1/2 Ton 100,000 RPM Centrifuge - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: dexters_lab
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 10:21:47 am
content: was at my recyclers yesterday picking up my next toy... while i was there i had a look at this beast of a centrifuge i saw they had listed a few days ago...would love to see inside it, but it was up for £500 and it weighs just under 500kg so no chance, i dont have a forklift!has some impressive specs, 100,000RPM, 800,000 G, vacuum system to 0.7Pa, thermoelectric refrigeration

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 10:47:41 am
content: Come on Mark, you know you want that chiller and vacuum pump.At least you will be able to start doing glass bending for yourself.

author: dexters_lab
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 12:10:37 pm
content: i am not buying it, stop trying to make me!If it was a fifth of the price and weight i probably would though

author: Richard Head
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 12:27:31 pm
content: That's the most expensive top-loader I've seen.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 03:57:02 pm
content: Guaranteed to get your clothing as dry as you can in a spin cycle, though you might find the creasing hard to remove.Mark, you can simply put in a 100 pound low bid, and see if they bite........ You probably will be able to make at least that back in scrap stainless steel and aluminium when you strip it.

author: dexters_lab
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 04:25:11 pm
content: Quote from: SeanB on December 22, 2015, 03:57:02 pmi think it's been through their listing process now so is not listed on ebay as far as i know pending scrapping, i could call and offer them something like i did with the polygraphs but i dont have any means to transport it or deal with it at home or my storage lockup, its a nice bit of kit but not for me at the moment!would make an awesome spin dryer, though i wouldn't like to set it off balance!

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 05:08:30 pm
content: Perhaps Mike wants it? You could really do some carnage with an unbalanced load in that. Can you not drop it on a car transporter trailer to get it there, like you did with the Xray stuff?Stirring I am............

author: dexters_lab
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 07:20:41 pm
content: yea but with regard to the x-ray...lead is worth way more than steel or aluminiumi read in the user guide the chamber is made from high grade steel, so you might be buying a very awkward lump of iron thats worth FA

author: zapta
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 22, 2015, 08:55:12 pm
content: Have you checked it for the Stuxnet virus?

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2015, 08:38:30 am
content: Stuxnet infection of a centrifuge is easy to detect, mostly because there are a lot of pieces of what was a centrifuge embedded in the walls, and a big spot on the floor with the remains of some anchor bolts.

author: dexters_lab
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 23, 2015, 09:14:51 am
content: Quote from: SeanB on December 23, 2015, 08:38:30 amlol, yea i heard it was quite effective, would have been quite a sight to see one fail!very different beast to what we have here though, stuxnet targeted the big gas centrifuges used with uranium hexafluoride

author: Synthetase
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2015, 09:22:41 am
content: Cool. Had a few of those next to my old labs. Stories of unbalanced loads in old machines from The Ancient Ones in the labs tell of a noisy disturbance and shiny silvery smear around the bowl made of what used to be a $10k rotor and your samples.

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 23, 2015, 11:03:13 am
content: Quote from: dexters_lab on December 23, 2015, 09:14:51 amThere is a reason that the plant has meter thick internal walls....... But anyway these were running long before Stuxnet even existed, and they did produce a lot of the nuclear medicine in use around the planet.

author: dexters_lab
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 10, 2016, 11:55:03 am
content: *crying* it's down to £100 nowanyone have some garage space and a fork lift near Manchester?http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/371524839854

author: 6581
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 10, 2016, 12:00:32 pm
content: Good news honey, I bought you a juicer. It arrives tomorrow.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 16, 2016, 03:06:45 am
content: I see it went for the £100.Was that you?

author: dexters_lab
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 16, 2016, 08:56:42 am
content: no, sorry!i was really tempted, but i dont have space for something like that, i would probably have to take it apart on the driveway and thats if i could have figured out how to get it out of the van!it was a shame i couldn't take it

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2016, 01:49:34 am
content: Having used these many times (not this exact model, but older ultracentrifuges) they are very unique beasts. Very impressive to think about when they are running (at 60,000 rpm, every seccond the rotor has turned 1000x times). They operate at speeds that are hard to get our head around. Typically whenever we moved ours, we called a specialist out to make sure everything is back in good shape. We were told, if the rotor were to go unbalanced at 60K rpm, it would take over 4 hours for it to stop spinning and it would likely damage hearing of everyone in the room. Not sure if that is an exaggeration but it is crazy to think about.

author: dexters_lab
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 18, 2016, 10:49:43 am
content: Quote from: PedroDaGr8 on January 18, 2016, 01:49:34 ami saw this from the user guide:Quoteit also said:Quote

author: daqq
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2016, 09:39:59 am
content: QuoteWords to live (or at least not lose limbs) by.

