Running a well-equipped lab means having the right tools on hand before you need them. The items below are consistently ordered by labs using Ixion — practical, high-quality, and available on Amazon with fast shipping.
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Soldering and Electronics
Weller WE1010NA Digital Soldering Station — A staple in electronics labs, maker spaces, and instrument repair benches. The digital display gives precise temperature control, the sleep mode extends tip life, and it heats up quickly. At around $120, it's a significant step up from basic irons without the price tag of professional-grade stations.
Good for: PCB rework, sensor repair, building custom cables, instrument modifications.
Hand Tools
Amazon Basics Hex Key Set — Metric and SAE hex keys in a compact fold-out case. These get used constantly for equipment assembly and maintenance — adjusting optical mounts, assembling racking systems, tightening set screws. The Amazon Basics version holds up well for lab use, and at around $13 for the set, you can keep one in the lab and one in the field kit.
Good for: equipment assembly, optical bench work, racking systems, any lab with metric fasteners.
Consumables and Lab Supplies
Professional Scissors Set (25-Pack) — Bulk scissors for labs where consumables walk away, get used in the fume hood, or need to be dedicated to a specific task (sterile work, cutting film, etc.). At around $35 for 25 pairs, these cover the whole lab without worrying about cross-contamination or missing scissors.
Good for: high-throughput labs, labs with multiple benches, any setting where scissors need to be dedicated or disposable.
A Note on Lab Purchasing
The best-equipped labs aren't the ones with the most expensive tools — they're the ones that have reliable access to what they need, when they need it. That means building a purchasing system that makes it easy to request supplies, track what's on order, and confirm what's been received.
Ixion is built specifically for this. University labs use it to manage purchasing requests, route approvals, receive shipments, and reconcile invoices against their grant accounts — all in one place, with a complete audit trail for compliance.
If your lab is still managing purchasing through email chains, shared spreadsheets, or institutional systems that weren't designed for research workflows, it's worth taking a look.