An Upgraded Low-Cost and Adjustable Multi-Syringe Electrospinning Machine for Reproducible Nanofiber Production

This work presents an upgraded version of our previously reported, highly affordable and customizable in-house electrospinning machine. The previous system demonstrated accessible polyvinyl alcohol nanofiber production but was limited by single-syringe operation, inadequate control and validation of solution flow and collector rotation, limited safety features, and the absence of environmental monitoring and automated data recording. This improved equipment integrates a common three-syringe plunger pump, a rotating drum collector with real-time speed monitoring, an insulated chamber with temperature control and humidity monitoring, a touchscreen interface, parameter limit validation, and automated data recording. Gravimetric calibration of three syringe-needle configurations yielded a linear flow rate response from 0.10 to 8.26 mL/h, with a coefficient of determination of at least 0.9991. Encoder validation demonstrated close agreement between commanded and measured syringe-pump motions, with final displacement errors below 1%. The drum collector operates approximately 50 to 590 rpm with a coefficient of variation below 5%. The improved system produces bead-free polyvinyl alcohol nanofibers with an average diameter of 0.21 ± 0.03 µm and an apparent porosity of 54.10%. With an estimated cost of USD 1,496, this open-source platform provides improved yield, process control, safety, traceability, and reproducibility for laboratory nanofiber production.本工作报道了本团队此前研发的一款高性价比、可定制化的自研静电纺丝机（electrospinning machine）的升级版本。此前的设备虽可便捷制备聚乙烯醇（polyvinyl alcohol）纳米纤维，但存在诸多局限：仅支持单注射器进料、溶液流量与收集器转速的控制与验证精度不足、安全防护功能有限，且未配备环境监测与自动化数据记录模块。这款升级设备集成了通用型三注射器柱塞泵、带实时转速监测功能的旋转滚筒收集器、具备温控与湿度监测能力的隔热腔室、触摸屏交互界面，以及参数限值验证与自动化数据记录系统。对三种注射器-针头构型进行重量法校准后，其流量在0.10至8.26 mL/h范围内呈现良好线性响应，决定系数（coefficient of determination）不低于0.9991。编码器验证结果显示，指令设定与实测的注射器泵运动高度匹配，最终位移误差低于1%。该滚筒收集器的工作转速范围约为50至590 rpm，变异系数（coefficient of variation）低于5%。该升级系统可制备无珠状缺陷的聚乙烯醇纳米纤维，平均直径为0.21 ± 0.03 µm，表观孔隙率达54.10%。本开源平台预估成本为1496美元，可为实验室纳米纤维制备提供更优异的产率、更精准的过程控制、更完善的安全保障、可追溯性与实验重现性。