Name: Daisy Piston
Brand: Scalables
SKU: DPI-100
Availability: InStock

The Daisy Piston is a state-of-the-art displacement pump designed for exceptionally precise and efficient fluid dispensing. It operates by moving a cylindrical shaft within the pump head — similar to a syringe pump. Valve timing at the ports controls fluid movement during aspiration and dispensing cycles.

Daisy Piston Pump Head Drawing

Unlike a syringe pump, the Daisy Piston does not use an elastic sealing material at the top of the piston, dramatically reducing wear and tear. This design extends its lifetime by over two orders of magnitude compared to standard syringe pumps — up to 10 million dispensing cycles.

With 0.5% accuracy and <0.03% CV at full dispense volume, the Daisy Piston is our most precise pump. It is ideal for automated pipetting, long-term repetitive dispensing, and microfluidic flow control where precise flow stability is required — even with changing fluid viscosity or flow resistance.

The pump head is rated for 500 psi before leakage. For operations from vacuum up to 30 psi, use the integrated solenoid valves on either side of the pump head or optional Daisy Sol Val modules. For pressures between 30–150 psi, the Daisy Rotary Valve modules are recommended.

Experience the precision and efficiency of the Daisy Piston Pump, designed to meet demanding fluid dispensing applications with ease and reliability.

Weight	1.2 kg
Dimensions	100 × 100 × 150 mm
Pump Volume	100 µl, 1000 µl, 5000 µl
Expected Cycle Life	DI Water: 10 M cycles Aggressive Fluids: 5 M cycles (contact us for more info)
Leak Pressure	500 PSI
Wetted Materials	Head: PEEK Piston: PEEK Piston Seal Ring: UHMW-PE with VITON O-ring
Port Configuration	1/4-28 Standard
Unit Power Input	24 VDC, 4 A
Power Adaptor Input	110-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz
Adapter Safety Certifications	FCC, CE, UL
Color	Housing: Anodized black Pump Head: Tan (PEEK) Solenoid Valve Housing: Tan (PEEK)
Operating Conditions	Temperature: 10–40 °C Relative Humidity: 20–80%

Chemical Compatibility

Polyether ether ketone (PEEK) Chemical Compatibility Reference Chart (adopted from www.calpaclab.com)

Chemical Compatibility Database

Customizations

If you need a different pump head or piston material for your specialized application, contact us with your request.

Accessories

PTFE Tubing Assemblies

PTFE Tubing

Maintenance

The easiest way to take care of your Daisy Piston pump is to flush it with plenty of DI water after each use. Letting the pump go through its aspirate-dispense cycle at its full capacity 10 to 20 times should be sufficient. The goal is to wash away any residual solutions containing salt, as salt crystals remaining behind after aqueous buffers dry out will otherwise wear out the internal moving parts over time.

If organic materials were used with the Daisy Piston pump, flushing it 10-20x with ethanol first (followed by DI water) is a good idea.

After cleaning flushes, DI water may be left inside the pump for short-term storage.

Avoid using suspensions with solid particles in them with the Daisy Piston pump. Solid particles, just like salt crystals, can cause mechanical damage to the pump internals during operation over time, reducing its lifetime and performance.

Command Set

As usual, start your automation scripts with the interface set up. Assuming the piston pump is the first instrument in the first group:

piston_pump = self.my_interface.groups[0].inst[0]

The next step is to home the piston pump:

piston_pump.home()

This command waits by default until the homing action is complete, during which the piston moves to its maximum stroke.

Finally, the run command controls both the piston position and the valves (as needed). Command format is:

piston_pump.run(, , , )

Example: aspirate 1000 ul of fluid into the pump through valve 0 (priming valve P), waiting until completion:

piston_pump.run(20000.0, 1000.0, 0, wait=True)

Example: dispense 1000 ul of fluid through valve 1 (dispensing valve):

piston_pump.run(20000.0, 0.0, 1, wait=True)

Application Example 1: Microfluidic Flow Control

Control two piston pumps at different rates for microfluidic droplet generation or mixing:

g1 = self.my_interface.groups[0]
piston_pump_1 = g1.inst[0]  # first Daisy Piston
piston_pump_2 = g1.inst[1]  # second Daisy Piston

# Home the pumps
piston_pump_1.home()
piston_pump_2.home()

# Aspirate volumes
aspiration_volume_1 = 50  # ul
aspiration_volume_2 = 100 # ul
piston_pump_1.run(1000, aspiration_volume_1, 0, False)
piston_pump_2.run(1000, aspiration_volume_2, 0, True)

# Repeat pumping cycles
for i in range(20):
    piston_pump_1.run(10, 0, 1, wait=False)
    piston_pump_2.run(20, 0, 1, wait=True)

Application Example 2: Sequential Droplet Dispensing

Dispense 10 ul drops into a microplate, possibly coordinated with a Daisy Gantry instrument:

g1 = self.my_interface.groups[0]
piston_pump = g1.inst[0]
gantry = g1.inst[1]

# Home devices
piston_pump.home()
gantry.home()

# Aspirate fluid
pump_capacity = 1000  # ul
aspiration_volume = 640
pull_volume = min(aspiration_volume, pump_capacity)
piston_pump.run(12000, pull_volume, 0, True)

# Target gantry positions
X_Pos = [50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120]
Y_Pos = [100, 110, 120, 130, 140, 150, 160, 170]

# Dispense in 10 ul increments
dispense_increment = 10
target_volume_location = pull_volume
for X in X_Pos:
    for Y in Y_Pos:
        gantry.run(X, Y, wait=True)
        target_volume_location -= dispense_increment
        piston_pump.run(12000, target_volume_location, 1, True)

Daisy Piston: Pipette-grade accuracy in a displacement pump.

Key applications

Precise dispensing
Pipetting
Dosing

Works with other Daisy modules

For valve automation, pair the Piston with the Daisy Sol Val (up to 30 psi) or the Daisy Rotary Valve (30 to 150 psi).

Click or script

Control the Daisy Piston with a click in the Daisy Controller Software, or drop into the built-in Python window to automate multi-step protocols. You can control:

Flow rate (µl/min)
Dispensing volume
Aspirating volume
Valve control

Not a coder? The AI Assistant writes the script for you and catches simple mistakes before you run it.

Frequently asked questions

How accurate is the Daisy Piston?

It is rated at 0.5% accuracy with a coefficient of variation under 0.03%, the most accurate dispenser in the Daisy lineup.

Which volume should I choose?

The Piston comes in 100 µl, 1000 µl and 5000 µl sizes. Smaller volumes give finer resolution for microfluidic work and small dispenses; larger volumes move more liquid per stroke.

What is the Piston good for?

Automated pipetting, long-term repetitive dispensing, and microfluidic control where stable, precise flow is required.

Want to see it in action? Email [email protected] to schedule a live demo.

Daisy Piston