Free shipping on orders over $500 USD! Free shipping on orders over $500 USD!

Raspberry Pi's New OS Bookworm: Advancements for Pioreactor

Raspberry Pi's New OS Bookworm: Advancements for Pioreactor
Every two years, Raspberry Pi (the company) releases a new operating system that comes with some great improvements. Last week, they released their latest iteration, called Bookworm. The Pioreactor software is a derivative of their operating systems, and were really excited about this release. It offers some significant improvements for our software which I discuss below.

We’re Stacking Hats

We’re Stacking Hats
When we need to add new hardware to the Pioreactor, we've chosen the very simple and very funny solution: stacking HATs. That's right, we're stacking HATs right on top of each other. The stacked HAT mechanic provides a really user-friendly and modular way to extend a Pioreactor. We can design and build new HAT hardware to extend functionalities. Users can mix-and-match which HATs they want to use, and the community can design HATs, too.

A new vial cap design for the Pioreactor 🎉

A collage of four photos, each showing a different insert into the g1/8 hole. 1) our default closed plug, 2) our additional silicone tube plug, 3) a metal barb, 4) a thermowell
We mentioned in a previous blog post that we are now 3D printing our vial caps, and how this opened up a much larger design space for us. Well, introducing the first stop in this design space: our new Vial Cap A!

New shipping pricing and bulk order discounts!

New shipping pricing and bulk order discounts!

Free shipping on orders over $500 USD!

We've negotiated better rates with our shipping supplier, and are passing those savings on to you. For orders over $500 USD (that's equivalent to two Pioreactors), we'll wave the cost of shipping.

Bulk discounts when you purchase 10 Pioreactors

When you order more than 10 Pioreactors, you'll receive a 5% discount. Even better, this count includes all your previous orders, too! So if you ordered 4 Pioreactors previously, and 6 more today, you'll get the 5% discount on your latest order of 6 Pioreactors. 

New Pioreactor feature: experiment profiles!

New Pioreactor feature: experiment profiles!

Our goal is automate more and more for you. We started with a great UI, then added easy-calibrations, and then we built out dosing, LED, and temperature automations. Next, we want to automate your research even while you sleep! 

An update on our manufacturing - it's good news!

An update on our manufacturing - it's good news!
We are so glad to see the enthusiasm around Pioreactor - so much enthusiasm that it's been difficult to secure one! The biggest bottleneck to getting you a Pioreactor has been manufacturing. However, we've been spending more and more time scaling our manufacturing process. Here's what we've been up to: 

New upcoming feature in 23.2.6: adding custom charts to the UI

New upcoming feature in 23.2.6: adding custom charts to the UI
Since there are so many use-cases for the Pioreactor, we didn't want to pigeon-hole the UI to only support a single use-case. By default, the UI works great for simple cultures: yeast, algae, or bacteria, with OD readings, maybe dosing, and maybe LEDs. But users are already extending the Pioreactor to do more: more pumps, and more sensors. This is great - we're ecstatic! But how can users adapt the UI to support their extensions?