Meiji Metallurgical Compound Microscopes
Freephone: 0800 257 428 Email: sales@alphatech.co.nz
Ferrography has advanced as one of the premier predictive maintenance and analytical tools. This technique for wear particle analysis has become prominent in the paper industry, industrial plants with automated operations and in the healthcare with artificial joints and limbs. With a modest financial outlay, ferrography enables plant managers, maintenance managers and healthcare professionals make critical decisions more effectively.
The ferrogram, a specially designed and prepared microscope slide, is examined under a polarized bichromatic microscope equipped with a camera. The microscope uses both reflected (top) and transmitted (bottom) light, and may be used with green, red, and polarizing filters to distinguish the size, shape, composition and surface condition of ferrous, nonferrous or non-metallic particles. The particles are further studied and classified to determine the type of wear and the source of the particle.
In the hands of a skilled analyst, ferrography is capable of detecting active machine wear and can often provide a “root cause” based on the morphology of the wear particles.
