min-eVOLVERs may not be purchased as a product at this time. Instead min-eVOLVER parts must be acquired individually and assembled.
Soldering iron + solder - pumps will need to be soldered in place
Ability to through-hole solder
Can be self-taught quickly through YouTube videos
Screw drivers
Phillips #1 (short handle)
Flat head #1.5 or smaller
Ideally, some kind of clamp, vice grip, etc.
For making ribbon cables to connect the electronics
If nothing else, a hammer or pair of pliers will suffice
Ask questions on the forum here.
Below is a spreadsheet containing all parts required to make a min-eVOLVER.
Read the notes below the spreadsheet as well.
Don't miss the "Consumables / General" tab. These items also need to be acquired before running experiments.
If you are making a min-eVOLVER Control Board PCB from scratch you have two options (as of 10/24/2023):
Buy the parts needed from Digikey, order the PCB from PCBWay or another manufacturer, and solder the board yourself
NOT recommended for anyone not already familiar with surface mount soldering.
An interactive bill of materials (for part placement) can be found here. Download it and open it into your browser.
Order an assembled PCB from PCBWay or another manufacturer
The PCBWay bill of materials (BOM) can be found in the third tab of the above spreadsheet.
You can find the gerber files to order the PCB here.
Should be ordered from PCBWay or another manufacturer. You can find the gerber files here.
Several 12V power supplies were tested and were selected for reliability and low noise. While most 12V power supplies should work well in the short term, long term usage may vary. Use a different power supply at your own risk.
NOT AN OPTIONAL COMPONENT - Protects OD photodiodes from environmental light, which will completely change your OD calibrations. Also protects smart sleeves from spills and splashes.
3D print the latest vial cover to allow for more consistent OD readings. Choose the cheapest black FDM printing on hubs.com, shapeways.com, or a local 3D printing shop and give them the .stl file in the github repository.
May be purchased from Fynch Bio. If interested in making your own see the main parts sheet and follow this assembly guide. This is not recommended for its added complication (you will need to machine the aluminum tube for example), but will save money.
(As of 10/24/2023) If you ordered your smart sleeves from Fynch, they will come with a 3D printed tube holder that does not have defined OD LED and photodiode positions.
It is highly recommended that you instead print the latest (as of writing v5.1.1) tube holder to allow for more consistent OD readings (see here). Choose the cheapest black FDM printing type on hubs.com, shapeways.com, or a local 3D printing shop and give them the .stl file in the github repository.
Use this guide to swap in the new tube holder.
Listed in the "Consumables / General" sheet of the above spreadsheet
Anything not listed as (Optional) is required for a full experiment.
You need a thermometer for calibrating temperature, we have suggested the one we use.
If you plan to run multiple min-eVOLVERs from a computer, you will need to have a USB port available for each one. You can use a USB splitter dongle to accomplish this. Example here.
It may be helpful to have the parts page open as well, so you can identify what you need for each step.
Measure ribbon cables and mark length (figure below A)
5" ribbon cable for pump board to min-eVOLVER PCB connection
Two 3.5" ribbon cables for smart sleeves to min-eVOLVER PCB connection
Cut ribbon cables to size using scissors or razor.
Open the connector and align to the end of the ribbon cable (figure below B)
The connectors should both have the knob on the same side (figure below A, red arrows)
You can apply pressure to the connector so that it stays in place as you work with it
Crimp on ribbon cable connectors (one on each side of cable)
Be careful not to break the connectors, they're fragile!
The easiest way crimp these connectors is to use a clamp or vice, unless you have a specialized tool (figure below C)
Place the connector in the center of the clamp (making sure it remains in the right location)
Tighten clamp until sides of connector are flush and it is full closed (figure below D)
You can also , but this is more annoying / prone to breaking the connectors
Unscrew the 3 screws on the top of the case (figure below, left)
Unscrew the 2 screws on the bottom (figure below, right) and unscrew the right middle rubber foot (yellow arrow)
Solder 2x8 ribbon cable connector into pump PCB, screw pumps into front of case, and solder pumps into pump PCB.
Use the below video:
Surface mount soldering of the min-eVOLVER PCB is outside of the scope of this guide. It is assumed that you have an already assembled min-eVOLVER PCB.
Place the 2x12-pin header on a workbench with the flat (non conical) side of the pins up (figure below A). Place the SAMD21 board on top of it
You can also carefully plug the SAMD21 into a breadboard if you want to avoid it moving
Carefully solder the SAMD21 board pins.
Avoid adding too much solder so that it globs onto the small electronic components!
Start with the four corners to lock it flat in place on the header
Solder all pins
If you want to be extra careful, only solder half the pins on a side before switching to the other side (to avoid overheating the board)
Make sure that each pin is individual and no solder has reached the electronic components on the board surface
Press the SAMD21 board into the min-eVOLVER PCB until you feel a click and the SAMD21 sits mostly flush
Micro-USB port should be on edge of board
Carefully align the pins with the sockets
Slide the shorting jumpers onto the right two pins for each vial (see figure below C)
OD90 = OD LED and photodiode at 90 degrees from eachother
OD135 = OD LED and photodiode at 135 degrees from eachother
By default, we choose to use OD90 for our vials, which is typically better at measuring higher ODs > 0.4 and is what most people want
You can also place the jumper across the left two pins for each vial, meaning you will register OD135. You will need to make different OD calibrations for OD135 and OD90
Place min-eVOLVER PCB on standoffs. Screw 1/4" screws into the front left and back right corners (figure A below)
Plug the 5" ribbon cable in to the pumps and to the ribbon cable port to the left of the SAMD21 (figure B below)
Close the case and replace the 5 screws and rubber foot that you had removed previously (figure C below)
If your smart sleeves came disassembled:
See general smart sleeve construction guide here
Firmly push the OD LED and photodiodes in to the smart sleeve
Do not use the acrylic base plate (clear plastic below the computer fan)
If your smart sleeves came assembled:
Unscrew them enough to remove the acrylic base plate. Keep the fan spacer on (figure A below)
We will also not use the acrylic base plate and instead directly screw our smart sleeves to the case
Screw the smart sleeves into the min-eVOLVER (figure B below)
It can be easier to tighten each screw a little at a time to avoid misalignment
Do not over tighten screws, go until smart sleeves are firmly in place
Plug 3.5" ribbon cables into back of smart sleeves and to the min-eVOLVER (figure C below)
Place vial cover over vials (figure D below)