Sartorius iQue 5, Incucyte CX3 and Octet R8e Instrument Models

Models of three Sartorius lab instruments, the iQue 5, Incucyte CX3 and Octet R8e, in their own white and yellow, with working parts.

Client: Sartorius
Service: Scale Models
Made with: 3D printing, hand finishing, our own wiring

Brief us on a model

Sartorius instruments made as models: 3
Working features on the iQue 5, each filmed in use: 4
Lit screens, one in every model: 3
iQue 5 model size (width, depth, height): 784 × 450 × 395 mm
Fabrication time for all three models, after design approval: 6 to 8 weeks

What we brought

Working parts
We build your instrument with its working parts
The iQue 5 lights up at the press of a button, its door opens onto a screen, the clear side panel lifts off and the plate carrier slides out.
Across your range
We build a whole range to match
Three instruments in the same white finish and yellow Sartorius band, each with a screen, as on the real instruments.
Ready for the road
We pack it for travel
The iQue 5 goes out in a hard case, each panel and small part in foam cut to its shape.

Gallery

The whole project at a glance. Drag or swipe to browse; tap a picture to enlarge it.

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The finished piece
The iQue 5 with its door closed.
The Incucyte CX3, open on a lit screen.
The Octet R8e, screen lit behind the door.
The Octet R8e from the front.
Side on, the rounded profile.
Side and back, vents and all.
Panels and parts, packed to travel.
Lights, door and plate carrier, in one go.
The clear side panel lifts off.
The light bar and its button.
The plate carrier, slid out.
The Incucyte's front, folding down.
Folded fully down.
The reagent holder, colour bars and all.
The colour-coded ports on the side.
The connector panel, every label in place.
The Incucyte's status light, lit.
The yellow band with the instrument's name.
The Incucyte's vent slots.
The Octet's vent grille.
Name band and door handle.
The perforated panel below the grille.
The briefThe Incucyte CX3, closed.
Design & fitment · Revision 0RenderThe first designs, with their sizes.
Design & fitment · Revision 1RenderThe iQue 5 at 784 × 450 × 395 mm.
RenderThe iQue 5 from the front, opened up.
RenderThe carriage, sliding out.
RenderThe front door, swung open.
RenderStatus LED, on/off button and internal LEDs.
RenderThe Incucyte, with its size marked.
RenderThe cable route, iPad in blue and switch LED in green.
RenderThe front swings down to show the screen.
RenderThe Octet's rounded body.
FabricationThe door's printed ribbing, seen from inside.
Build & assemblyTesting the lights and their button.
Testing the plate carrier on its rail.
The Octet open, charging cable inside.
Fitting the bay from the travel case.

The build

How we built it

5 steps, from the brief to the finished piece. Pick a step to jump to it.

The brief

Step 1 of 5

At Additive Inn, our 3D printing studio in Singapore, we made models of three Sartorius lab instruments: the iQue 5, the Incucyte CX3 and the Octet R8e. Each needed the real shape, a white body, a yellow band and a screen; the iQue 5 also needed moving parts.

The Incucyte CX3 model closed, a white box with the yellow Sartorius band across the front and a green status light at the lower left — The Incucyte CX3, closed.

Design & fitment

Step 2 of 5

We modelled each instrument from its own shape and markings, so it reads as the real one. The iQue 5 was laid out around what a visitor expects to move: the front door, the clear side panel and the sliding plate carrier.

Revision 0

The first two models in full, with their sizes and an iPad set in as the screen.

Render
Revision 1

We added the iQue 5's sliding carriage, opening doors and lights, drew the Incucyte and refined the Octet.

Render +7 more

Fabrication

Step 3 of 5

We 3D printed the parts for all three models, then sanded and filed them, and cut rods to length on a chop saw. The inside of the iQue 5's door shows its printed ribbing.

The iQue 5 model's front door swung open, its inside face showing the white printed ribbing in a grid, with the dark screen recess behind — The door's printed ribbing, seen from inside.

Build & assembly

Step 4 of 5

We joined the parts with hard-setting glue and did the electrical work: the LED lighting and the charging cable's wiring. On the iQue 5, we tested the lights and their button, and the plate carrier on its rail.

Testing the lights and their button.

Testing the plate carrier on its rail.

The Octet R8e model in the workshop, its front open on the empty black inside and the charging cable — The Octet open, charging cable inside.

A hand fitting parts into the lit bay of the iQue 5 model, with the cut foam of its travel case on the table in front — Fitting the bay from the travel case.

The final build

Step 5 of 5

The finished set: the iQue 5 with its lit bay, the Incucyte CX3 with a front that folds down to show its screen, and the Octet R8e behind a tinted curved door. The iQue 5 travels in a hard case.

The iQue 5 model with its front door closed, the yellow Sartorius band along the top and the lit bay on the right showing the probe arm and reagent bottles — The iQue 5 with its door closed.

How it works

The iQue 5 is built to be shown working: lights on, door open, plate carrier out, side panel off. The Incucyte's front folds down to show its screen.

Lights, door and plate carrier, in one go.

The clear side panel lifts off.

The green light bar along the top edge of the iQue 5 model, lit, with a round metal push button beside it — The light bar and its button.

The black sample plate carrier of the iQue 5 model slid out past the clear side panel, holding a plate with rows of wells — The plate carrier, slid out.

The Incucyte CX3 model with its front folding down, the dark screen behind it and the green status light at the lower left — The Incucyte's front, folding down.

The Incucyte CX3 model on a workbench with its front folded fully down in front of the screen — Folded fully down.

The details

Small markings make each model read as the real instrument.

The iQue 5 model's four white reagent bottles with blue caps in their black holder, with red, yellow, green, blue and grey colour bars along its front — The reagent holder, colour bars and all.

A small black panel on the side of the iQue 5 model with four round ports on purple, blue, orange and pink squares — The colour-coded ports on the side.

The black connector panel on the back of the iQue 5 model, labelled Ext. Controller, iQue QMax USB, Power and Fluidic Station — The connector panel, every label in place.

The black status light on the front of the Incucyte CX3 model, glowing green — The Incucyte's status light, lit.

The yellow band on the front of the Incucyte CX3 model, printed INCUCYTE CX3 — The yellow band with the instrument's name.

Rows of small vent slots along the white side of the Incucyte CX3 model — The Incucyte's vent slots.

Close-up of the white vent grille on the back of the Octet R8e model, rows of rounded slots over a black backing — The Octet's vent grille.

The yellow Octet R8e band on the curved top of the model, above the tinted door and its yellow handle — Name band and door handle.

The black perforated panel low on the back of the Octet R8e model, below the vent grille — The perforated panel below the grille.

More work

Services behind this project

Scale Models

Sartorius iQue 5, Incucyte CX3 and Octet R8e Instrument Models

What we brought

We build your instrument with its working parts

We build a whole range to match

We pack it for travel

Gallery