It's mostly a commercial decision. Reagents have very high margins and recurring revenue is more attractive than large one-time purchases. Illumina does this wi

It's mostly a commercial decision. Reagents have very high margins and recurring revenue is more attractive than large one-time purchases. Illumina does this with genetic sequencing as well. edit: There are some informal standards like 96- and 384- well plates that make it possible to have third-party consumables with some machines, but there is no incentive for a for-profit company to design open platform.