A centrifuge includes a frame, a damper connected to and supported on the frame for isolating vibrations, a drive unit connected to and supported by the damper, a swing-bucket rotor rotated by the drive unit, an accelerometer for detecting when part of the drive unit contacts part of the frame due to vibrations of the drive unit exceeding a predetermined amplitude, and a control unit for controlling the drive unit based on output from the accelerometer. When amplitude of vibrations in the drive unit exceeds a predetermined value, a portion of the drive unit contacts a portion of the frame. The accelerometer detects an impact caused by the contact between the drive unit and the frame. The drive unit is halted when output detected from the accelerometer exceeds a threshold value for detecting imbalances.