Diverse Laboratory Cabinets & Casework Designs to Meet Your Needs

As any good manager knows, labs are not so different from complex machines. Many moving parts need to fit together before they can run at their full potential. They teem with the hustle and bustle of constant activity as experiments are performed, samples are taken, tools are transported, waste is removed and an endless list of tests are performed.

We need many things to keep these complex machines well-oiled and running. Quality-designed cabinets may be simple and humble contributors to this effort. But their crucial place can sometimes be overlooked precisely because they are such simple things. This, however, only makes them all the more important.

When your lab is well-stocked with important but dangerous chemicals, where will you store them when they are not in use? How will you make sure that they don’t accidentally get released and cause serious damage? How will you protect your lab personnel from the dangers these chemicals might pose? Where and how will you store your tools? Industrial-quality laboratory cabinets & casework can be the answer to all of these questions and more.

With more than 40 years of experience, RDM Industrial Products has been designing all kinds of laboratory furniture up to the very highest standards of quality. Here’s a look at some of the different types of laboratory cabinets & casework that we have on offer and what they can do for your lab.

What Can Lab Casework Do For You?

Before we get into the weeds and share with you some of the various types of lab cabinets that we can make for you, let’s answer some practical, down-to-earth questions first. Why does your lab need good casework? What can cabinets do for you?

• Storage: This may seem like an obvious thing, but it bears belaboring. At the bottom, a cabinet is just an enclosed compartment where you can store things. Your lab workers’ stock of chemicals alone will be a major thing requiring secure storage. but other things will require storage capacity as well, like extra gloves or goggles. Whenever anyone at a workstation needs something close at hand, a cabinet is an excellent place to leave that thing waiting.
• Versatility: We know that in the lab, as in life, nothing is ever truly one-size-fits-all. That’s why we manufacture cabinets that both large and small. We can make them out of a variety of different materials, fashion them into different shapes, and either attach them to workbenches or have them be standalone units put up on the wall. One of our goals is to offer you the versatility you need to meet your challenges.
• Safety: “Safety First!” is a common mantra in a wide variety of dangerous settings. It’s a mantra one should never lose sight of the fact that the lab can be a dangerous place. With its profusion of caustic and potentially hazardous substances, a lab can be something of a powder keg. With properly designed cabinets, however, you can greatly mitigate these hazards and keep everyone safe.
• Durability and Longevity: Everyone wants equipment that will last, something that can handle the stresses and rigors of everyday use. That’s why we build our cabinets to last for years and years.
• Cost Savings: Good casework can also save lab managers money in a variety of ways. Since our units are built to last a long time and can reliably absurd damage, you will save money on replacement costs.

What Kinds of Features Do Our Cabinets Have?

Now that you have some idea of how and why casework is so important to make your lab run smoothly, you should know a bit about how RDM’s factory-direct cabinets can provide you with the benefits we’ve discussed. What features do our cabinets have? What styles can we make them in? Here’s some idea of how we can make the magic happen:

• Tough, Reliable Materials: We make cabinets out of two main materials: stainless steel and wood. When storing more heavy-duty materials, metal laboratory cabinets can be just what the doctor ordered. For simpler or less high-priority items, wooden cabinets can still be a convenient storage tool. Our metal laboratory cabinets can be further customized with all sorts of other features, both aesthetic and practical. Some of these include a wide selection of colors, adjustable shelves, removable backs, static resistance, plastic lamination, sound headed doors and drawer heads, and more. For more details,  click here.
• Chemical Resistance: We the ever-present danger of caustic chemicals in the lab, it’s clear that you’re going to want to store dangerous acids and other volatile or reactive substances in places that designed to subdue or resist reactivity. Luckily, RDM can make chemical resistant cabinets that are up to the challenge. If even the roughest acids spill on them, they’ll stay in one piece. You can get a more detailed look at how we can design and equip chemical-resistant cabinets here.
• Fire Resistance: Sometimes, sparks fly in the lab. Often, significant amounts of heat are necessary to kick-start reactions. Other times, you’ll have to make use of some highly flammable chemicals in the course of your work. We can make flame-resistant cabinets to prepare you for any eventuality. You can learn more about our flame-resistant cabinets and how we can customize them for you here.

If you decide that you need laboratory cabinets & casework with any combination of these features, we can custom design them for you. None of these important features need necessarily exclude the others. Tell us about your requirements, and we’ll fashion the casework to meet them.

Laboratory Exhaust Fume Hoods

Though technically more than a mere lab storage device, laboratory exhaust fume hoods are nevertheless extremely important tools that can serve certain related critical functions. Fume hoods are meant to keep dangerous gases from spilling out into the general lab environment. They provide sealed off workbench enclosures where researchers can set off chemical reactions that release toxic fumes. Simply place the fume hood around your workbench to hermetically seal off the environment, and you’re good to go.

There are two basic types of laboratory exhaust fume hoods. The distinction between them is based on how they treat and remove noxious fumes. First, ductless fume hoods capture dangerous gases and immediately funnel them to the outside environment, well away from the lab. Ducted fume hoods, on the other hand, will capture the dangerous gas and run it through a filtration system until it is no longer dangerous. What remains can then safely be released back into the lab.

Like cabinets, therefore, fume hoods are critical for keeping dangerous substances away from lab personnel. Which type of fume hood to get for your lab is a personal decision that will vary according to circumstance. Rest assured, RDM is ready to supply you with either type. RDM laboratory fume hoods are a must have addition to round out your laboratory cabinets & casework solution.

Conclusion

Without good cabinets dotting the landscape of your lab — whether near the floor on your workbenches or hanging from the walls — things are bound to become a mess in many more ways than one. Since you can use them to store virtually anything, they are crucial to giving your lab a sense of orderliness, safety, and direction.

All of RDM’s industrial-grade laboratory cabinets & casework, as well as all of our other lab furniture, are proudly manufactured in the USA. Have a look at the full range of our laboratory cabinets & casework today and let us take your lab up a notch.