The Construction of a Reciprocating Shaker Reciprocating shakers have a broad variety of applications t o both teaching and research. Many chemical and biological studies require uniform agitation as part of the experimental procedure. A shaker, constructed according to the diagram, is being used in our laboratory for batchwise ion-exchange equilibrium, metal extraction from sediments, and algal growth experiments. Commercial shakers having the capacity for a large number of containers are expensive. The cost of a typical variable speed shaker holding ninety-six 125-ml Erlenmeyer flasks exceeds $1,800. The total cost of our single speed shaker was approximately $150 with the gear motor being the major portion of this. Therefore, savings alone warrants the construction of a shaker in the following manner. The materials needed for canstruction are a pair of 20-in. drawer rollers and rails, a 20-in. steel bar, a gear motor, a flywheel and a flywheel connecting nut to fit the motor shaft. The gear motor used on our shaker is a Dayton Model 6K375 which has 700 in.-lb of torque and a speed of 40 rpm. The frame and shaker tahle were constructed of wood. Foam padding is placed on the hottom of the shaker table to prevent the bottles from sliding. Hanger bolts and wingnuts are used to attach the battle holder to the shaker tahle. This type of bolt allows for an easy replacement of bottle holders which are designed for different numbers and sizesof containers. This shaker rould be modified for variable speeds by utilizatiun of a pulley system, a gear box or a t,ariable speed moror. Assembly time is approximately eight hours and no specialized t d s arp needed. P r i t z k e r Department of Environmental Engineering Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago. Illinois 60616
Thomas D. Brishin H e r b e r t E. Allen
Volume 54, Number 6,June 1977 1 395
