Building low-cost lab equipment using LEGOs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is an interesting article by Diane N. Jung, Kailey E. Shara, and Carson J. Brunsat at PLoS One on August 12, 2025 titled LEGO as a versatile platform for building reconfigurable low-cost lab equipment. They discuss three creative examples, as is shown above in Figure 5 of that article. They are an orbital shaker, a syringe pump, and a microcentrifuge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A pump shown in detail via Figure 1, which has a motor and gear drive that push to empty syringes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

A second is an orbital shaker, shown above in Figure 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A third is a microcentrifuge, shown above in Figure 3, which has arms for holding spinning tubes.

 

There is a second article by Elizabeth Fernandez at the MIT Technology Review on June 25, 2024 titled Lego bricks are making science more accessible. It begins by showing a cell stretcher.