OpenFlexure Microscope

OpenFlexure Microscope
A white 3D-printed microscope body with grey stepper motors and blue gears, standing on a black base with ports for a microcomputer
OpenFlexure Microscope V7-beta4
DeveloperOpenFlexure Project (core team at the University of Glasgow)
Hardware licenceCERN-OHL-S-2.0
Software licenceGPL-3.0 (server)
SizeWithin 15 × 15 × 20 cm
MassAbout 500 g (highest-resolution, fully automated configuration)
Stage travel12 × 12 × 4 mm
Step sizeAs low as 50 nm (z), 70 nm (x, y)
Websiteopenflexure.org

The OpenFlexure Microscope is an open-source, 3D-printed laboratory microscope with motorised sample positioning and focus control. It uses a mechanical stage built from plastic flexures and is designed so that it can be manufactured and maintained locally.

History

A one-piece 3D-printed flexure translation stage for microscopy was described in 2016 by J. P. Sharkey, D. C. W. Foo, A. Kabla, J. J. Baumberg and R. W. Bowman. The microscope itself was presented in a 2020 paper in Biomedical Optics Express by authors at the University of Bath and the University of Cambridge together with partners in Tanzania, the Ifakara Health Institute and STICLab in Dar es Salaam. The paper was received on 12 December 2019 and published on 8 April 2020.

The project was originally based mainly at the University of Bath and the University of Cambridge; its core development team is now at the University of Glasgow. The microscope has been built and used in more than 50 countries.

Design

Hardware

The positioning mechanism is a flexure design that gives 3-axis motion, with step sizes as low as 50 nm along the z axis and 70 nm along x and y, and a travel of 12 × 12 × 4 mm. Because the stage uses plastic flexures, its motion is free from friction and vibration, and most of the microscope, including all the parts with flexures, prints as a single piece. The microscope fits within 15 × 15 × 20 cm and weighs about 500 g in its highest-resolution, fully automated configuration. The plastic construction limits its load capacity, so it is not suited to very large or heavy samples.

Micrograph of pale pink red blood cells on a light background, with a few dark blue-purple parasite spots
Thin blood smear with malaria parasites (ring-form trophozoite of Plasmodium falciparum) imaged on an OpenFlexure Microscope with a 100× oil-immersion objective

The optics can be changed, ranging from a webcam lens to a 100× oil-immersion objective. Other options include transmission and reflection illumination, polarisation contrast and epi-fluorescence imaging.

Pink and purple stained tissue section showing densely packed glands beside a band of smooth muscle
Composite image of an H&E-stained stomach sample collected with an OpenFlexure Microscope using a 60× objective

The lowest-cost version has no motors, uses a webcam for sensor and optics, and has no microcomputer. Its estimated cost is about US$5 for PLA, about US$5 for the webcam, and about US$5 for common hardware if bought in bulk or about US$26 if bought in single packs, excluding the 3D printer.

Variants

The OpenFlexure Delta Stage is a separate 3D-printed design for researchers that runs on the same software, and has been used for imaging modes including brightfield, epi-fluorescence, darkfield, Rheinberg and differential phase contrast.

Software

The control software is split into client and server applications that communicate through a web API conforming to the W3C Web of Things standard. The server software provides an API server and web interface for the microscope.

Local production

By 2020 more than 100 microscopes had been produced in Tanzania and Kenya for educational, scientific and clinical applications. Production sites include STICLab's facility in Dar es Salaam and the partner Tech for Trade in Nairobi, and the designs have also been replicated in maker spaces and academic labs in countries including Peru, Germany, Ghana, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Licensing

