Product Review: BioTek Microflo liquid dispensing machine

Posted by – December 20, 2009

A couple of pictures of the BioTek Microflo liquid dispenser.

Device with hatch open and spring tension unlocked:

BioTek Microflo cartridge in place

BioTek Microflow cartridge in place. Spring tensioner open. Eight silicone tubes run in parallel, across the pump axle.

Device with hatch open and spring tension locked:

Biotek Microflo with tensioner locked

Biotek Microflo with tensioner locked. Tension is placed across the silicone tube liquid lines. Tension is adjustable with a set screw parallel to each line (screws not shown here, they are vertical and can be seen in a top-down view). The axle rotates clockwise or counterclockwise to move liquid forward or backward with peristaltic action. It is very fast.

This machine has both serial RS-232 and USB; however, the communication link is a proprietary protocol which is only compatible with BioTek’s Microsoft Windows software. The machine is not Unix compatible. So unfortunately, I won’t be using this device in my lab automation setup.

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