Before attending a chemistry lesson, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the questions about what a tripod is and what it is for. A holder is used to support flasks, tools and other devices. The material for it is selected from heavy metals so that the rack does not fall after fixing a vessel with liquid on it.
What is the stand for?
When considering what a tripod is, the main purpose of using it is to hold objects statically and securely. The scope of the rack is extensive. In addition to the laboratory, it can be used for production purposes.
The meaning of the tripod has found its way into photography production. A tripod or single-barrel stand is used to hold a lens or flash on it. There are models with several mounts, sometimes unique. Thanks to this device, the picture is obtained from a certain angle and without blurring.
In chemistry and medicine, a tripod helps to hang the flask to heat it. Often, test tubes are placed in clamps that cannot be placed vertically. Many detachable connections allow you to accurately set the desired position in space.
Device Features
Let's define what a tripod is:
- A device from the auxiliary equipment of the laboratory, which serves to hold vessels and utensils.
- The word "tripod" is used to refer to a supporting support on which something is fixed with clamps or ties.
- The tripod is characterized by the presence of fasteners, adjustable vertically and horizontally with clamping tabs.
- There are horizontal and vertical versions. The first type is mainly used to place test tubes in it. This device makes it easier to work with laboratory equipment.
The vertical version has a metal plate of heavy weight at the base, into which a metal stand is installed. Clamps with paws are already attached to it.
What is the device made of?
To understand what a tripod is, you should familiarize yourself with its constituent parts. The base is often made of cast iron. It is heavy and does not allow the rack to fall. Its weight is selected for the maximum possible container filled with liquid. If you choose the wrong load, you can drop the product and get burned by the chemical.
For fastening flasks, test tubes and other laboratory equipment, a horizontal version of a tripod with two bases, racks and a crossover rod in the form of the letter P can be used. It turns out to place a large number of devices required daily.
For large volumes of tubes, single-deck or double-deck racks with a heavy base are chosen to reduce the riskoverturning the installation. All cells are uniquely numbered to facilitate labeling and avoid confusion when changing containers.
Element materials
The device's components are powder coated with a moisture-resistant coating that can withstand a short-term chemical attack in the event of an accidental unfortunate incident. Often metal parts are covered with plastic on top. This solution allows you not to worry at all about getting reagents on the parts of the tripod.
The top of the test tube rack is made of plastic or metal with a silicone coating that does not react with reagents and chemicals. With a two-tier design, metal rods made of stainless steel are used to stiffen the structure.
Exposed metal parts of fasteners are made of non-aggressive substances of increased strength, more often choose anti-corrosion medical steel.
Fasteners
The main value of a laboratory tripod in chemical and physical processes is the fixation of all kinds of medical equipment. Therefore, the main goal when choosing a suitable device is to maintain versatility in application. More than 3 types of clamps are often placed on one rack, which change for each experience.
Mount kits can consist of the following items:
- Manipulation table for spirit lamp, flasks and other components of the experience.
- Coupling holders are mounted on a rack for fixing at a certain height.
- Large and small rings with clips are used as a stand for various containers: flasks, test tubes.
- The paws clamping the throat of a dish or the bearing part of another tool.
- Retainers for burettes.
Assembly sequence
In schools, in chemistry classes, they begin to learn what the meaning of a laboratory tripod is. To understand the purpose of using the device, the first thing to do is to assemble it.
It is recommended to follow a certain sequence of actions:
- A heavy base is placed on the table surface.
- The stand is screwed in, the connection is securely fixed with a key.
- First, the turntable mount is strung on the rack.
- The further sequence is chosen by the laboratory assistant independently for a specific operation.
- When tightening fasteners, it is not recommended to apply excessive force. The reliability of the resulting connection should be checked by pressing before placing dishes with chemicals on it. Using standard elements for purposes not intended by the manufacturer entails possible risks of breakage of the tripod. It is also not worth exceeding the established load, the rack will not withstand, and the whole structure will fall on its side.
Pay attention to the mounting surface of the tripod. It must be level with respect to the horizontal. For laboratory experiments, it is forbidden to put anyobjects in order to align the structure. The experiment table should have good rigidity and have a flat top.
Which model to choose?
While looking at existing models, determine the importance of a tripod in chemistry. For a specific task, it is required to select the appropriate characteristics: the number of fasteners, the height and type of the rack, the weight of the base, the type of coating of the elements. If no one conducts additional experiments, then the extra spending on the purchase of an expensive set becomes meaningless.
With a small amount of aggressive liquids, it is allowed to use metal tripods made of galvanized or stainless steel. Polypropylene products are in demand for working with test tubes. The legs of the holders are chosen with a silicone coating so as not to spoil the glass surface of the flasks when clamping.
Product requirements
When inspecting any tripod, pay attention to the following characteristics:
- The strength of the rack and fixing elements should exceed several times the weight of materials and dishes used daily.
- Stand height is selected a little more than desired.
- Rubber seals are needed to fix dishes that do not have special attachment points.
- Each well must be labeled with letters and numbers if a test tube rack is used. The value of this detail is checked in practice, this allows you to quickly find the right container and not confuse it with other reagents.
- Availabilityall kinds of rings, ties, mounts for a specific type of experience.
- Resistance to tripod temperature is taken into account.
- The principle of disassembly and assembly, as well as convenience in storing structural elements.
Universal rack models are preferred in any laboratory. In schools, this is especially true due to the presence of a huge list of various experiments in the lessons of chemistry, biology, and physics. And a large number of students do not allow choosing tripod models of weak strength. Also important is the ease of assembly, without the use of additional keys.
Stand Precautions
For the correct operation of medical equipment, it is recommended that you read the attached instructions. All fastening parts of the structure may be unscrewed only after the reagents have been removed from the working area. Fluid drains as much as possible. If it's hot, give it time to cool down.
Flasks are recommended to be removed from the legs in the closed state. With several clamping elements, the upper tab is first unscrewed, then the remaining containers are sequentially removed. No need to try to loosen the fasteners of the clamps immediately on the rack. First of all, the legs are released, directly holding the throat of the flask itself.
