- Cambrian Genomics’ now-defunct “laser-printer” DNA synthesis platform combined microarray oligo synthesis, emulsion PCR on bar-coded beads, Illumina QC, and laser ejection of only validated beads for downstream ligation; the entire San-Francisco lab (three rigs, ~20 thermocyclers) is being liquidated for ~$4 M or auctioned for parts within weeks.  
- Participants are exploring open-source re-creations of the Cambrian workflow, including POSaM inkjet protocols, Rain-X as a cheap silane substitute for glass derivatization, and a compact, low-cost ligation machine to replace rows of expensive thermocyclers.  
- A proposed “flood-group” on-plate assembly architecture uses a 1-million-spot inverted-pyramid array subdivided into 10-member mix groups that can be flooded in sequence to merge oligos without pipetting; an illustration is available at http://diyhpl.us/~bryan/papers2/DNA/flood-groups.png.  
- To prevent dilution during flood-group merging, the group is evaluating sublimatable polyimide or wax walls, magnetic-particle waxes that can be pulled aside by magnets, and alternative droplet-manipulation schemes such as electrowetting arrays, ink-jetted soap lines, electrostatic guides, super-hydrophobic knife edges, and nitrogen micro-jets.  
- Emphasis is placed on integrating on-chip quality control via nano-ligase “repair robots,” emulsion PCR bead enrichment, and microfluidic QC devices like Keasling’s “A Versatile Microfluidic Device for Automating Synthetic Biology” (ACS Synth. Biol. 2015).  
- Shared technical resources include DIY DNA-synthesis notes (http://diyhpl.us/wiki/dna/synthesis/notes/), a lab-design safety checklist (UChicago PDF), a Google-Drive dump of Cambrian lab photos and equipment lists, and background videos on thermal ciliary arrays, single-cell membrane poration, super-hydrophobic droplet control, and emulsion-PCR bead enrichment.