Metallography or metallographic analysis is the study of a materials microstructure and can be considered an integral branch for metallurgical testing or for the field of materials science. Microstructural analysis of a material's metallographic microstructure aids in determining if the material has been processed correctly and is therefore a critical step for determining products reliability (Quality Control) and/or for determining why a material failed (Metallographic Failure analysis). Metallurgy is primarily the study of metals, however, many of the principles used for testing metals applies to ceramics, plastics, minerals, computer chips and many other applications which may be more unique such as measuring the age of the fish population in a lake by statistically analyzing the thickness of the ear bone.
Metallographic Equipment Links Search |
Metallographic Abrasive Blades - These high quality Abrasive Cutting Blades are compatible with competitive metallographic cutters. Special order blades can also be obtained for larger diameter cutting blades (>16-inch). Metallographic abrasive blade on-line consumables ordering |
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Metallographic Wafering Blades - PACE Technologies offers diamond wafering blades for cutting extremely brittle microelectronics to extremely hard ceramics. The diamond blades vary in diamond grit size, concentration, and blade size. Metallographic wafering blade on-line consumables ordering |
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Metallographic Compression Mounting Resins are specifically designed for mounting at elevated temperatures and pressures in compression mounting presses. Typical compression mounting resins include thermoplastics (clear acrylics) and thermosetting resins (phenolics, epoxies and diallyl phthalates). Metallographic compression on-line consumables ordering |
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Metallographic Castable Mounting Resins or cold mounting resins are room temperature mounting resins which typically require at least two parts (resin and hardener). Castable mounting is the preferred mounting technique for brittle materials such as microelectronics. Metallographic castable mounting on-line consumables ordering |
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Metallographic Grinding Papers Silicon carbide (SiC) is a very hard and sharp abrasive for cutting metals and polymers. For very coarse removal, zirconia is a tougher abrasive than SiC. Metallographic grinding on-line consumables ordering SiC (PSA)/ SiC (Plain-backed)/SiC Foils ALO (PSA) / ALO (Plain-backed) Zirconia Abrasives Belt and Rolls |
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Metallographic Diamond Disks Diamond grinding is the most useful for removing material from ceramics and ceramic matrix composites. It is also useful for hard non-ferrous metals such as titanium and zirconium. Metallographic diamond grinding disks on-line consumables ordering |
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Metallographic Composite Disks As an alternative to grinding paers and coarse polishing pads these pre-charged composite disks reduce the need for multiple ginding grinding and coarse polishing papers. Composite disk on-line ordering |
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Metallographic Lapping films Lapping films are fixed abrasives on a mylar film. Lapping films are very useful for precision surface finishing and polishing for electronic materials, with applications where flatness is very critical. Metallographic Lapping Film on-line ordering SiC films Alumina Diamond |
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Metallographic Polishing Pads (with adhesive) Metallographic Polishing Pads (with magnetic backing) - In order to obtain an accurate representation of the true microstructure, the damage produced during sectioning and mounting must be eliminated. This is accomplished by matching the appropriate abrasive with the correct polishing pad. Metallographic Polishing pad on-line ordering PSA backed Magnetic rubber backed Magnetic stainless backed |
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Metallographic Diamond Abrasives - PC diamond
is a synthetic diamond which produces enhanced surface finishes and higher removal rates than Monocrystalline diamond, however, Monocrystalline diamond is more economical. The use of lapping lubricants can help remove grinding swarf, reduce corrosion and extend the life of the diamond. Metallographic Diamond on-line ordering Polycrystalline suspensions Monocrystalline suspensions |
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Metallographic Nanometer alumina is a colliodal alumina produced by a proprietary process which significantly improves the particle size distribution and increases the hardness of the alumina particles. Thus nanometer alumina is the ideal polishing abrasive for a wide range of metals and composites. Metallographic alumina polishing on-line ordering |
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Metallographic Collodial silica and CMP slurries are relatively soft abrasives with a high chemical activity. They are ideal chemical mechanical polishing abrasive (CMP). The combination of chemical polishing with mechanical polishing increases polishing rates and improves surface finishes. It is the ideal abrasive for polishing ceramics. Combinations of colloidal silica with the polycrystalline alumina (CMP slurry) or diamond slurries have also been very successful for the intermediate polishing steps for ceramics and ceramic composites. Metallographic collodial silica polishing on-line ordering |
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Metallographic Cleaning - Prior to microstructural examination residual abrasives and lubricants must be removed. Proper cleaning and drying techniques improve the final micrographs and thus improve qualitative and quantitative examination of the specimen surface. Metallographic cleaning on-line ordering |
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Metallographic Etching - To aid in the analysis of a materials microsctructure, etching is often used to bring out or highlight specific features. Metallographic etchants on-line ordering |
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Metallographic Hardness Testing Hardness testing on-line ordering Test blocks Accessories |
Metallographic specimen preparation requires knowledge of the specimen properties, the most important characteristics are the hardness and ductility of the metallographic specimen. Based on these material properties, the proper metallographic consumables and equipment parameters can be determined. The following chart shows the hardness and ductility for most metallographic material classes that are analyzed by metallographic techniques. Specimen procedures are fundamentally derived from this metallographic applications chart.