Whether you are developing new alloy materials or performing quality control to ensure steel purity, flexible optics and electron microscopy are indispensable features in every metallographic laboratory. Measurements of certain parameters, such as non-metallic inclusion content or particle analysis, are specified by strict standards and specifications. Metallography is used to study metals from copper and titanium to iron, steel and various alloys. These studies were performed quantitatively and reliably using dedicated software modules and automated microscope systems.

The microstructure of the metal significantly determines the properties of strength and corrosion resistance. Therefore, detailed study of the microstructure by means of a microscope is at the heart of metallurgical disciplines and many industrial applications. Features of interest in microstructural metallographic studies include grain size, grain boundaries, phases, phase transitions and volume fractions, inclusions, morphology and bands.

Alkaline metals are specially treated to prepare for specific applications and to improve their properties, for example by adding alloying elements. In many cases, the core of microscopy is the correlation between the resulting microstructure and material properties. Microscopy was performed using an upright, inverted or polarized microscope, bright and dark fields, and an electron microscope. Each of them plays an important role in verifying the processing effect and optimizing the processing parameters.