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How to Determine the Appropriate Mobile or Handheld Metal Analyzer for On-the-Spot Metal Testing Tasks

For metal producers, processors, recyclers, contractors and others, continuous quality control plays a key role in establishing the identity and composition of various metals and alloys from initial melt to finished product or end use. Metals and alloys need to be accurately sorted, identified, and verified at each stage of the process to make certain they meet specific customer and/or industry requirements for physical and chemical composition.

For businesses that perform metal production, processing, recycling, or service contracting, an alloy mix-up at the shipping dock or on the factory floor risks an expensive, inconvenient batch rework or the possibility of a catastrophic loss of business. Fortunately, metal inspection has been made easy, accurate and affordable with the availability of portable, mobile optical emission spectroscopic (OES) metal analyzers and handheld X-ray fluorescence spectrometers.

When it comes to metals specifications, the news is full of reports of mistakes, mismeasurements and other related scandals by a host of industries. It’s increasingly clear that quality-conscious organizations can’t afford to hand off responsibility for metals verification. The inspection of the metal makeup of incoming and outgoing components is a critical quality control (QC) task for companies worldwide.

While the focus of this article is on steels, non-ferrous alloy users are confronted with similar situations and are required to perform similar testing tasks. Some steel products are easy to analyze. For many suppliers and end users, testing with a handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) or simple handheld optical emission spectrometry (OES) analyzer is adequate. Their size and relatively low initial costs have created great interest in these handheld analyzers, which produce fast results for on-the-spot alloy identification, grade sorting or verification.

In many cases, the presence or absence of an alloying element in a steel component is critical to its performance but impossible to detect by physically inspecting the item. Positive material identification (PMI) has become accepted practice for the process and equipment supply industries. The industry-standard approach for achieving efficient PMI is via elemental analysis of the materials.

Slag Analyzer presents a uniquely compact and reliable WDXRF platform configured with Thermo Scientific SmartGonio for analysis of slags and pig iron. This small but powerful instrument comes with factory installed calibration for slags using Jernkontoret standards. Its quick start-up, ease of use, and analytical flexibility provide unparalleled value for iron & steel laboratories.

? New: 500W equivalent analytical performance from 200W X-ray power
? 200W equivalent analytical performance from 50W X-ray power
? High precision, outstanding repeatability and stability to comply with slag analysis requirements
? Pre-calibrated turnkey solution for routine slag analysis
? Lowest cost of ownership thanks to low operating cost, highest reliability and minimal auxiliary equipment
? Optional Multichromators for faster analysis or better performance on selected elements
? Innovative UCCO technology combined with SmartGonio to achieve highest sensitivity

Oil Analysis Can Enhance Your Bottom Line

Oil analyzer offers many benefits. Through regular testing of lubricants, you can:

Enhance equipment life and reliability by ensuring proper lubrication and detecting issues such as excessive wear and contamination

Extend lubricant life by monitoring its condition and, when deemed necessary, treating or cleaning it, typically allowing for longer intervals between fluid changes

Reduce equipment downtime by spotting and correcting potential lubrication problems before they become serious issues

Seven Keys To Effective Oil Analysis

Follow these seven simple steps to help maximize the benefits of oil analysis:

Identify the equipment critical to your operational productivity. At the bare minimum, the lubricants in those components should be analyzed regularly. (Ideally, all lubricants in use at your facility should be tested regularly.)

Register the equipment with the lab. This will help the lab identify appropriate tests for your specific application. Registration also facilitates trending.

Use proper sampling procedures. Improper sampling may produce erroneous test results. Problems could be missed and go untreated, leading to costly problems later. Or conditions may be misdiagnosed, resulting in incorrect, unnecessary and money-wasting actions being taken to correct a nonexistent issue.

Provide complete and accurate information with each sample you submit to the lab. Missing or inaccurate information may lead to a misdiagnosis. Complete all fields on the submission form, including the specific lubricant in use, the component it services, the hours the oil has been in use, and more. Also ensure that the information is legible to help avoid misinterpretation.