Anaerobe SystemsAS-500 Gloveless Anaerobic Chamber

OVERVIEW

Not all projects start from scratch and with Anaerobe Systems’ AS-500 project, Mighty Studios took an existing prototype of a gloveless anaerobic chamber (think germ incubator) and set about to modify and enhance its capabilities from both a functional and operational perspective. The client’s wish list was simple: make assembly and deployment easier, reduce deployment costs, and make the machine more robust.

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INSIGHT

Along with the production of sterilized culture media products such as agar plates, Anaerobe Systems supply anaerobic chambers to large clinical or research labs to grow, isolate, and work with anaerobic bacteria. With a rudimentary AS-500 prototype on-site at Mighty Studios HQ in San Jose, the team began work to redesign crucial systems, refine ergonomics and functionality, identify manufacturing efficiencies, and simplify the overall aesthetic.  

The AS-500 creates an oxygen-free environment for bacteria to grow without the threat of contamination from outside factors while allowing technicians and scientists to monitor and control the anaerobic environment. During this 8-month-long project, the Mighty team tackled and solved issues such as pressure leaks via the pass-through door; refined the layout within the main chamber, including adding adjustable and removable shelves with a 500-plate capability; developed a snap-ring mechanism for the glove collar as part of the vacuum-less airlock cycle and sleeve entry; and even sourced a new sheet-metal supplier for the client.  

During development, Mighty’s team of experts also ran countless Thermal and Fluid Dynamics Simulations to optimize and simplify the engineering and computing capabilities of the “brain” of the system—the upper environmental control unit containing the filters, temperature control, and computing power needed to guarantee an uncompromised, pressurized, and airtight environment. 

The result: an easy-to-deploy and use, daisy-chainable (multiple chambers can use one ‘brain’), gloveless anaerobic chamber that not only looks at home on any laboratory floor but is the perfect breeding ground for the nastiest of bacteria to grow to their full potential.