Reusing the shuttleDrive

EIB: The EIBs can be removed from the drive by soaking the drive in ethanol for a few days. The epoxy then becomes rubbery and can be peeled off easily. Extra attention needs to be paid to whether the plastic parts of the connectors on the EIB are damaged by this process. If the connector is at all damaged or worn, it should be de-soldered and replaced. The EIB an be used multiple times, until the vias used for gold-pins become too worn to make good contact.

Screws: The drive screws can be re-used multiple times. They can be recovered by dissolving the drive in acetone, and the light-cured cement can be carefully broken off with smooth pliers. Inspect screws for damage, and re-use.

Shuttles, drive body, tubing: We do not recommend re-using these parts, as it is virtually impossible to clean them without damage. The time required to recover these and the increased risk of malfunctions in later use are usually not worth the savings. The waste of disposing of a shuttleDrive body after 1 use doesn’t weigh up against the waste of an animal implanted with a faulty drive.

Gold pins should likely not be re-used, but let us know if you do have success reusing them.

If you are anticipating using a bunch of drives, you can try making them ‘assembly line style’ and keep prepped drive bodies in a clean box for tetrode loading and use later. This can reduce the initial energy requirement for making a new drive.