Gel electrophoresis casting set

This is a model is the entire casting system for agarose gels used for gel electrophoresis, specifically for separating DNA fragments.

The system creates a gel that is 118.9 mm wide by 158 mm long. I included the CAD files so everything can be changed. The casting form has two spongy sides that should be printed with TPU. The bigger of the two which is called the “top”, and should be made with much lower infill than the “bottom” one. I then just glued it together with super glue.

The included gel tray file includes guide slots that allow for the placement of the gel combs at specific intervals, making gels that have 1, 2, 3, or 4 sets of wells which are evenly spaced along the gel.

The included comb files are either a 25 well narrow comb, a 16 well wide comb, or an 11 well very wide and thin comb. The 25 well comb holds 10 uL of sample well while the 11 and 16 well combs can hold 20 uL.

I printed all the other pieces in ABS. The heat of the liquid agarose is too much for PLA and led to warping. The ABS will warp a little but it is not too bad. Maybe printing in nylon would be better. Also, I recommend using ironing on the portion of the comb that will actually be in the gel. Some sanding between the wells may also be necessary as any parts that poke out will affect the gel well quality.