Dipping Chambers for Thin Layer Chromatography

Tired of jars, breaking glass, and spilled and spoiled staining reagent, we designed a universal dipping chamber for thin-layer chromatography!

Three predefined models are provided:
Synthesis Style: medium sized for 10x10 cm plates, with a spout, a lid, and a pedestal to keep it from falling over.
HPTLC: for 20x10 cm plates with a spout, a lid, and a shell to tightly close the lid and store the reagent in the freezer (a sealing ring is recommended!)
Micro: if you like using really small plate and need really just very little reagent; with a pedestal and a lid.

If you want to make your own custom chamber, use the "dipping_chamber_parameters.scad" to set the dimensions and add or remove options. Presets for the three provided chambers are provided in the "dipping_chamber_parameters_Synthesis Style/HPTLC/Micro.scad" file.
After adjusting the settings in the parameters-file, use "dipping_chamber.scad" to prepare an stl for the dipping chamber, "dipping_chamber_lid.scad" for a lid, and "dipping_chamber_shell.scad" for a shell to hold the lid in place. Please take a moment before printing to check if the models make sense, as OpenSCAD does not prevent you from entering silly parameters.
Please take a moment after printing to check if the chamber is tight, because printing PP is not easy.

Interested in a more chemical perspective? There is a publication at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.talanta.2020.121072

Print instructions

Printing conditions:
Printer: Prusa i3 MK3S (MMU2S installed but not required)
Material: PP
Resolution: 0.3 mm
Infill: Gyroid 5%
Brim: 20 mm

!Changes in Layers and perimeters!
Solid layers, top: 5
Avoid crossing perimeters
Detect thin walls
Detect brindging perimeters

Preparation of the printing surface:
The printing surface was prepared by carefully applying clear PP adhesive tape onto the preheated smooth PEI sheet.