MICROSTRUCTURE ANALYSIS

WORLD CLASS METAL TESTING AND ANALYSIS IN THE HEART OF THE MIDWEST.

At QAI, we offer you one of the most advanced metallurgical test labs in the country with the latest instruments, equipment and technology, and full time experts on staff. Our metallurgical lab has four fully-equipped Metallographs with full image analysis capabilities utilized for microstructure examination, a Keyence VHX-5000 Digital Microscope, two full Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS) systems with full digital imaging, two fully-automatic micro-hardness testing systems capable of performing all sorts of routines and mapping procedures, and the ability to perform simultaneous testing on up to eight samples, automated direct hardness testers, and much more.

ADVANCED EQUIPMENT AND CAPABILITIES

Pictured above: Photomicrographs taken at QAI of various microstructures of ferrous and non-ferrous metals.

Our metallurgical lab also has four fully-equipped Metallographs with full image analysis capabilities utilized for microstructure examination. For steel mills, fabricators, machine shops, and other high-volume clients, our automatic stage microscopy and image analysis enable us to accurately analyze up to eight specimens simultaneously – saving you both time and money. So, if you are looking for grain size, banding classification, simple phase analysis, or raw material cleanliness (inclusion ratings), call us for a quote.

Grain size measurement can be part of a more extensive microstructure examination or it can be conducted by itself as an inspection tool after a forging operation, a heat treat operation, a rolling operation, etc. Typically, the finer the grain size the better the material condition. Most alloy steels require ASTM 5 or finer grain size and some tool steels require 10 or finer grain size.

In addition, we can also determine grain boundaries, nodularity, phase percent, particle size, dimensional measurements, coating thickness, retained austenite rating, morphology, cast iron graphite analysis, spheroidization analysis, rolling direction, carbides analysis and distribution, ETA phase analysis, surface condition and grinding effect, microporosity analysis, percent phase (pearlite, ferrite, bainite, martensite, etc.), cementite, steadite, carbides in any material, tempered or untempered martensite, as well as non-ferrous materials. We also perform microstructure analysis on stainless steels of all grades including corrosion-resistant steels, heat-resistant steels, magnetic and non-magnetic, and high-strength stainless steels. And all at some of the most competitive prices in the industry.