Frequently asked questions

Renggli manufactures made to measure laboratory and medical furniture: benches and cabinets in the RL1 to RL7 systems, LabAirTec fume cupboards, worktops, weighing tables, sinks, taps and valves, safety cabinets and seating.

• RL1 to RL7 furniture systems and RL Individual
• worktops in seven materials, from laminate to monolithic ceramic
• ducted and ductless fume cupboards, 30 and 90 minute safety cabinets
• medical furniture in AISI 304 and AISI 316L steel

Both at once: every piece is built to fit the room, but always within the modular RL system, so the parts stay interchangeable.

RL1 uses fixed cabinets on a plinth, RL6 mobile cabinets for a quick change of layout, and RL7 a ceiling grid with fully movable furniture. RL Individual is drawn up from scratch for the client. Everything is made in our own factory in Bialystok, to ISO 9001:2015.

The lead time depends on the scope and we state it in the quote together with the installation stages, though standard items have typical ranges.

A made to measure microscope table usually takes 4 to 6 weeks, medical tables from an individual design 2 to 6 weeks, and stainless steel medical furniture 4 to 8 weeks. A design and quote for a medical table takes 3 to 5 working days.

Laboratory furniture lasts 15 to 20 years on average, and the worktop is what really decides how long it lasts.

A monolithic ceramic worktop keeps its full chemical and mechanical resistance for over 25 years; HPL laminate wears out sooner. The steel frames in our systems use profiles of at least 60 by 30 mm, powder coated with epoxy resin, rated up to 300 kg per linear metre.

Yes, medical furniture is a separate production line: AISI 304 and AISI 316L stainless steel, or powder coated sheet 0.8 to 1.5 mm thick.

The powder coating with silver ions is 60 to 80 microns thick. The range carries a CE declaration of conformity, an entry in the URPL medical device register and a current PZH hygiene certificate, and it is manufactured to ISO 13485 and EN 14727.

For concentrated acids and solvents the safest choice is monolithic ceramic or epoxy resin.

Our ceramic tops are 20 mm thick, withstand 98% sulphuric and 65% nitric acid, and survive brief exposure to 1200 degrees. Epoxy resin is monolithic, absorbs less than 0.05% water and holds a constant thermal load of about 180 degrees. We offer seven worktop materials.

Monolithic ceramic wins on resistance, HPL laminate on price and weight.

Ceramic is almost chemically inert, takes about 1000 degrees and keeps its full resistance for more than 25 years. HPL has a phenolic core pressed at 70 to 90 bar and is some 60% lighter than ceramic, but degrades above roughly 180 degrees. Both are tested to SEFA 3.

Stainless steel is the choice where hygiene and frequent cleaning matter most: wet, medical and microbiological laboratories.

Worktops are made from AISI 304 and AISI 316L, 1.2 to 1.5 mm thick, with a surface roughness below Ra 0.8 micrometres. The molybdenum in AISI 316L raises resistance to pitting corrosion. Steel is not suitable for concentrated inorganic acids, and chlorine based cleaners must not be used.

Hydrofluoric acid calls for polypropylene or other fluoropolymers, never ceramic and never glass.

HF attacks the silica in ceramic, glaze and glass and destroys those surfaces for good. Our polypropylene worktop resists acids and alkalis including HF, and a sink can be injection moulded into it without a joint. Fume cupboard liners for HF work are made of polypropylene.

Wipe the worktop after every batch of work with a soft cloth and a mild, pH neutral detergent, and inspect the surface once a year.

Never wipe spilled concentrated acid dry: neutralise it first, then rinse with demineralised water. Keep chlorine away from stainless steel and abrasives away from epoxy resin, and clean the granite slab of a weighing table only with pH neutral products made for natural stone.

A sink is chosen for the reagents and the way it will be cleaned, not to match the worktop.

