Shaker
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A shaker is a piece of laboratory equipment used to mix, blend, or to agitate substances, solutions or suspensions in flasks, separatory funnels or tubes by shaking them.
Contents
Design
Shakers consist of an oscillating board, which contains various clamps designed for holding beakers, flasks, separatory funnels, tubes, etc., usually made of stainless steel. The oscillating board sits on a flat apparatus, which contains an on/off button and two dials, one for setting the speed and the other for setting the time. More advanced models may also have an electronic display and a temperature controller.
Types
Incubator shaker
It consists of a shaker inside a closed small chamber, while also capable of maintaining a desired temperature. It is a good choice when doing various biochemical processes, such as microorganism incubating or DNA replications.
Orbital shaker
The orbital shaker creates mixing through a circular shaking motion, with a slow speed (25-500 rpm), which can be adjusted via dials. It is commonly used for general mixing, washing blots, microbiology, etc.
Platform shaker
The oscilating board of this shaker moves horizontally. It is the most common type.
Vortex shaker
Used to mix small vials of liquid.
Availability
Shakers can be bought from lab suppliers.
DIY shaker
Shakers can be relative easy to make, but given that spills tend to happen, you will have to use chemical resistant materials. Stainless steel is ideal, but this raises the cost of the shaker.
Paint can shakers can be used as base for your lab shaker.