The hardware design is released under the CERN Open Hardware Licence, strongly reciprocal, version 2.0 or later (CERN-OHL-S-2.0). The server software is licensed under the GNU General Public License version 3. The project does not sell microscopes itself, but several companies do.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Collins, Joel T.; et al. (8 April 2020). "Robotic microscopy for everyone: the OpenFlexure microscope". Biomedical Optics Express. 11 (5): 2447–2460. doi:10.1364/BOE.385729. PMC 7249832. PMID 32499936. Here we present an open-source, 3D-printed, and fully-automated laboratory microscope, with motorised sample positioning and focus control.
  2. ↑ Wallace, John (5 May 2020). "Laboratory-grade optical microscope can be 3D-printed for $19". Laser Focus World. Retrieved 4 October 2026. The OpenFlexure microscope is a fully automated, laboratory-grade instrument with motorized sample positioning and focus control
  3. ↑ Collins, Joel T.; et al. (8 April 2020). "Robotic microscopy for everyone: the OpenFlexure microscope". Biomedical Optics Express. 11 (5): 2447–2460. doi:10.1364/BOE.385729. PMC 7249832. PMID 32499936. The OpenFlexure microscope has been designed to enable low-volume manufacturing and maintenance by local personnel, vastly increasing accessibility.
  4. ↑ Collins, Joel T.; et al. (8 April 2020). "Robotic microscopy for everyone: the OpenFlexure microscope". Biomedical Optics Express. 11 (5): 2447–2460. doi:10.1364/BOE.385729. PMC 7249832. PMID 32499936. Sharkey J. P., Foo D. C., Kabla A., Baumberg J. J., Bowman R. W., "A one-piece 3D printed flexure translation stage for open-source microscopy," Rev. Sci. Instrum. 87(2), 025104 (2016).
  5. ↑ Collins, Joel T.; et al. (8 April 2020). "Robotic microscopy for everyone: the OpenFlexure microscope". Biomedical Optics Express. 11 (5): 2447–2460. doi:10.1364/BOE.385729. PMC 7249832. PMID 32499936. Centre for Photonics and Photonic Materials, Department of Physics, University of Bath, UK 2 Ifakara Health Institute, Ifakara, Tanzania 3 STICLab, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania [...] 6 Nanophotonics Centre, Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, UK
  6. ↑ Collins, Joel T.; et al. (8 April 2020). "Robotic microscopy for everyone: the OpenFlexure microscope". Biomedical Optics Express. 11 (5): 2447–2460. doi:10.1364/BOE.385729. PMC 7249832. PMID 32499936. Biomed Opt Express. 2020 Apr 8;11(5):2447–2460. [...] Received 2019 Dec 12; Revised 2020 Mar 6; Accepted 2020 Mar 9
  7. ↑ "About the OpenFlexure Project". OpenFlexure. Archived from the original on 11 August 2026. Retrieved 3 October 2026. Once based primarily at the University of Bath and University of Cambridge, the project has spread. [...] As an academic project, the core development team is now based at the University of Glasgow.
  8. ↑ "About the OpenFlexure Project". OpenFlexure. Archived from the original on 11 August 2026. Retrieved 3 October 2026. Used in over 50 countries and every continent, the project aims to enable Microscopy for Everyone .
  9. ↑ Paul, Andrew (13 January 2025). "The world's first 3D-printed microscope costs only $60 to build". Popular Science. Archived from the original on 1 September 2026. Retrieved 4 October 2026. OpenFlexure microscopes have been assembled in over 50 countries around the world, as well as at laboratories in Antarctica.
  10. ↑ Collins, Joel T.; et al. (8 April 2020). "Robotic microscopy for everyone: the OpenFlexure microscope". Biomedical Optics Express. 11 (5): 2447–2460. doi:10.1364/BOE.385729. PMC 7249832. PMID 32499936. This mechanism provides 3-axis positioning with step sizes as low as 50 nm in the z axis, and 70 nm in x and y . The range of mechanical motion is smaller than traditional mechanical stages, with 12 × 12 × 4 mm travel
  11. ↑ "Introduction to the OpenFlexure Microscope". OpenFlexure. Archived from the original on 12 August 2026. Retrieved 3 October 2026. This design for a 3D printed microscope stage uses plastic flexures, meaning its motion is free from friction and vibration. [...] most of the microscope (including all the parts with flexures) prints as a single piece.
  12. ↑ Collins, Joel T.; et al. (8 April 2020). "Robotic microscopy for everyone: the OpenFlexure microscope". Biomedical Optics Express. 11 (5): 2447–2460. doi:10.1364/BOE.385729. PMC 7249832. PMID 32499936. The microscope is both compact, fitting within a 15 cm × 15 cm × 20 cm volume, and lightweight at ≈ 500 g in its highest resolution, fully automated configuration.
