Laboratory & Calibration
Balances, pH and conductivity meters, centrifuges, ovens, furnaces, incubators, water baths and microscopes.
Laboratory instruments prepare, condition and support a sample: weighing it, heating it, cooling it, separating it, holding it at a defined temperature. They rarely produce the headline result themselves, which is why they are often bought last and specified least carefully - and why an unstable balance or a chamber with poor uniformity quietly undermines everything measured downstream of it.
The instruments that determine what a sample contains are separated into Analytical Instruments. What remains here is the working layer: balances, meters, thermal equipment and separation equipment, chosen on repeatability, capacity and how well conditions are held across a long working day rather than on a single headline figure.
Two characteristics matter more in a laboratory than anywhere else in this catalogue. The first is stability over time, because a balance drifting through a shift or an incubator recovering slowly after each door opening changes results without producing an error message. The second is documentation, because in a regulated laboratory the instrument has to arrive with the records the quality system expects.
| Product type | How it works | Usually specified for |
|---|---|---|
| Analytical balance | Electromagnetic force compensation compares the sample against an internal calibration mass | Fine weighing where repeatability and drift, not capacity, are the deciding characteristics, and where draught and vibration have to be controlled |
| Precision balance | A strain-gauge or force-motor cell reads the load over a larger capacity | General weighing, sample preparation and bulk dispensing, where a rougher environment and a larger capacity matter more than the finest readability |
| pH and conductivity meter | Electrode potential or cell resistance read by a meter, with temperature compensation applied | Bench measurement of water, solutions and process samples, where the electrode and its calibration routine decide the useful accuracy |
| Laboratory centrifuge | Rotation separates components by density under a controlled relative centrifugal force | Sample preparation before analysis, and separation where heat or shear would damage what is being separated |
| Laboratory oven | Forced-air convection distributes heat from a controlled element through the chamber | Drying, ageing, conditioning and moisture determination, where uniformity across the chamber decides the result |
| Laboratory furnace | Resistive elements in an insulated chamber reach high temperature, often under a controlled atmosphere | Ashing, sintering, calcination and loss-on-ignition work, where the heating and cooling profile shapes the method |
| Laboratory incubator | PID control holds a chamber at a temperature suited to biological activity | Culture, incubation and stability work, where recovery time after the door is opened is often more important than the setpoint itself |
| Water bath | A controlled heater circulates water around samples held in a vessel | Holding samples at temperature during preparation, and methods that need heat transfer through a liquid medium rather than air |
Shakers, mixers, microscopes, refractometers and general laboratory equipment are listed under this category as well.
There is rarely a single correct instrument for a duty, but there is always a shortlist that can be justified and a set of answers that eliminates the rest. These are the questions that decide it.
| Technology | Best suited to | Limits | Typical duty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Electromagnetic force compensation balance | Weighing where repeatability and low drift are the deciding factors | Sensitive to draught, vibration and being off level, and it needs settling time and a stable bench to deliver what it is capable of | Analytical weighing |
| Strain-gauge or force-motor balance | Larger capacities and busier environments where the readability is less fine | Resolution relative to capacity is lower, so it is not a substitute for an analytical balance at the fine end | General weighing and dispensing |
| Forced-air convection oven | Drying, conditioning and general thermal work at moderate temperature | Uniformity depends on the fan and on how the chamber is loaded; a full chamber and an empty one behave differently | Drying and conditioning |
| Chamber furnace with resistive elements | Ashing, sintering and high-temperature treatment | Heating and cooling take time, and element life depends on the atmosphere and on how the chamber is used | High-temperature treatment |
| PID-controlled incubator | Biological and microbiological work at a held temperature | Recovery after door opening and uniformity across shelves usually matter more than the accuracy of the setpoint | Culture and incubation |
| Refrigerated or ambient centrifuge | Separation where the sample must be kept cool, or where a defined force has to be applied | Rotor and tube compatibility, balanced loading, and the force achieved depend on the rotor radius, not the speed alone | Sample separation |
What is left after the technology is chosen is a list of values that only the installation can supply. These are the ones that change the model, the price or the lead time:
Specifications vary by model and application, so no performance figure is stated on this page. Where a parameter has not been documented for a particular model, the product page says so rather than filling the gap with a plausible number. Send the values above and we will return the ones the selected model actually holds.
Frequently asked
The questions that come up before an order rather than after it. If yours is not here, send it with the requirement and we will answer it in the quotation.
Analytical balances are built for repeatability at the fine end, with the internal mechanisms and the enclosure to support it, which is why they need a stable bench and protection from draught. Precision balances trade some of that fine readability for a larger capacity and a more forgiving installation. The method decides which is required, and buying the finer instrument without the bench conditions to support it does not deliver the finer result.
Because a setpoint describes one point in the chamber, while the sample sits somewhere inside a volume. Two ovens holding the same display value can produce quite different results if one varies across the chamber or takes much longer to recover after the door is opened. For anything that has to be repeatable, uniformity and recovery are the characteristics worth asking about.
By the relative centrifugal force the method needs, not by the rotational speed on its own, because the force actually achieved depends on the rotor radius. Add the tube or plate format, the volume, whether refrigeration is required to protect the sample, and the temperature the run has to be held at. Rotor and tube compatibility is a safety matter as well as a performance one.
Where the laboratory operates a quality system, yes for the instruments that affect a reported result, and the certificate has to be traceable. Thermal equipment additionally often needs qualification documents that demonstrate the chamber performs as claimed across its working volume. Say which documents the system requires at the enquiry stage, because they affect both price and lead time.
Not well. A balance chosen for the fine end has a small capacity and needs careful handling, while one chosen for a large capacity gives up readability. Most laboratories end up with two instruments used for different duties. If only one can be bought, the governing requirement is the tightest one that the method actually reports against.
Consumables and service. Electrodes, lamps, seals, tubes, rotors and filters have finite lives, and some of them are specific to the model. It is worth asking what has to be replaced and how often before the instrument is chosen, because a lower purchase price with a short-lived proprietary consumable is not necessarily the cheaper instrument over its life.
Available now
BAL-220 · Laboratory Balances Reference listing
Analytical balance with a 220 g capacity and 0.1 mg readability, an electromagnetic force compensation cell and an internal calibration weight.
Send the specification and we will confirm the matching instrument, availability and lead time. Minimum order quantity is 1 pc.
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Send the technical detail and we will confirm availability, lead time and terms. In-stock items ship within 48 hours; customized specifications typically take 2-10 days. Minimum order quantity is 1 pc.