Even when running a centrifuge of a very modest size, there are a few key considerations to keep in mind. If you follow them, you can prevent damage to the centrifuge as well as significant injury to yourself and possibly other people.
1. The working surface needs to be both hard and level. Do not use the centrifuge on a work surface that is uneven or tilted in any way.
2. Make sure the tubes in the rotor are in balance! If you wish to run a tube that has 10 milliliters of liquid in it, place another tube that has 10 milliliters of water in it in the hole on the rotor that is opposite from it. If the liquid in question has a density that is either higher or lower than that of water, you will need to balance the tubes based on mass, not volume. When the rotor speeds are extremely high, it is essential that the whole mass of each tube be as near together as is practically possible. It is possible to cause irreparable harm to a centrifuge by operating it while carrying an uneven load. It's also possible that you or someone else could get hurt from it.
It is recommended that the masses be balanced to within 0.1 gram of each other. (The masses of ultracentrifuges should be carefully and accurately balanced to the highest degree of precision that is feasible.)
3. Ensure that the cover is not opened while the rotor is in motion. Even though many centrifuges include a "safety cutoff" feature that activates if the lid is opened, all that this really does is stop the flow of electricity to the rotor. The rotor will continue to rotate for a period of time due to its own inertia until the friction slows it down and eventually brings it to a standstill.
4. If it appears to be swaying or trembling, remove the plug immediately. A certain level of vibration is considered to be normal, but excessive quantities might be hazardous. FIRST, make sure that the tubes are correctly balanced by doing a second check. If the answer is affirmative, and the item continues to wobble, you should get in touch with the manufacturer or the dealer so that it may be serviced. If you purchased the centrifuge from us, please use the following information to get in touch with us if you ever need to have the device repaired or replaced. When the rotor of the centrifuge is spinning, if there is visible wobbling, DO NOT continue to run the centrifuge.
5. If you have to do any work in close proximity to a centrifuge while it is operating, you should protect your face by using a face shield and/or a pair of safety goggles. Accidents can occur in the strangest or most unanticipated of situations at times. The rotor is spinning at a very high speed, which results in the production of tremendous forces.
Even though a physicist could tell you that the force exerted by centrifugal motion is a "illusory force," the fact that this is the case does not affect the sample in the slightest while it rotates inside the rotor. It may as well be experiencing a genuine force because the particles appear to be "pulled" in the direction of the tube's bottom or the outside of the tube. These "illusory" forces have been known to rip gigantic flywheels apart in factories, for example, resulting in terrible outcomes (for an example, read any of the compilations of machinists' stories published by Lindsay Publications). What a bust for my illusions!
Although centrifuge rotors are built to survive the intense "centrifugal forces" that they are subjected to (i.e., they are intended to provide sufficient centripetal force to hold the rotor together as it spins), it is still a good idea to be prepared in the event that something goes wrong. Although it could be quite entertaining to watch the tubes rotate in the centrifuge, you shouldn't make it a habit of doing so. Simply turning on the machine and maintaining a safe distance until far after the timer has stopped the motor should be considered standard operating procedure for any and all centrifuges.
6. While the rotor is turning, you should not shake, jostle, or manipulate the centrifuge in any way. Give everyone else in the vicinity the instruction to keep their distance from the unit while it is operating. Make sure that the cord is not hanging down from the side of the table, since this could allow someone to trip over it and cause the centrifuge to stop working. Any centrifuge tubes that have cracks in them should be thrown away.
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