Buehler, an ITW Company is offering "Navigating the Metallographic Challenges of Surface Coatings" a webinar presentation in English on July 29, 2020 in three time zones for Americas, Europe and Asia.

Surface coatings present unique metallographic preparation challenges, from mechanical damage during sectioning and grinding as well as distortion of microstructural detail during polishing stages. These are often caused by differences in the physical characteristics between the coating compared with the substrate. The resultant effects during preparation can include harder phases cracking, softer phases being pulled out or deformed, induced or obscured porosity, and contamination due to abrasive pick-up among many others.

This webinar will focus on four main types of coatings: 

•Thermal spray coatings. Mainly used to enhance surface characteristics of structural materials. These find wide application as thermal barrier coatings, corrosion and erosion barriers and wear resistance layers on various components found in aerospace, automotive and biomedical applications among others.

•Physical vapor deposited coating. Used to improve hardness, wear resistance and oxidation resistance of many materials. Wide applications in aerospace (e.g. EBPVD coatings), automotive and general manufacturing to enhance metallic components finish. 

•Coating made from electro-chemical processes. This includes electroplating and babbiting. Typical applications relate to the bearings industry with end application being engine and turbomachinery bearings, among others. Industry include automotive, power generation and general manufacturing sectors.

•Organic coatings. Also referred to as barrier coatings, these are mainly used for corrosion protection of a substrate from the environment to which it’s exposed. Organic coatings are often decorative and find wide application in automotive, aerospace and general manufacturing. They are also found utilized in paint systems on both polymeric and metallic materials.

The webinar will highlight the preparation challenges and approaches that should be adopted to achieve good quality, efficient preparation, accurate measurement and correct evaluation of these coatings. It is ideal for metallurgical technicians, engineers, quality control and laboratory managers in any metallography facility preparing multi-layered materials. The attendees will be able to:

•Recognize common problems during metallographic preparation 

•Identify improvement opportunities in their current methodology

•Optimize their metallographic preparation routines for time, whilst ensuring optimal surface finish for each stage of preparation.

Registration is complimentary and a replay will also be available. Attendees will receive a certificate of participation after the webinar.