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 24, 2016, 09:59:46 am
content: Sorry I am too late for the suggestion but one cheap-ish thing my mate and I used to move a really heavy lathe was an engine lifter, they are often rated to 1-2 tonne and can move on flat-ish surfaces. Both of us still have our toes!

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2016, 10:13:09 am
content: I'd love to see someone do a photonicinduction on that by dropping a handful of stones into it while running, with a few high-speed cameras....

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 24, 2016, 10:37:03 am
content: ... if he does, you can come over to Australia to watch it.(We should be far enough away to be safe.)

author: dexters_lab
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 24, 2016, 01:28:14 pm
content: Quote from: VK5RC on January 24, 2016, 09:59:46 ami did have an engine crane as a plan, it might have been a bit sketchy though as the unit would probably overhang the legsbiggest issue was the space to take it apart, during the winter our classic car is in my storage lockup taking up the spaceQuote from: mikeselectricstuff on January 24, 2016, 10:13:09 amthey do have smaller benchtop centrifuges from time to time, i might keep an eye out for something suitably sized and if tesla500 gets his camera crowd funded it could be

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 24, 2016, 02:06:29 pm
content: Just had a quick skim through the manual....Chances are it wouldn't come with a rotor, so may be limited fun to be had.Probably has a vacuum pump that may be worth at least as much as the sale price.I suspect it has to run under vacuum to achive the maximum speed - again this would potentially limit fun potentialRough calculation : outer edge of rotor (80mm radius from rotor catalogue, made of titanium BTW) goes at about 1800 miles per hour, over mach 2.

author: orion242
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 02:12:22 am
content: Mach 2.Holy *&# crap. There must be plenty of safeties that would prevent the half dozen ways I could think of to cause a "interesting" result. I guess one could simply "fix" these pesky safeties, but getting to full speed before the crap hits the fan would require some thought.Uneven load must be non-starter with this guy. Maybe a brick suspended from the center with a pyro charge to release once at full speed... Might want to watch from a distance...LOLThanks for the calc, I have a new appreciation for this bit of kit.

author: Synthetase
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2016, 10:47:32 am
content: I've heard a number of interesting stories from lab collegues about large centrifuges with unbalanced loads jumping around the floor. Another ultra centrifuge completely disintegrated the rotor and samples, leaving nothing except a shiny smear on the inside of the bowl.One story from an old bloke who's been around since before there where very stringent safety requirements told us about a 'fuge spinning 1 litre samples that failed, sending the sample tubes through several walls. The bowls that enclose the rotor are now required to be able to withstand far more than a worst-case failed rotor event.Unfortunately my own experiences are rather more dull. About the worst I've done is run bench-top centrifuges 'slightly' unbalanced and cause them to make an irritating noise. Although there was the time the lid came of the rotor, went knocking around the bowl and completely ruined my samples by smashing up the plastic tubes.

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2016, 02:07:16 pm
content: Quote from: Synthetase on January 26, 2016, 10:47:32 amMy boss recently was using a medium speed centrifuge at 14k. The device has carbon fiber rotors and he forgot to put the lid on the rotor. In this idiotic design, the lid is what holds the rotor on the spindle (and nothing else). His samples made it up to 14k just fine, until the coolant compressor kicked in. The rotor hopped right off the spindle and made a horrible noise for the next 5 min. Opening up the device was met by a HORRIBLE smell of burnt carbon fiber and epoxy, plus loads of carbon fiber dust and a horribly bent spindle. All in all, it cost around $6-8k to repair the rotor and centrifuge.

author: Synthetase
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 28, 2016, 03:34:02 pm
content: Man, needing the lid to lock the rotor to the spindle? That's really bad design. I've lost count of the number of times newbie students have left the lids off rotors, providing the whole lab with the ear-splitting whine from all the unused sample holder tubes whipping through the air at 13k RPM. Our lab used to give a "whistling centrifuge award" to the person responsible just for giggles. I'm sure they'd be less than impressed if it also caused destruction of the rotor. What were the designers thinking?

author: PedroDaGr8
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 28, 2016, 07:09:14 pm
content: Quote from: Synthetase on January 28, 2016, 03:34:02 pmYep, an atrocious design. Common on many ThermoFisher floor standing centrifuges with the FiberLite rotors. Another great part of them, they have two tiny alignment pins involved in speeding up and slowing down the rotor. Improperly inserting the rotor or attaching the lid can damage these pins. Which ruins the spindle. The centrifuge performed beautifully but it was one finicky SOB and I did not like it's fragility.

author: dexters_lab
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 28, 2016, 08:56:52 pm
content: fun stories guys!would love to see a catastrophic failure of one of these ultra centrifuges but i would want to be a very good distance away when it happens