When the average person thinks of a lab, they probably picture a room full of massive, absurdly expensive equipment whose capabilities they couldn’t begin to understand. Admittedly, that might to some extent be true – for fun, point to a piece of equipment at random the next time your lab has a visitor and see if they can guess what it does and how much it costs. As with any other working environment, however, all the specialized machinery in the world won’t do you a lick of good if your lab isn’t stocked with the essentials needed to perform basic, daily tasks. If you’re setting up a new lab, you’ll want to read on to make sure that your checklist includes the following lab equipment essentials.
Lab Equipment Safety Gear
Safety should be the top priority for any workspace, laboratory or not. That said, the regular exposure to possibly dangerous elements makes lab work more potentially hazardous than that of most other jobs, and as such it’s of the utmost importance that your scientists, technicians and assistants have everything they need to work in safety and comfort. Goggles or safety glasses are an absolute must for any lab, as are heat resistant gloves. If your lab makes use of loud machinery, you should also have hearing protection on hand – either in the form of reusable compressible plugs or in that of wearable earpieces. Likewise, disposable dust masks should be on hand to lessen worker exposure to hazardous fumes or to simply keep them from breathing in any fine, airborne particles.
Lab Equipment Sample Pans, Bowls & Containers
Though every lab should have sturdy, neutral containers for the materials they’re working with, their presence is even more important for labs that engage in any sort of material testing. There are few things more annoying than learning that an experiment your team conducted was rendered totally worthless because the tested material reacted to the container in which it was held. That’s why we at Certified MTP offer lab containers for a variety of materials, to ensure that you can store your tested components safely and without risk of contamination or transformation. Our pans, bowls, and containers can be ordered in aluminum, iron, plastic, stainless steel, glass and fiberglass – and every one of those varieties comes in different shapes and sizes to perfectly meet the needs and budget of your lab.
keep Reading: Lab Equipment Essentials for Your Laboratory [Updated 2024].
Test Sample Bags & Lab Equipment Cart
Sample bags are another type of equipment that holds outsized importance in material testing labs, as the lab’s workers must have a safe way by which to transport material to and from their workspace. The matter isn’t as simple as just hefting bags of stuff from place to place, though – it’s also crucial that your lab have a healthy supply of id tags to ensure that anybody can at a glance tell exactly what those bags contain. While not totally essential, you might also consider snagging a sandbag funnel to make a material collection that much quicker and easier. Consider also how often those materials will likely be shuffled from place to place within your lab, and how much of a headache that might be for everyone involved if you don’t have a sample stock cart on hand.
Scoops and Lab Tools
Anyone who’s worked at a lab that specializes in material testing can tell you that a quality scoop can make all the difference in the collection of that material. You want to pick models that your lab’s workers can easily and comfortably handle while also staying aware of how they might react to the material being collected. As with our containers, our scoops come in a variety of materials (aluminum, plastic, stainless steel) and sizes to ensure that your scientists and technicians have the most effective and appropriate tool for even the smallest of tasks.
Depending on the nature of the material you’re collecting, scoops alone may not be enough to get the job done. If that’s the case, check out the rest of our lab tools for all sorts of small equipment that can help your workers complete their daily tasks with speed and efficiency.
More Read: Dive into Chemistry Lab Equipment: Your Complete Guide in 2024.
Lab Beakers and Testing Containers
When the actual testing begins, you’ll want to make sure that the beakers in which the tested materials are held are sturdy, clearly marked, and of the right size for the scale of the procedure. Depending on the nature of your testing, you may want to go with our classic glass beakers – all models feature a reinforced rim and uniform wall thickness while also possessing excellent chemical, heat, and wear resistance. Certain materials and certain tests are better done with plastic, however, which is why we also offer a full line of quality plastic beakers for you to choose from. These containers are made of incredibly durable polymethylpentene, which boasts remarkable impact resistance and can handle temperatures of up to 200 degrees Celsius (392 Fahrenheit).
Looking for testing containers with more specific capabilities? Then you’ll want to check our lab testing container for every kind of testing container you could ever need.
Lab Equipment Essentials for All Jobs
Many people don’t realize just how much work goes into science. They don’t see the painstaking collecting, organizing, transporting and storing that even the most basic of experiments require. As the operator of a lab, you’re all too familiar with those tasks and the fact that certain equipment must be provided for them to be done right. Though by no means exhaustive, obtaining the items on the above list will ensure that your new lab and its residents have what’s needed to get the job done right. If you have any further questions about setting up a new lab – or merely wish to know how Certified MTP can be of assistance in doing so – please feel free to get in touch with one of our friendly and knowledgeable customer service representatives. Be sure to check out our wide variety of lab equipment to use in your laboratory today!
Certified MTP has an elite selection of lab solutions, showcasing industry-leading brands including Flasks, Beakers, Pipettes, & Graduated Cylinders, Erlenmeyer Flasks, Measuring Pipettes, Stainless Steel Beakers, Glass Graduated Cylinders, and Plastic Graduated Cylinders, lab hot plates, centrifuges, desiccators, lab burners, bunsen burners, including the popular vacuum ovens and all the needed vacuum pumps for your lab research.
