Testing and verifying materials and metals is a critical part of the heat treatment process in various industries. The verification process involves analyzing a metal, alloy, or non-metal to ensure it has been appropriately identified before treatment.

Material verification also comes with multiple other benefits for heat-treated items. Let’s take a look.

Understanding How to Process Materials

If you have steel on hand, but you aren’t exactly sure which kind of steel it is, material verification can identify the metal’s chemistry. To streamline the verification process, Vacu Braze has acquired a Hitachi X-MET8000 Handheld XRF Analyzer to test metals before being heat treated. This state-of-the-art tool harnesses the power of X-ray fluorescence analyzers to identify the grade and chemistry of numerous materials rapidly. A quick look at your steel with XRF provides you with a roadmap for the best way to process your materials for your intended use.

Checking to Make Sure You Have the Right Material

If you send your steel out to get processed, you want to ensure that it will be adequately taken care of. Before processing, the operator can use XRF to verify that your steel is what you think it is. In some cases, your steel may have different properties than you thought. At that point, Vacu Braze can work with you to determine the best course of action for processing to fit the needs of the material you have on hand.

Verifying Reliability

Materials with different compositions need to be processed differently to ensure the highest standard of products.

Material verification can ensure that the material is structurally sound when adequately treated. If metal isn’t physically sound, it can lead to a failure during manufacturing or use. Considering the industries that most heat-treated metals are used for, there’s no wiggle room in reliability. Verification prevents an issue farther down the line.

Ensuring Compliance

There are many laws regarding material compliance for high-risk markets like the medical and aerospace industries. Material verification can provide a track record of good habits in case of a compliance audit.

Guaranteeing Load Bearing Capability

Some metals need to be able to hold a specific weight. Material verification guarantees that the metal will be able to hold a particular amount of weight once heat-treated, so manufacturers can have peace of mind.

Leave It to the Experts

Unless you happen to have all of the tools needed for material testing and verification, the best thing you can do is rely on the expertise of professional metallurgists.

Vacu Braze is an industry leader in heat treatment solutions for manufacturers across the United States. Contact Vacu Braze to learn more about material verification and how it can benefit your production cycle.