Blocktopus

A fork of the Octopus project LINK

Blocktopus is an open source, MIT licensed, lab automation platform built on the blockly and twisted platform.

Getting Started

Prerequisites

I recommend running the platform using Docker or Podman. The image has been built for amd64 and arm64. Running the image on a Linux host is recommended as you can access hardware natively (I believe this is not supported on a Windows or macOS host).

We run the platform on a Raspberry Pi 4B 4GB with Ubuntu Server 20.04 LTS 64-bit.

Installing

1. Pull the image

   docker pull ghcr.io/gar-syn/blocktopus:latest

2. Run the container

   docker run --privileged -it -p 8001:8001 -p 9001:9001 -v /app/data:/app/data --name blocktopus ghcr.io/gar-syn/blocktopus

   Note: The above command contains--privileged which will grant the container access to system hardware (cameras, USB devices, serial devices, etc.). If you do not wish to do this please remove this option. Otherwise you can define which hardware can be accessed (LINK).

3. Access the platform

   http://127.0.0.1:8001

Integrate Devices

Type	Manufacturer	Model	Status	Connection	Notes
Pump	Harvard Appartus	PHD 2000	☑️	RS232
	HitecZang	LabDos	☑️	RS232
	HitecZang	SyrDos	☑️	RS232
	Knauer	K120	☑️	RS232
	Knauer	S100	☑️	RS232
	WPI	Aladdin	☑️	RS232
Reactor	Vapourtec	R2+/R4	☑️	RS232	Can't use the built in vapourtec control at the same time.
Balance	Kern	EW	☑️	RS232
	Mettler Toledo	SICS	☑️	RS232
Instrumentation	Mettler Toledo	FlowIR	☑️	CSV	Script must be ran on the computer running the Mettler iC IR software.
		ReactIR	☑️	CSV	Script must be ran on the computer running the Mettler iC IR software.
	Omega	HH306A	☑️	RS232
Cryostat/Thermostat	Huber	CC3	☑️	RS232
	Julabo	F25	☑️	RS232
Stirrer	IKA	Eurostar	☑️	RS232
Other	VICI	Multi Position Valve	☑️	RS232
	Phidgets	pH Sensor	❓ Untested	USB
	StarTech	Power Remote Control	❓ Untested	RS232

Built With

• Blockly - The Sketch interface

• Twisted - Event drive Python framework

Authours

• Richard Ingham - LINK

• Gary Short - LINK

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details