Etching microstructure without harsh chemicals - a revolution in metallography

The art and science of metallographic preparation is ultimately about viewing the structure of the material to be studied – to learn in research and development; to understand a failure; to provide a quality control checkpoint to ensure success. In most cases, this requires the use of an etchant – often a strong mixture of acids.

This presentation will present groundbreaking technology in metallographic preparation and etching that takes samples from a ground finish without the use of strong etchants.

We will describe the use of a non-hazardous electrolyte through a novel electrolytic technique that is poised to provide fast, repeatable and reproducible micro- and macro-structure etches on a wide range of metals, from a ground finish including aluminum, steel and nickel alloys.