Benefits

Extend the life of flexible tubing with peristaltic pumps.

Purpose & Objectives

Create a mechanical design to support Perkin Elmer’s conceptual plan for extending tube life of a Peristaltic Pump.

• Design and build a modified peristaltic pump with automated tube rotation during operation
• Determine a viable concept for tube translation using the newest peristaltic pump model

Test Results

• Tube rotated 100° while pumping water
• Rate of axial movement affected rotation
• Conducted a test using blue ink
• Top picture indicates the control test
• Bottom picture indicates tube rotation test
• Ink smears around the circumference of the tube indicate tube rolling

Accomplishments

• Feasible tube translation concept design was created
• Tube rotation design overcame the challenges of integrating an independent drive system with a rotated shaft in a compact space
• Demonstrated a working prototype that achieved 120° tube rotation
• Adjustable prototype operation can evaluate test parameters for optimization