Metallurgical Associates provides “Lightning Fast Turnaround” and unparalleled accuracy on your chemical analysis requirements. Analyses are performed using our LECO GDS500 Glow Discharge Spectrometer, providing exceptionally “clean” uniform compositional data. This instrumentation also offers progressive depth carbon gradient analyses of surface hardened parts and a variety of other application options.
GDS utilizes argon plasma to uniformly “mill” material from the sample for analysis, rather than melting by electric arc as in the old “arc-spark” technology. This results in a more uniform and representative volume of material for analysis. Because GDS is a non-melting sampling process it avoids potential errors due to differences in the melting point of various elements, inclusions and microstructures.
MAI also provides “wet” chemical analysis by Inductively Couple Plasma Spectroscopy (ICP) for extremely small, irregular samples. Analysis of plastics, polymers, elastomers and other organic materials is performed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR).
Non-Destructive Chemical Analysis and Micro-Analysis is provided by MAI’s Energy Dispersive Spectrometer (EDS). This instrument operates in conjunction with our Scanning Electron Microscope to obtain chemical analyses of sample areas as large as 10 mm² and as small as one fifty-millionths of an inch in diameter. EDS analysis detects and quantifies over 90 elements using our full range light element capable detector.