The open lab devices don't use 2012 technologies.. they still use 1990's technologies, that's the thing that bugs many of us. It's not only that they use an Arduino board and then have to employ an external Microchip ADC to do the actual analog work that bugs me.
Laws of thermodynamics means it is physically impossible to use normal 5V USB power for a typical thermocycler. 5W or 10W is not enough power. 1st law: "Can't get something for nothing." Companies have produced "USB powered coffee mug warmers" before - these are scam products. Regardless of ramp time, there must be enough energy (power) put into the system so the heat does not dissipate. Buy one of these USB coffee warmer products and try it out for yourself if in doubt. 60W is possible for an efficient thermocycler but not sufficient for a large mass (heat block) like regardless of ramp time. And you need more power to suck the heat back out in cooling. Note: OpenPCR uses a 200W supply and the design uses a traditional large-mass block and still that block is smaller than most thermocyclers. Two Hundred Watts, yes, capitalized. First calculate out how to do proper heat transfer to/from PCR tubes within 60W of energy then design a device which satisfies that math (also accounting for losses). Don't forget the anti-condensation lid. Rather than reverse engineering the existing devices, start fresh with the hard math, and design something fresh which applies today's available technology.
My bet is that USB 3.1 "20V 100W" won't happen mass market ever - there's no mass market need. It might be used in a niche market for industrial control (products which will remain expensive because the industrial market is willing to pay). Even if 100W is in the technical standards, people have to want/need a product for companies to have any drive or success building the product. So that spec won't get built. However "12V 60W" I bet could become mass market because of electric cars and smart/autonomous cars (automotive market is 12V). But this will happen much later than the rest of USB-C rollout, maybe coinciding with broad adoption of smart cars -- which are still currently niche products. I could be wrong on my bet which would mean it is a great bet to make against me. You'd still need a 100W USB hub to power that single high-power 12V/60W USB-C port plus the two or three standard-power USB-C ports to round out a typical 4-port hub for a product, and this power has to come from somewhere - for example, automotive batteries if it's in a smart car (12V/15A accessory power = 180W).
The following has been repeated often enough in this group over the years that I call for a chorus -- say it with me now: 5V/2A USB power is insufficient to power lab devices due to the laws of thermodynamics. 5V USB for a communications connection or small microcontroller power or a few LEDs, sure; heater power: no.
Laws of thermodynamics means it is physically impossible to use normal 5V USB power for a typical thermocycler. 5W or 10W is not enough power. 1st law: "Can't get something for nothing." Companies have produced "USB powered coffee mug warmers" before - these are scam products. Regardless of ramp time, there must be enough energy (power) put into the system so the heat does not dissipate. Buy one of these USB coffee warmer products and try it out for yourself if in doubt. 60W is possible for an efficient thermocycler but not sufficient for a large mass (heat block) like regardless of ramp time. And you need more power to suck the heat back out in cooling. Note: OpenPCR uses a 200W supply and the design uses a traditional large-mass block and still that block is smaller than most thermocyclers. Two Hundred Watts, yes, capitalized. First calculate out how to do proper heat transfer to/from PCR tubes within 60W of energy then design a device which satisfies that math (also accounting for losses). Don't forget the anti-condensation lid. Rather than reverse engineering the existing devices, start fresh with the hard math, and design something fresh which applies today's available technology.
My bet is that USB 3.1 "20V 100W" won't happen mass market ever - there's no mass market need. It might be used in a niche market for industrial control (products which will remain expensive because the industrial market is willing to pay). Even if 100W is in the technical standards, people have to want/need a product for companies to have any drive or success building the product. So that spec won't get built. However "12V 60W" I bet could become mass market because of electric cars and smart/autonomous cars (automotive market is 12V). But this will happen much later than the rest of USB-C rollout, maybe coinciding with broad adoption of smart cars -- which are still currently niche products. I could be wrong on my bet which would mean it is a great bet to make against me. You'd still need a 100W USB hub to power that single high-power 12V/60W USB-C port plus the two or three standard-power USB-C ports to round out a typical 4-port hub for a product, and this power has to come from somewhere - for example, automotive batteries if it's in a smart car (12V/15A accessory power = 180W).
The following has been repeated often enough in this group over the years that I call for a chorus -- say it with me now: 5V/2A USB power is insufficient to power lab devices due to the laws of thermodynamics. 5V USB for a communications connection or small microcontroller power or a few LEDs, sure; heater power: no.
## Jonathan Cline ## jcline@ieee.org ## Mobile: +1-805-617-0223 ########################On 1/26/16 8:24 AM, Ujjwal Thaakar wrote:
I think you're absolutely right about that. I don't see any reason to use a DC jack anymore. In fact I was thinking about USB-C for power. Haven't actually looked into USB 3.0 and 3.1. I'm not even sure exactly what they are. I am already looking to move beyond the 2012 technologies used in the open machines so far. I'm also thinking about IoT or control using a mobile app. Not sure if that makes much sense going forward. Will be figuring it out as I go.
On Tuesday, January 26, 2016 at 4:21:30 AM UTC+5:30, Jonathan Cline wrote:Future lab devices will be USB 3.0 powered by 12V, no external power supply. 60W is enough for an efficient PCR machine aka thermocycler. Build for the future, have it hit the streets in 2017 as fully powered by USB only. [But monitor market acceptance of the standard while developing the design.] Check out this summary:
USB 3.1: Released in July 26, 2013, USB 3.1 doubles the speed of USB 3.0 to 10Gbps (now called SuperSpeed+ or SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps), making it as fast as the original Thunderbolt standard. USB 3.1 is backward-compatible with USB 3.0 and USB 2.0. USB 3.1 has three power profiles (according to USB Power Delivery Specification), and allows larger devices to draw power from a host: up to 2A at 5V (for a power consumption of up to 10W), and optionally up to 5A at either 12V (60W) or 20V (100W). The first USB 3.1 products are expected to be available in 2016, and will mostly use USB Type-C design.
On Sunday, January 24, 2016 at 12:40:19 AM UTC-8, Ujjwal Thaakar wrote:Forget this thread. I just received a message from Josh Preffeto that I am trying to cheat him by subverting Indian customs and making a personal profit. That just makes me sad.
Too frequently in open designs, when a branch occurs (that is what you are trying to do), the project originators get angry. In some cases the branch far surpasses the original, and in some cases, the original subsumes innovations on the branch. The originators should not get angry but that's beside the point. Only by re-engineering human nature will that difficulty be eliminated. OpenPCR was not cost optimized as concluded in previous discussions (even though it is marketed as a low cost PCR machine). However consumable costs for experiments will far surpass the cost of the PCR machine so if you can't afford the current price, you're already in trouble aren't you? This is not to say it's not a good project, this is to say, there may be better projects to focus effort on, especially, reducing the cost of the consumables [reagents] or optimizing a workflow which uses smaller quantities of consumables [such as sub-2 uL].
## Jonathan Cline
## jcl...@ieee.org
## Mobile: +1-805-617-0223
########################
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