Before attending a chemistry lesson, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with questions about what a tripod is and what it is for. A holder is used to support flasks, instruments and other devices. The material for it is selected from heavy metals so that the rack does not fall after fixing the vessel with liquid on it.
What is a stand for?
When considering what a tripod is, the main purpose of its use is given - it is a static and reliable retention of objects. The area of use of the rack is extensive. In addition to the laboratory, it can be used for production purposes.
The value of a tripod has found application in the production of photography. A tripod or single-barrel stand is used to place a lens or flash on it. There are models with several mounts, sometimes unique. Thanks to such a device, a picture is obtained from a certain angle and without blurring.
In chemistry and medicine, a tripod helps to suspend a flask to heat it. Often tubes are placed in the clamps, which cannot be upright. Many detachable connections allow you to accurately set the desired position in space.
Device features
Let us define what a tripod is:
- A device from laboratory auxiliary equipment used to hold vessels and utensils.
- The word "tripod" is used to denote a bearing support on which something is fixed with clamps or ties.
- The tripod is characterized by the presence of fasteners, adjustable clamping legs vertically and horizontally.
- It happens horizontal and vertical execution. The first type is mainly used to place tubes in it. This device facilitates the work with laboratory equipment.
The vertical version has a heavy metal plate at the base, into which a metal stand is mounted. Clamps with paws are already attached to it.
What does the device consist 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. By choosing the wrong load, you can drop the product and get burned by a chemical.
For fastening flasks, test tubes and other laboratory equipment, a horizontal version of the tripod with two bases, racks and a rocker bar in the form of the letter P can be used. It turns out to place a large number of devices that are required daily.
To work with a large number of test tubes, single-tier or two-tier racks with a heavy base are chosen to reduce the risk of the unit tipping over. All cells have unique numbers to facilitate marking and avoid confusion during intensive tank changes.
Element Materials
The elements of the device are painted with a moisture-resistant powder coating capable of withstanding a short-term attack of a chemical in the event of an accidental failure. Often metal parts are covered with plastic on top. This solution allows you not to worry about getting reagents on the tripod parts.
The top of the 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 give structural rigidity.
The exposed metal parts of the fasteners are made of non-aggressive substances of increased strength, more often they choose anti-corrosion medical steel.
Fasteners
The main importance 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 use. More than 3 types of clamps are often placed on one rack, which vary for each experience.
Fastener sets can consist of the following elements:
- Manipulation table under the spirit lamp, flasks and other components of the experience.
- Clutch holders are mounted on a rack for fixing at a certain height.
- Large and small rings with clamps are used as a stand for various containers: flasks, test tubes.
- Paws clamping the throat of the dishes or the supporting part of another tool.
- Clamps for burettes.
Assembly sequence
In schools, in chemistry classes, they begin to learn what the significance of a laboratory tripod is. To understand the goals of using the device, the first thing they do is start assembling it.
It is recommended to follow a certain sequence of actions:
- A heavy base is installed on the surface of the table.
- The stand is screwed in, the connection is securely fixed with a key.
- The first on the rack is strung the mount of the turntable .
- The further sequence is chosen by the laboratory assistant independently for a specific operation.
- Do not use excessive force when tightening the fasteners. The reliability of the obtained compound 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 tripod breakage. It is also not worth exceeding the established load, the rack will not stand, and the whole structure will fall on its side.
Pay attention to the mounting surface of the tripod. It should be flat relative to the horizontal. It is forbidden for laboratory experiments to lay any objects under the legs of the base in order to align the structure. The table for the experiments should have good rigidity and have a flat top.
Which model to choose?
When viewing existing models, they are determined with what the significance of the tripod is in chemistry. For a specific task, it is necessary to choose the appropriate characteristics: the number of fasteners, the height and type of rack, the weight of the base, the type of coating of the elements. If no one conducts additional experiments, then the extra expenses for the purchase of an expensive kit become meaningless.
With a small amount of aggressive liquids, metal tripods made of galvanized or stainless steel are allowed. For work with test tubes polypropylene products are in demand. The tabs of the holders are selected with a silicone coating, so as not to spoil the glass surface of the flasks when clamping.
Product Requirements
When examining any tripod, you should pay attention to the following characteristics:
- The strength of the rack and fixing elements must exceed several times the daily used weight of materials and utensils.
- The height of the rack is selected a little more than desired.
- Rubber seals are needed to fix dishes that do not have special mounting points.
- Each cell must be labeled with letters and numbers if a test tube rack is used. The value of this part is tested in practice, this allows you to quickly find the right capacity and not mix it up with other reagents.
- The presence of all kinds of rings, couplers, fixtures for a specific type of experience.
- Resistance to tripod temperature is taken into account.
- The principle of disassembly and assembly, as well as ease of storage of structural elements.
Universal tripod models are preferred in any laboratory. In schools, this is especially true because of the huge list of different experiments in chemistry, biology, and physics. A large number of students does not allow us to choose models of tripods of weak strength. Simplicity of assembly is also important, without the use of additional keys.
Stand Precautions
For proper operation of medical equipment, it is recommended that you read the attached instructions. All fastening parts of the structure are allowed to be unscrewed only after the reagents are removed from the work area. The fluid is drained whenever possible. If it is hot, then give it time to cool.
It is recommended to remove the flasks from the paws in the closed state. With several clamping elements, the upper foot is first unscrewed, then the remaining containers are subsequently removed. No need to try to loosen the fasteners of the clips immediately on the rack. The first step is to release the paws directly holding the throat of the flask itself.