Metallic materials are used in seemingly endless products. From kitchen appliances to electronic devices and automation, it would be hard to imagine daily life without metals.
While it may not cross the minds of most, the process of choosing and applying the correct type of metal to the envisioned product is a multi-layered procedure that is highly dependent on the expertise of the examiner.
This process of analysing a metals’ micro-components is the practice of metallography. More specifically, metallography is the study of the structures of metals.
Metal inspection
When examining, the metallic components are generally not only taken at face value, but a knowledge of the chemical properties is vital. This is because elements such as heat and extreme abrasion can change the components of a metal, leading to faults in a finished product later down the line.
Processes included in a metal inspection include sample selection, mounting of the sample, and finished off with grinding and polishing.
Diamond grinding disc is one of the ways that the grinding process can be done both efficiently and effectively. Polishing is generally followed up from grinding and conducted with a finer grain. This is often done gradually and multiple times, each time with a finer grain than the time before. This time-consuming process has a reason to it, being that a gradual grinding and polishing has less of a chance to change the original components of the metallic material hertube .
Because the changing of metal structures is quite sensitive, it is vital that metallographers are educated on the qualities of the crystal structures and grains that a metal is made up of.
A change in material is known to the inspector by looking for any changes in not only the size and shape, but also the way the grains are allocated throughout the material.
