The Z446-750 is the standard swing-out rotor for the Hermle Z446 family (Z446 non-refrigerated and Z446-K refrigerated), shipped with round buckets included. 4 × 750 mL bottle capacity at swing-out geometry — when the rotor reaches operating speed, the buckets swing out to horizontal, producing the clean phase boundary required for serum/plasma separation, density-gradient work, and any workflow where vertical orientation of the bottle would compromise separation. The Z446's "highest capacity of any benchtop Hermle-Benchmark model" claim is delivered by this rotor: with the appropriate adapter inserts, the 4 × 750 mL swing-out accommodates up to 28 × 50 mL or 68 × 15 mL tubes per cycle.
Key Specifications
| SKU | Z446-750 |
| Type | Swing-out rotor with round buckets included |
| Bucket count included | 4 (round buckets) |
| Bucket capacity | 750 mL each |
| Compatible chassis | Z446 (120 V), Z446-K (120 V refrigerated, 15 A) |
| Swing range | 0–90° (horizontal at full speed) |
| Max. operating speed (with buckets) | 4,000 / 4,500 rpm |
| Max. RCF | 3,434 / 4,346 × g (per bucket configuration; consult brochure for exact rpm/RCF mapping at your insert configuration) |
| Max. radius | 19.2 cm |
| Acceleration / deceleration | 47 sec / 49 sec at standard rate; 483 sec / 1,287 sec at extended/unbraked rate |
| Adapter inserts (sold separately) | Cover formats from 1.5/2.0 mL micro tubes up through 50 mL conical, 250 mL bottles, blood bags, microplates |
Compatibility & Configuration
Chassis compatibility — Z446 family only. The Z446-750 fits the Z446 / Z446-K. Not interchangeable with Z366, Z327, Z032-HK, Z496-K, or smaller universal centrifuge chassis.
Round buckets vs rectangular buckets. The Z446 family supports two bucket profiles:
- Z446-750 (round) — the standard configuration; round bucket profile accepts tube/bottle adapters in radial layout. This is the right pick for tube-format and bottle-format workflows.
- Z446-MP-BUK (rectangular) — separate accessory for microplate-direct loading; rectangular bucket profile aligns with microplate geometry. The right pick when microplate-format work is the dominant workflow.
Many facilities own both bucket types and swap between them as workflow requires.
RFID-tagged. The Z446-750 carries an RFID tag that the Z446 chassis reads at insertion — the drive automatically applies the rotor's rated 4,000–4,500 rpm cap and adjusts the per-rotor imbalance threshold. Operator cannot accidentally over-spin the swing-out rotor.
Adapter library. A deep adapter library extends the 750 mL buckets across multiple tube formats:
- 28 × 50 mL conical (per cycle, distributed across 4 buckets)
- 68 × 15 mL conical
- Bottle adapters for 250 mL and 500 mL formats
- Microtube adapters for 1.5 / 2.0 mL workflow when 750 mL bucket geometry is being used as a high-throughput microcentrifuge alternative
Adapters are sold separately; confirm adapter inventory needs at quote.
Application Profile
Bottle-format swing-out separation at 4,000–4,500 rpm — the rotor's primary use case. Serum/plasma separation from primary blood-collection bottles, cell-pellet recovery from spinner-flask cultures harvested into 250–500 mL bottles, density-gradient preservation work where horizontal orientation matters.
High-throughput tube workflows via adapters — 28 × 50 mL or 68 × 15 mL per cycle exceeds the throughput of dedicated tube-rotor configurations; appropriate when the workflow needs both bottle and tube format on the same instrument.
Density-gradient work. The unbraked deceleration option (extended deceleration profile of 1,287 sec per brochure) preserves continuous density gradients during deceleration — critical for sucrose-gradient virus prep, Percoll-gradient cell separation, and similar gradient-preservation workflows.
Cold-chain work on Z446-K. When mounted in the refrigerated Z446-K chassis, the same rotor + bucket configuration handles 4 °C separations for cold-sensitive proteins, kinetic enzyme work, and virus concentration cold-chain.
Ordering & Configuration
Z446-750 ships as the swing-out rotor body PLUS the 4 round buckets included as the standard configuration. Adapter inserts and reduced-volume spacer sets are sold separately per workflow tube format.
Sister SKU: Z446-750-AC — same swing-out rotor body without buckets, for facilities that already own compatible buckets or are configuring custom bucket sets.
Bucket-only accessory: Z446-750-BUK — round bucket sold individually for replacement or supplementation of the standard 4-bucket set.
Lid accessory: Z446-750-LID — bucket lid for sealed-spin configurations (separate accessory line).
Use the quote request to specify: chassis pairing (Z446 / Z446-K), adapter sets needed for the initial inventory (per workflow tube format), and whether bucket lids (Z446-750-LID) are required for sealed-spin biosafety work.
Warranty: 5-Year Hermle warranty (3 years full + 2 years drivetrain). Includes balance validation through the Hermle service network — recommended at install plus annually for high-utilization environments.
Z446-750 vs Z446-04500 selection: the Z446-750 (this product) is the swing-out rotor — horizontal bucket orientation at full speed, ideal for phase-boundary work and density-gradient preservation. The Z446-04500 is a fixed-angle rotor for 4 × 500 mL — the right pick for high-RCF pelleting work where angle geometry produces more efficient pelleting than swing-out. Many Z446 facilities own both and swap based on workflow.
