CONSTRUCTION OF AN INEXPENSIVE 3-DIMENSIONAL MOTION PLATFORM SHAKER

There are many applications in biology and aquaculture for a shaker, i ncluding the suspension of small batches of eggs or algal cultures. Th ree-dimensional motion platform shakers provide uniformly mixed fluids with little or no foaming, but they are expensive. If only a one-spee d device for suspending fluids is needed, one of these shakers can be constructed simply, in less than an hour if all the materials are at h and, for about US$75. Construction centers around a subfractional gear motor, a ''lazy susan'' turntable swivel with ball-bearings, and a sl ightly eccentric angled hole that is drilled in a block of wood attach ed to the lazy susan.