Metallographic Techniques, August 10-13, 2026

(Best-Seller) Metallographic Techniques During this course, participants receive intensive instruction and assistance in learning the principles of metallography. Manual preparation, automatic preparation, and hands-on activities, such as preparing a variety of hard, soft, ferrous, and non-ferrous alloys, are used to demonstrate many metallographic techniques.

Students will also perform sample preparation using semi-automatic preparation on state-of-the-art equipment. After a lecture on the best use of the metallograph, the structures of the materials are documented and entered in a laboratory notebook. This notebook is then graded and returned to students to use as future reference.

1. Complete sample preparation: sectioning, mounting (cast and compression), grinding and polishing
2. Differences in techniques between manual and semi-automatic sample preparation
3. Use of chemical and electrolytic etching procedures
4. Use of the metallurgical microscope
5. Documentation of microstructures
6. Quantitative metallography – grain size and length measurements
7. Microhardness testing demonstration

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS CLASS?

• Technicians
• Metallographers
• Managers
• Mechanical Engineers
• Engineers and QA personnel interested in hands-on sample preparation
• Anyone new to metallography

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:

• Select proper consumables and techniques for sectioning, mounting, grinding, polishing
• Choose the correct etchant to reveal the structure and features for the alloy at hand
• Document structures using optical microscopes equipped with image capture cameras and software
• Distinguish artifacts from real structures
• Apply quantitative metallographic techniques

Continuing Education Units: 3.0