Metallography Equipment

Metallography is the study of the physical structure and components of metals, typically using microscopy.

The surface of a metallographic specimen is prepared by various methods of cutting, grinding, polishing, and etching. After preparation, it is often analyzed using optical or electron microscopy. Using only metallographic techniques, a skilled technician can identify alloys and predict material properties.

Mechanical preparation is the most common preparation method. Successively finer abrasive particles are used to remove material from the sample surface until the desired surface quality is achieved. Torontech offers a complete line of machines for mechanical sample preparation for metallography analysis to meet different demands for quality, capacity, and reproducibility.

Metallographic specimens are typically "mounted" using a hot compression thermosetting resin. When specimens are very sensitive to temperature, "cold mounts" may be made with a two-part epoxy resin. Mounting a specimen provides a safe, standardized, and ergonomic way by which to hold a sample during the grinding and polishing operations.

After mounting, the specimen is wet ground to reveal the surface of the metal. The specimen is successively ground with finer and finer abrasive media. After grinding the specimen, polishing is performed. After polishing, certain microstructural constituents can be seen with the microscope, otherwise, the microstructural constituents of the specimen are revealed by using a suitable chemical or electrolytic etchant.