Turn an Ender 3 Kit into Three Syringe Pumps
Original writeup by Sander Baas and Vittorio Saggiomo
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Before you build
This is a niche laboratory project rather than a mass-market gadget. Its strength is unusually concrete documentation: a full assembly PDF, separate operating instructions, characterization results, and a linked HardwareX paper. The original repository chapters and downloadable guides are all included. Use it as a benchtop fluid-handling research build, not for administering substances to people or animals. Flow performance depends on the assembled mechanism, syringe, and calibration; the original authors' measurements are not independent testing by this site.
Sander Baas and Vittorio Saggiomo's open laboratory build: original project chapters, apparatus images, assembly and operating PDFs, and the characterization document.
Ender 3 syringe pumps:
open-source set of syringe pumps from an Ender 3 kit
If you use the pump in your research, please cite:
Sander Baas, Vittorio Saggiomo, Ender3 3D printer kit transformed into open, programmable syringe pump set, HardwareX, Volume 10, 2021, e00219, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2021.e00219.
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Visit ChemRxiv for the preprint, and HardwareX for the published paper.
A video of the project is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etUp4s1Bq-I
Ender 3 syringe pumps is an open source and open hardware device for converting an Ender 3 kit to a set of 3 syringe pumps. Almost everything needed for the build is the Ender 3 kit, even all the screws and the tools needed for the assembly. The only parts which needed to be bought are three 5x5 shaft couplers and M5 lead screw. All the 3D designs are in the /hardware folder.
Structure
- /hardware is a folder with the 3D printable files and a guide for the assembly
- /software is a folder with the instruction on how to use the pumps via gcode
- /videos are few video of the pumps in action
Ender 3 syringe pumps: hardware
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- STL and F3D contain the 3D printable files
- Ender 3 Syringe Pump Build Guide is the step by step guide to assemble the syringe pumps
This design has been tested with Ender 3 and Ender 3 pro. It works also with the Ender 3 V2 with a small modification of the PSU mount, which can be found in the Ender3V2 directory. The Ender 3 V2 PSU mount was designed by Afonso Mendes (ammendes@igc.gulbenkian.pt)
/STL/PressFitPulley.stl was designed by Jake_of_All_Trades https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3593964/files
UPDATE 05-11-2021: 50mL syringe adaptors are in /STL
Ender 3 syringe pumps software
- Steps mL Calculation is an excel file for calculating the steps per mL of different syringes, using the diameter as input
- VideoS1 is a gcode example
Pressure fluctuation of the Ender 3 syringe pumps:
Thanks to Rahat Haque and Maiwenn Kersaudy-Kerhoas (https://www.ed.ac.uk/infection-medicine/our-staff/associate-members/dr-maiwenn-kersaudy-kerhoas-profile) who have measured the pressure fluctuation of the Ender 3 syringe pumps using their developed methodology, which you can read it here: https://aip.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1063/5.0057415
The outcome is that the the open-source ENDER pump performs as well as the Aladdin pump (classical red syringe pumps) over a large range of flow rate and pressures, at a fraction of the price. It should be noted that it is not suitable for precise operation.
The PDF summarise the results, which can be seen also on PubPeer: https://pubpeer.com/publications/B181F8CA9FC58E82DFA00AC1A47487
Original Build Downloads
Source and license
Original documentation: Sander Baas, Vittorio Saggiomo. Reproduced under MIT. Individual image credits identify any separately licensed media. The full original copyright and permission notice is retained in that license file.
Republished the complete reviewed README and build chapters. Reformatted HTML as Markdown, resolved relative links, and served repository images locally. Photos resized without cropping; diagrams retain source resolution. Externally hosted or separately unverified media is linked at its original location. Introductory selection notes are by Meteor Makers; the original author is not responsible for those notes. Combined source chapters in build order and remapped chapter links to this page. Original build downloads are mirrored byte-for-byte; added a download index.
Source revision: 84b2c179bf48. Retrieved 2026-10-03. This is a source snapshot, not a claim that the project was first published today or that its creator endorses Meteor Makers.
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