Metallography
study of the physical structure and components of metals
Metallography is the study of the physical structure and components of metals, by using microscopy.
Ceramic and polymeric materials may also be prepared using metallographic techniques, hence the terms ceramography, plastography and, collectively, materialography.
Preparing metallographic specimens
The surface of a metallographic specimen is prepared by various methods of grinding, polishing, and etching. After preparation, it is often analyzed using optical or electron microscopy. Using only metallographic techniques, a skilled technician can identify alloys and predict material properties.
Mechanical preparation is the most common preparation method. Successively finer abrasive particles are used to remove material from the sample surface until the desired surface quality is achieved. Many different machines are available for doing this grinding and polishing, which are able to meet different demands for quality, capacity, and reproducibility.
A systematic preparation method is the easiest way to achieve the true structure. Sample preparation must therefore pursue rules which are suitable for most materials.
The public source identifies “Metallography” as study of the physical structure and components of metals. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Metallography, study and physical.
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This entry incorporates text from “Metallography” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.