Manufacturing and Heat Treating Support

End-to-End Microstructural Validation and Surface Treatment Evaluation.

Secondary manufacturing operations like machining, forming, heat treating, and plating fundamentally alter a metal's properties. MSI Lab provides independent process verification for commercial heat treaters, steel distributors, machine shops, and platers. We verify that your processes achieve the precise metallurgical depth, hardness, and microstructure required by your customer's prints.

Core Testing and Analytical Capabilities:

• Effective Case Depth (ECD) Profiling: Accurate microhardness mapping utilizing Vickers or Knoop microhardness testers to verify cross-sectional hardness limits.

• Decarburization Depth Evaluation: Determining surface carbon depletion to ensure mechanical properties aren't compromised during thermal processing.

• Hardness Mapping: Surface and core hardness testing utilizing Rockwell arrays to locate soft spots or uneven heat treating.

• Coating and Plating Inspection: Microstructural thickness verification, intergranular oxidation checks, and adhesion failure analysis.

Common Applications:

• Quench crack evaluation and root-cause determination for heat-treated batches.

• Validation of induction hardening, carburizing, nitriding, and through-hardening parameters.

• Incoming material verification for secondary steel service centers and distributors.