Thomas Nguyen built a fixed-angle centrifuge from scratch to separate T cells from blood in 15 mL conical tubes, using a Raspberry Pi Pico, an A2212 brushless motor, and a 30-amp electronic speed controller, all fabricated with a 3D printer.
The build is not naive tinkering. Nguyen integrated an MPU-6050 accelerometer for vibration detection and automatic shutdown on dangerous imbalance, plus an IR sensor for closed-loop RPM control. Those two design choices are what separate this from a spinning death trap, and they are worth studying in detail.
Version 1 is built and spinning. Nguyen is validating it first with dyed water and glycerol before touching real blood products. The full build log is at comfyspace.tech. If you are doing any kind of low-budget wet lab work, read it.
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