Rapid design and implementation of semi-automated research-grade test systems

As opposed to industrial automation and test equipment, typically requiring teams of engineers to design and operating over multi-year/decade lifetimes; in academic-based materials science labs there often exists a time-sensitive short-term need to (1) implement some level of automation in lieu of brute force testing techniques; (2) enhance or introduce added functionality into existing tools and equipment; or (3) develop completely customized systems to investigate new types of material phenomenon. Herein lies the challenge, as many research teams lack the expertise for rapid prototyping/development of such novel material testing systems. Therefore, here we present a methodology to rapidly create systems that can be quickly designed and fabricated, utilized as needed, and then whose constituent components can be modified for further experimentation or incorporated into future systems.