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Material Identification labs

SShep71

Hot Rolled
Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Location
San Diego, Ca
I looked through the search results and the topic of material identification has been covered before, but I wanted to know if there are any labs that anyone has experience with or suggestions for. Also what is the cost to have samples tested, not for certification but for scanning and alloy determination. I have a lot of of material that is not tagged, identified, or is color coated but the origin of the color is unknown. I want to send in a dozen or so samples to find out what alloy they are so I can organize them accordingly.
 
If you are not already completely on top of this, be aware that the spec for a given alloy can have very wide ranges for the individual elements. So don't be surprised if the lab tells you something like "Sample A might be 4042, 4340, or a half-dozen other alloys". Or, much more commonly, "Sample B might be 1095 or O-1, O-2, or O-6".
 
That is good information, I guess I would have to have a full mechanical test done as well as the composition test for accuracy. If I am going to pay for the testing I may as well be sure I know what I have.
 
That is good information, I guess I would have to have a full mechanical test done as well as the composition test for accuracy. If I am going to pay for the testing I may as well be sure I know what I have.

Unless you have a huge amount I don't see how it can possibly pay to test it.
Why pay more to test it than it costs with certs? I would be planning on scraping the lot and make sure you mark your new stock so you don't repeat this debacle.
 
Unless you have a huge amount I don't see how it can possibly pay to test it.
Why pay more to test it than it costs with certs? I would be planning on scraping the lot and make sure you mark your new stock so you don't repeat this debacle.

I can't lay claim to this debacle. I permanently mark all my material, I engrave a unique material number on the end and it correlates to a cert, lab sheet, or whatever paperwork I have on file for it. I mark both ends so if one end gets cut off and the piece doesn't get remarked there is still one end with a material number. I even have an engraver permanently mounted on the saw so I have one less step to avoid. I don't play the "color code" or sharpie marker game to ID material. Not when 2 minutes with an carbide tipped engraver means all the difference in the application of the material. I just went through this when my wife helped me clean up at the shop and she mixed in 300M with 4340 and the A36 bar stock. She is not proficient with an engraver. I may be able to justify the cost as I am trying to find out the alloy and composition of some large pieces with quite a large cost to replace, I just need to find out what the cost may be, these are all large pieces I got from another shop that shut down. Some are marked with an alloy type some is just color coated. I have another route I can try with some of the material, some of it has an PO tag on it from Fry steel. I was going to try to contact Fry steel and see if they can pull up the PO number and see if there is any information for the piece.
 
But the XRF doesn't read carbon content, so it can't tell the difference between 1018 and 1095

My local lab has a new gun that gives carbon content. They are a welding/NDT inspection company. Federal pipeline welding/repair procedures require identification of the pipeline material so a specific WPS can be used.
 
ThermoFisher Scientific hand held analyzer

ThermoFisher Scientific makes a hand held analyzer, that does what you are asking.

Here is a link with info below from the ThermoFisher website:
https://www.thermofisher.com/order/catalog/product/XL2PLUS#/XL2PLUS
they have good specs and videos on the website

I also see they will have rental options:
Rent to buy. Rent to try
Not ready to purchase an XRF analyzer? If you have a short-term or one-time project, take advantage of our rental program and experience for yourself how Thermo Scientific™ Niton™ portable XRF analyzers can help increase your productivity while moderating costs. Niton analyzers can be rented by the week or by the month – with discounted rates for longer periods. Rental fees may be applied toward the purchase of a Niton analyzer. Request more information for terms and conditions.

You might contact them and ask them who has one in your area, and then contact a local company that has one and pay for the service.
I do this sometimes to get access to technologies that are too costly to purchase equipment, for a one time use, perhaps it could work for you.


According to the specs, they use a 2W X-Ray tube, along with something called a Silicon Drift Detector (SDD)
(from Wikipedia on SDD - silicon drift detectors measure the energy of an incoming photon by the amount of ionization it produces in the detector material.)

Some details:

Available Analytical Modes General Metals, Precious Metals, Coatings, Mining, Soils, Electronic Alloys, Plastics, Industrial Lead in Paint, Lead in Paint Products
Data Storage 64 MB internal system memory / 128 MB internal user storage
Stores approximately 10,000 readings with spectra (fewer if images are saved)
Data Transfer USB, Bluetooth, RS-232 serial communication
Description Niton XL2 Plus Handheld XRF Analyzer
Detector Type Silicon Drift Detector (SDD)

"Confidently perform elemental analysis with the Thermo Scientific™ Niton™ XL2 Plus handheld XRF analyzer. When durability, performance and productivity are top of mind, industrial businesses rely on the Niton XL2 Plus handheld XRF analyzer for fast results and low detection limits. Identify pure metals and alloys, or obtain geochemical data, the Niton XL2 Plus provides operators the ability to scan a broad range of materials in one versatile analyzer."

FYI ThermoFisher is traded on the NYSE and the stock symbol is TMO
 








 
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