Chemistry lab glassware diagrams
Build chemistry set-up diagrams with the mouse: glassware, heating, supports, coloured liquids and labels. Start from a ready-made set-up, then export to LaTeX (TikZ), SVG or PNG for lab sheets and exams.
Click an item in the palette to add it, then drag it: with “snap to grid”, its anchor point (bottom centre) locks onto the grid lines. Zoom: + and − buttons, Ctrl + mouse wheel, or two fingers; once zoomed in, drag the background to move around. Keyboard: arrows to move (Shift: further), + and − to zoom, Delete to remove, Ctrl+Z to undo.
How to use the tool
- Start from a ready-made set-up (pH or colour titration, reflux, distillation, gravity or vacuum filtration, extraction, dilution, ion tests, colour scale, collecting a gas, heating a test tube) or a blank page.
- Add equipment from the palette: 52 items of glassware, heating, supports, weighing and measurement, including a rack of 1 to 10 test tubes, each one adjustable (level, colour, precipitate, stopper, label).
- Adjust each item: position, size, rotation, mirror, liquid level (the surface stays horizontal when you tilt the container), up to three phases, colour from the list or any colour, contents (bubbles, precipitate, crystals, zinc granules, copper turnings, iron nail).
- Add arrow labels, then export. The legend explains the role of each item in the diagram.
Frequently asked questions
Which LaTeX package is needed?
Only tikz (with the arrows.meta library for arrows): the exported code draws each item with plain TikZ paths. It compiles with pdfLaTeX, XeLaTeX or LuaLaTeX, and in Overleaf. “Full document” gives a ready-to-compile file; otherwise paste the code into your document.
What about pst-labo or tikz-chemlab?
These packages draw glassware too, but you write the code by hand. Here you build the diagram with the mouse and the code is generated; it needs no chemistry package.
Are my diagrams saved?
The current diagram stays in your browser. To keep or share it, save it as .json and open it again later.
See also: the LaTeX assistant and TikZ to SVG.
Example: drawing a pH titration
- Start from the ready-made “pH titration” set-up: stand, burette, beaker, magnetic stirrer and pH probe are already placed.
- Set the burette level and the solution colours (for example colourless sodium hydroxide in the burette, acid solution in the beaker).
- Add arrow labels: “burette containing the titrant”, “magnetic stir bar”, “pH probe”.
- Turn on the explanatory legend to list each item's role, then export as LaTeX at scale 0.5 for an exam paper, or as a 300 dpi PNG for a Word document.
Tips for clear diagrams
- Grid and snapping line up the glassware on the bench: use the 10 mm grid to place items, then fine snapping to adjust.
- Few colours: keep colour for information (an indicator's colour change, an organic layer) and the rest neutral, especially if the paper is printed in black and white.
- Labels on the right, aligned, with arrows that don't cross.
- Consistent scale: a 100 mL beaker shouldn't be bigger than a 250 mL conical flask; use the same reference size throughout.
- Tilted containers: the liquid surface stays horizontal automatically, as in real life.
Diagram ideas
- Ion tests: a test-tube rack with 4–6 tubes, each with its colour and precipitate (blue copper hydroxide, rust-brown iron(III) hydroxide, white silver chloride…).
- Colour scale: a row of tubes with decreasing concentration, for colorimetry.
- Organic synthesis: heating under reflux, then extraction in a separating funnel with two layers.
- Gas collection over water, for an acid reacting with a metal (zinc granules).
Reusing your work
Save the diagram as .json to edit it next year. The exported TikZ code only needs tikz and arrows.meta: it compiles anywhere, including Overleaf. For the rest of the paper (tables, formulas), the LaTeX assistant complements the tool.
Guide written and checked by Erwan Hautot · updated 3 November 2026.