Open source inert gas glove box

A glove box is a controlled environment used for a wide range of scientific experiments. While glove boxes provide significant advantages, their high economic costs ranging from over $1,000 to over $15,000 limits their accessibility in under-resourced labs. There are lower-cost DIY designs available on the internet, but they have not been well characterized nor validated. To overcome these limitations, in this study, an open source glove box design is developed for scientific applications using readily available components and digital distributed manufacturing using open-source RepRap-class 3D printers. The ability of the glove box to hold an inert atmosphere is quantified using an oxygen analyzer. The open source glove box can be customized to the dimensions of the user and the volume of the experiment. The design also enables the use of customizable transfer chambers that can be adjusted based on the scientific application. The open source glove box is built from a low-cost enclosure while preventing contamination. The highly portable device can reduce oxygen down to 19 ppm using an inert gas. The economic savings of the validated device compared to proprietary systems is over 95 %.