“Tools, Equipment, Devices and Home Appliances” Vocabulary: 300+ Items Illustrated

A tool is any physical item that can be used to achieve a goal, especially if the item is not consumed in the process. Tools that are used in particular fields or activities may have different designations such as "instrument", "utensil", "implement", "machine", "device," or "apparatus".

One can classify tools according to their basic functions:

• Cutting and edge tools, such as the knife, scythe or sickle, are wedge-shaped implements that produce a shearing force along a narrow face. 
• Moving tools move large and tiny items. . Examples of force-concentrating tools include the hammer which moves a nail or the maul which moves a stake. These operate by applying physical compression to a surface. 
• Tools that enact chemical changes, including temperature and ignition, such as lighters and blowtorches.
• Guiding, measuring and perception tools include the ruler, glasses, set square, sensors, straight edge, theodolite, microscope, monitor, clock, phone, printer
• Shaping tools, such as molds, jigs, trowels.
• Fastening tools, such as welders, rivet guns, nail guns, or glue guns.
• Information and data manipulation tools, such as computers, IDE, spreadsheets

Kitchen Utensils

These items are also called Gadgets. A gadget is a small tool such as a machine that has a particular function, but is often thought of as a novelty. Gadgets in particular are small tools powered by electronic principles.

Laboratory equipment refers to the various tools and equipment used by scientists working in a laboratory. Laboratory equipment is generally used to either perform an experiment or to take measurements and gather data. 

Larger or more sophisticated equipment is generally called a scientific instrument. Both laboratory equipment and scientific instruments are increasingly being designed and shared using open hardware principles.

A musical instrument is an instrument created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument.

There are many different methods of classifying musical instruments. The most common types of instrument classifications are strings, brass, woodwind, and percussion.

Home appliances are electrical/mechanical machines which accomplish some household functions, such as cooling/heating, cooking or cleaning. Home appliances can be classified into:

• Major appliances, or white goods. A major appliance is a large machine in home appliance used for routine housekeeping tasks such as cooking, washing laundry, or food preservation. Major appliances differ from small appliances because they are bigger and not portable, such as refrigerator and washing machine...

• Small appliances: A small appliance or small domestic appliance are portable or semi-portable machines, generally used on table-tops, counter-tops, or other platforms, to accomplish a household task. Examples include microwave ovens, toasters, humidifiers, and coffee makers...
  
  

• Stationery is a mass noun referring to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous stationery, and other office supplies. 
• Office supplies are consumables and equipment regularly used in offices by businesses and other organizations, by individuals engaged in written communications, recordkeeping or bookkeeping, janitorial and cleaning, and for storage of supplies or data.