Polypropylene resists acids and alkalis including HF; monolithic ceramic is heat and acid resistant except to HF but sensitive to thermal shock; epoxy resin gives a seamless body resistant to concentrated acids and solvents; stainless steel is the easiest to maintain but weaker against concentrated inorganic acids. For cylinders and flasks plan a bowl at least 300 mm deep.

A fume cupboard is a ventilated enclosure that protects the operator from the vapours, gases and dusts released while working with reagents.

It works by keeping the chamber under negative pressure: air enters through the sash and leaves through slots, so contaminants never reach the room. A ducted unit discharges outside the building; a ductless one cleans the air with carbon and HEPA filters.

In Europe fume cupboards are covered by PN-EN 14175, and our units comply with it.

It sets out the construction, the stability of the airflow, the containment of the chamber and the test methods. Before handover each unit passes an SF6 tracer gas containment test and carries a PZH certificate and CE marking. In explosive atmospheres the ATEX directive and an Ex rated build apply.

A safe face velocity at the sash opening is 0.3 to 0.5 m/s and must never drop below 0.1 m/s.

The extract volume follows from the open sash area: a 1.2 m by 0.5 m opening, that is 0.6 square metres, at 0.5 m/s gives 1080 cubic metres per hour. A connection to central ventilation is designed for 400 to 1200 cubic metres per hour and 8 to 12 air changes per hour.

A fume cupboard protects the person, a laminar flow cabinet protects the sample, so the two are not interchangeable.

A fume cupboard draws chemical vapours away from the operator and either discharges or filters them. A laminar flow cabinet blows HEPA filtered air over the work area so the biological material stays clean. A biological safety cabinet protects product, operator and environment at once and is covered by PN-EN 12469.

CAV keeps the extract volume constant, VAV changes it with the sash position.

VAV holds the face velocity steady and, with the sash lowered, cuts the air demand markedly, which also cuts the cost of heating the make up air. Our LabAirTec cupboards run on VAV, with aerodynamic inlet edges and slotted rear walls that separate the extraction of heavy and light vapours.

Flammable liquids must be stored in a safety cabinet certified to EN 14470-1, rated at either 30 or 90 minutes of fire resistance.

Such a cabinet has double walls, a spill sump in the base and self closing doors. We offer both lines, 30 and 90 minutes, in the Q, S, CS-Classic, K and SL-Classic series. Gas cylinders need a separate cabinet to EN 14470-2.

A ventilated cabinet is needed when reagent vapours could push the room concentration above the occupational exposure limit.

Unlike a fume cupboard it forces the airflow whether the doors are open or closed. Salts and weak solutions need about 10 air changes per hour, volatile and aggressive compounds 50 to 100. The cabinet connects to the extract system through a 75 or 100 mm spigot.

A weighing table is built as a table within a table: the outer top is physically separated from the inner pedestal that carries the balance.

Thanks to that gap, usually about 10 mm, the shock of leaning on the bench never reaches the balance. The weighing slab is made from a dense material, most often granite with a low resonant frequency, and the whole table weighs 80 to 150 kg. Technical balances reading to 0.1 g or 0.01 g do not need one.

The best place is a corner of the room against a load bearing wall, ideally on the ground floor or the lowest foundation slab.

Levelling is done on independent threaded feet with rubber pads, so that no stress is built into the frame. The weighing room is kept at 45 to 60% relative humidity. A dense granite slab gives repeatable readings down to 0.1 mg.

A laboratory chair is chosen for the height of the bench and for the disinfectants it will be cleaned with.

Low models adjust from 450 to 580 mm, high ones from 550 to 800 mm, and stools from 420 to 550 mm or 560 to 690 mm. The most durable upholstery is integral polyurethane moulded with the seat core: seamless and resistant to disinfection. In ESD areas the seat must conduct the charge away, and swapping the castors for ordinary ones cancels the protection of the whole chair.

For seated work a worktop sits 75 to 85 cm above the floor, for standing work 90 to 100 cm.