  13. ↑ Collins, Joel T.; et al. (8 April 2020). "Robotic microscopy for everyone: the OpenFlexure microscope". Biomedical Optics Express. 11 (5): 2447–2460. doi:10.1364/BOE.385729. PMC 7249832. PMID 32499936. due to the primarily plastic construction, our design has a limited load capacity unsuitable for very large or heavy samples
  14. ↑ "OpenFlexure Microscope README". GitLab. OpenFlexure. Retrieved 3 October 2026. There are many different options for the optics, ranging from a webcam lens to a 100x, oil immersion objective.
  15. ↑ Collins, Joel T.; et al. (8 April 2020). "Robotic microscopy for everyone: the OpenFlexure microscope". Biomedical Optics Express. 11 (5): 2447–2460. doi:10.1364/BOE.385729. PMC 7249832. PMID 32499936. The microscope is highly customisable, with a number of options readily available including trans- and epi- illumination, polarisation contrast imaging, and epi-florescence [sic] imaging.
  16. ↑ Collins, Joel T.; et al. (8 April 2020). "Robotic microscopy for everyone: the OpenFlexure microscope". Biomedical Optics Express. 11 (5): 2447–2460. doi:10.1364/BOE.385729. PMC 7249832. PMID 32499936. Low-cost version No motors, cheap webcam as sensor and optics, no microcomputer. • PLA: ≈ $ 5 USD. • Low-cost webcam: ≈ $ 5 USD. • Common hardware: Bulk ≈ $ 5 USD, one-off ≈ $ 26 USD (see Table 1 ) [...] Likewise, the cost of 3D printers themselves are excluded.
  17. ↑ McDermott, Samuel; Ayazi, Filip; Collins, Joel; Knapper, Joe; Stirling, Julian; Bowman, Richard; Cicuta, Pietro (2021). "Multi-modal microscopy imaging with the OpenFlexure Delta Stage". Optics Express. 30 (15): 26377–26395. arXiv:2112.05804. doi:10.1364/OE.450211. PMID 36236831. Here we present the OpenFlexure Delta Stage, a 3D-printed microscope designed for researchers. Powered by the OpenFlexure software stack, it is capable of performing automated experiments. [...] The versatility of this microscope is demonstrated by imaging biological and non-biological samples (red blood cells with Plasmodium parasites and colloidal particles in brightfield, epi-fluorescence, darkfield, Rheinberg and differential phase contrast.
  18. ↑ Collins, Joel T.; Knapper, Joe; Stirling, Julian; McDermott, Samuel; Bowman, Richard (2021). "Simplifying the OpenFlexure microscope software with the web of things". Royal Society Open Science. 8 (11) 211158. arXiv:2101.00933. Bibcode:2021RSOS....811158C. doi:10.1098/rsos.211158. PMC 8595986. PMID 34804575. We split the control code into client and server applications interfaced via a web API that conforms to the W3C Web of Things standard. This enables simple control of the microscope from multiple languages, provides a modern graphical control interface, and minimises duplicated code.
  19. ↑ "openflexure-microscope-server". GitLab. OpenFlexure. Retrieved 3 October 2026. API server and web interface for the OpenFlexure Microscope.
  20. ↑ Collins, Joel T.; et al. (8 April 2020). "Robotic microscopy for everyone: the OpenFlexure microscope". Biomedical Optics Express. 11 (5): 2447–2460. doi:10.1364/BOE.385729. PMC 7249832. PMID 32499936. We have produced over 100 microscopes in Tanzania and Kenya for educational, scientific, and clinical applications
  21. ↑ Wallace, John (5 May 2020). "Laboratory-grade optical microscope can be 3D-printed for $19". Laser Focus World. Retrieved 4 October 2026. To date, more than 100 OpenFlexure microscopes have been printed in Tanzania and Kenya
  22. ↑ Collins, Joel T.; et al. (8 April 2020). "Robotic microscopy for everyone: the OpenFlexure microscope". Biomedical Optics Express. 11 (5): 2447–2460. doi:10.1364/BOE.385729. PMC 7249832. PMID 32499936. We have demonstrated the local production of microscopes for educational, scientific, and clinical applications at STICLab's facility in Dar es Salaam, and with our partners at Tech for Trade (Nairobi, Kenya). [...] The open-source [ 33 ] designs have been replicated in maker spaces and academic labs in numerous countries including in Peru, Germany, Ghana, the USA, and the UK.
  23. ↑ "OpenFlexure Microscope README". GitLab. OpenFlexure. Retrieved 3 October 2026. This project is open-source and is Released under the CERN Open Hardware License, strongly reciprocal, v2.0 or later (CERN-OHL-S-2.0)
  24. ↑ "LICENSE". GitLab. OpenFlexure. Retrieved 3 October 2026. GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 3, 29 June 2007
  25. ↑ "OpenFlexure Microscope README". GitLab. OpenFlexure. Archived from the original on 26 September 2024. Retrieved 3 October 2026. The OpenFlexure Project doesn't sell micrscopes [sic], but several companies do