Station 1– Visual Examination and Photography
Visual examination and photography are important parts of any failure analysis investigation. They are also important facets of most third-party investigations where our laboratory is used as an independent examination site. Large, spacious examination rooms with state-of-the-art photography and microscopy and measurement capability are our forte.

Station 2 – Machine Shop
A complete in-house machine shop with multiple saws, mills, lathes and grinders, as well as fully trained employees, allows fast, accurate production of virtually all types of test specimens and fixtures.

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Station 3 – Mechanical Testing
Our testing lab includes tensile, compression, bend, impact, hardness, drop weight, rotating beam fatigue and axial fatigue capabilities.

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Station 4 – Advanced Mechanical Testing
Two servo-hydraulic load frames and state-of-the-art electronic controllers allow for virtually all types of fracture mechanics tests. In addition, this equipment is often adapted to life-cycle tests to simulate a full lifetime of use for consumer or industrial products.

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Station 5 – Sample Preparation
Diamond cut-off wheels, plasma etchers, and sputter coaters are a few of the many types of specialty equipment we use to prepare samples for electron microscopy, metallography or other tests.

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Station 6 – Electron Microscopy
Two current-generation Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEMs) allow high magnification examination of objects such as fracture surfaces up to 100,000 times with resolution capability of 30 Angstroms. Our low vacuum chambers allow examination of even biological samples. The ultra thin film windows in our Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometers (EDSs) allow semi-quantitative analysis of elements from atomic number 6 (carbon) to 92 (Uranium).

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Station 7 – Metallography
Our state-of-the-art metallography facilities include both automated and manual polishing techniques. Samples can be examined as cut or prepared in various size bakelite mounts. Our expert technicians are able to etch virtually any metal for proper microstructural examination. Two separate metallographs are available for microscopic examination and photomicrography. Three microhardness testers are available, allowing both Knoop and Vickers scale testing.

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