The comfortable reach is 50 to 60 cm, so everything in constant use should sit inside it. Work above shoulder height, roughly 87 to 94 cm above the top, should be avoided. General lighting to PN-EN 12464-1 is about 500 lux, rising to 750 to 1000 lux for precision work.

Yes, the layout and the visualisation are ready before the quote, so it is clear what you are paying for.

It starts with an analysis of needs and a technical specification, then a technical dialogue, a 3D or CAD visualisation and the working documentation. Only then do we choose worktop materials, the cabinet system and the service outlets. For larger projects the User Requirement Specification is the governing document.

A floor plan or the room dimensions, a list of workstations and details of the services are all we need to prepare a quote.

• a floor plan or the room dimensions
• a list of workstations and of the procedures run on them
• services: water, drainage, gas, power, ventilation
• a list of the instruments that will stand on the worktops

The instruments matter because a standard bench takes about 200 kg per linear metre, and heavier equipment needs a reinforced frame.

With the instruments and the processes, because the furniture is built around the technology, not the other way round.

The dimensions, weight and service requirements of the equipment decide the spacing of workstations, the load rating of the frames and where the fume cupboard goes. A ULT freezer needs a floor rated at 400 to 600 kg per square metre and a dedicated circuit; an analytical balance needs its own weighing table. Clashes are caught in a 3D or BIM model before installation starts.

A worktop normally needs water, chemical drainage, gas, compressed air, vacuum and power, with category 6a or 7 structured cabling at instrument stations.

Sockets at the workstations should be rated IP44 or better. Chemical drainage runs in PP-H or PVDF pipe at a fall of 1.5 to 2%, and effluent discharged to the municipal network must have a pH of 6.5 to 9.5 and a temperature below 35 degrees.

Yes, our own authorised crew fits the furniture, and we issue a handover protocol when the work is finished.

The room is handed over ready to work in: furniture levelled, services connected, fume cupboards commissioned. The scope and date of the installation are given in the quote together with the stages, and for medical tables the connections and cable routes for the actuators are already set out in the 3D design. Installing modular furniture is 50 to 70% faster than fixed joinery.

The standard warranty on laboratory furniture is 60 months, and post warranty service runs with a response time of up to 48 hours.

Medical tables and microscope tables come with at least 24 months, which can be extended, covering the frame, the vibration damping and the height adjustment. The exact scope and length for a given order are stated in the quote, separately for furniture and for equipment.

Yes, we carry out inspections, repairs and part replacements, including after the warranty period.

Fume cupboards are handled by an authorised technical service that runs regular inspections of the extract systems, measures the airflow and checks the alarms. For laboratory furniture the post warranty response time is up to 48 hours, and medical devices are handled door to door, with access to spare parts. Report a fault by phone or email.

A fume cupboard needs a technical inspection at least once every 12 months, in line with PN-EN 14175.

A full inspection covers installation and operational qualification (IQ and OQ), a smoke test, an anemometer measurement of the airflow, an alarm check and sensor calibration. The mechanical parts are checked too: worn sash cables or bearings show up in an inspection long before they fail.

Taps and valves are cleaned daily, the valve action is checked every quarter and a technical inspection is carried out once a year.

Leak tests on gas and vacuum lines should be done by a licensed technician at least annually. Valves are greased with a lubricant matched to the medium: oxygen fittings take only oxygen compatible grease, because hydrocarbon or silicone grease risks auto ignition.

Renggli is a Swiss family company founded in 1927, a manufacturer of laboratory furniture; the Polish branch, Renggli Sp. z o.o., has been operating since 2013 and manufactures in Bialystok.

Advisers, designers, process engineers and the factory all work under one roof, so design, production and installation run from a single address. More than 500 laboratories worldwide have trusted our solutions, among them the Celon Pharma laboratory in Warsaw and 2240 square metres for the district sanitary station in Radom.