Materials science

Macroscopic photographs

• Creation of macroscopic detailed photographs of your samples and components with a specific focus on potentially defective areas
• Identification of macroscopic faults and damaged points
• Documentation of the disassembly and evaluation strategy for samples and components
• Use of a standard digital camera, image background blue or white

Sample preparation

• Processing of all common metallic materials on an Fe, Cu, Al, Zn or Ni basis
• If applicable, macro photographs are taken of the areas concerned
• Disassembly of the component and separation of samples.
• Embedding of samples (hot or cold, Ø 40mm).
• Sample preparation by grinding and polishing, or electrolytic polishing
• Chemical treatment of the sample surface by etching

• Creation of structural images for material and damage analysis
• Examination of matrix structures, casting phases, and secondary and tertiary depositions
• Digital image analysis to determine the proportion of individual structural constituents, their morphological analysis, etc.
• Equipment: ZEISS incident light microscope, KEYENCE digital microscope, IMS and Zeiss image processing and analysis software

• Imaging of structure under particularly high magnification
• Visualisation of topography effects on a sample
• 3D measurement of sample with digital analysis; optical roughness determination
• Qualitative determination of the composition of a sample using energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX)
• Equipment: SEM Tescan VEGA3 with Bruker EDX

• Taking representative material samples
• Heating / cooling the sample to record energy flows
• Creation of temperature profiles
• Indication of transformation temperatures and linking with material-specific reactions
• Recipes for targeted heating and cooling, e.g. for heat treatments or other annealing processes
• Equipment: DTA 703 from the company BÄHRalyse

Temperature measurements

• Instrumenting tests for temperature measurement
• Measured value acquisition (ALMEMO or LabView)
• Evaluation of temperature curves and their analysis

• Deriving the heat transfer coefficients from measurement curves

• Determination of thermal conductivity

Thermal analysis

• Recording cooling curves from melting
• Identifying conversion points
• Analysing structural quality using measured values, in combination with metallographic specimens
• Equipment: Thermal analysis system from the company OCC

• Sample preparation: Exposure of areas to be examined and preparation of the surface
• Testing on at least three representative points
• If applicable, selection of areas for further examinations (metallography)
• Testing method in accordance with Vickers, Brinell and Rockwell
• Equipment: GNEHM hardness testing machine, micro hardness test

• Processing of standardised test geometries
• Tensile tests indicating the test parameters strain rate and traverse speed
• Determination of the static strength (Rm, RP0,2) of the e-module, as well as stretch
• Equipment: ZWICK tensile testing machine 100 kN

Further information about mechanical component testing

• Quantitative analysis of the composition of a metallic material
• Aluminium, iron and copper standard
• Brand / type: SPECTRO / SPECTROLAB

• The process for analysis and the subsequent report is discussed in detail at the beginning
• The results are delivered either in report form or as individual results of each examination, as you wish
• If you require a report is selected, the examination results are supported by sound foundations