use in the field by a first responder. They also liked the idea of something that would put more science gear into schools without busting budgets.
The finished product costs well under a dollar to produce: it’s just a wee bit of filament (roughly $1 per ounce) and a single glass sphere (approximately $0.0015 each). Even if you have to buy the glass spheres in bulk, you’re only looking at about $19 for more than 12,000 of them.
Got a 3D printer at home? Why not whip up a few for your local grade school? It won’t cost you much, and extra STEM gear is always appreciated in cash-strapped classrooms.
More...
Created by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, the Smartphone Microscope is designed to clip onto just about any phone or tablet. .STL files are available on the PNNL website so you can print your own. It’s not the first microscope attachment for phones, but it’s a whole lot less bulky than this one from 2009. What a difference five years makes.
There are two versions custom-fitted to the iPhone 5S, one 350x and the other a whopping 1000x. For other devices, grab the multi-platform files. You’re limited to 100x and 350x magnification, but there’s an additional file that adds a slideholder to the clip.
Like the cardboard Foldoscope, keeping cost to a minimum was a must for the PNNL. They wanted to produce something that could be discarded, if, for example, it became contaminated during use in the field by a first responder. They also liked the idea of something that would put more science gear into schools without busting budgets.
The finished product costs well under a dollar to produce: it’s just a wee bit of filament (roughly $1 per ounce) and a single glass sphere (approximately $0.0015 each). Even if you have to buy the glass spheres in bulk, you’re only looking at about $19 for more than 12,000 of them.
Got a 3D printer at home? Why not whip up a few for your local grade school? It won’t cost you much, and extra STEM gear is always appreciated in cash-strapped classrooms.
More...
