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Preparation of the month How to get the best results

Fascinating insights into the world of materialography await you every month in 2025! Find out more about our exciting preparations or get interesting tips and tricks from our experts. Look forward to our monthly highlights!

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Марта Examination of the solder balls in the ball grid array (BGA)

In a BGA (Ball Grid Array) printed circuit board, the solder balls are crucial for the electrical and mechanical connection between the BGA casing and the circuit board. The material of the solder balls is typically a lead-free alloy, as lead-containing solders are increasingly being avoided due to environmental and health regulations.

The most common lead-free alloy is SAC305. Such tin alloys offer a balance between melting point, mechanical strength and electrical conductivity. As an example, the melting point of SAC305 is around 217-221 °C, which is slightly higher compared to lead-containing solders.

The metallographic examination of a solder joint on a printed circuit board is a common examination as part of the quality assurance of printed circuit boards. This month's preparation shows you how this tin solder can be optimally prepared for microscopic examination.

Previous and future preparations

Января 2025 Additive manufactured Ti64 sample

The Ti-6Al-4V (Ti64) alloy, also known as Titanium Grade 5, is one of the most used titanium alloys in additive manufacturing. It combines different properties like strength, lightness and corrosion resistance, making it attractive to a wide range of industries, including aerospace, automotive and medical. A major advantage of Ti64 additive manufacturing is its ability to produce customized implants for medical applications. Cutting the samples with a precision cutting machine such as the QCUT 200 A prevents the sample from overheating or being mechanically deformed during the cutting process. Mounting with an epoxy resin mounting material and using an infiltration device helps to fill all pores before grinding/polishing. Using the correct consumables during grinding/polishing can prevent smearing and makes the pore percentage measurement more accurate. This month you can find out all these important points in our preparation of the month.

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Февраля Boundary between cast aluminum and gray cast iron

The trend of lightweight multi-material design (MMD) is becoming increasingly significant in the transportation sector, particularly in automotive applications. This trend is driven by the growing demands for sustainability, cost optimization, and performance enhancement. Multi-material design involves the strategic integration of different materials within a single component to meet specific technical requirements while enabling the production of economically efficient, lightweight parts. By leveraging the complementary properties of various materials, engineers can optimize the structural integrity, weight, and cost of vehicle components, leading to improved overall performance and resource efficiency.

Al/Fe bimetallic composites, as one of the multi-material series, offer a favorable combination of high strength and wear resistance from Fe (steel/cast iron) and high thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, and lightweight properties from Al (aluminum alloys/ pure aluminum). This month, you will experience the metallographic preparation of these components, from cutting to fine polishing.

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Марта Examination of the solder balls in the ball grid array (BGA)

In a BGA (Ball Grid Array) printed circuit board, the solder balls are crucial for the electrical and mechanical connection between the BGA casing and the circuit board. The material of the solder balls is typically a lead-free alloy, as lead-containing solders are increasingly being avoided due to environmental and health regulations.

The most common lead-free alloy is SAC305. Such tin alloys offer a balance between melting point, mechanical strength and electrical conductivity. As an example, the melting point of SAC305 is around 217-221 °C, which is slightly higher compared to lead-containing solders.

The metallographic examination of a solder joint on a printed circuit board is a common examination as part of the quality assurance of printed circuit boards. This month's preparation shows you how this tin solder can be optimally prepared for microscopic examination.

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Апреля Thermally sprayed Al2O3 layer with open pores.

Al₂O₃-based thermal spray coatings are important components in various industrial applications, especially in areas where surfaces need to be protected from high temperatures and corrosive environments. Properties of Al₂O₃-based spray coatings include high temperature resistance, corrosion resistance and wear resistance. There are various methods of thermal spraying, including: Plasma spraying, flame spraying and high velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) spraying. After the metallographic preparation of these coatings, the first question is always whether the coating is correctly prepared and the image under the light microscope/SEM should be as it is or whether the artifacts of the preparation are present in my microstructure. QATM's preparation methods according to DVS (German Society for welding and related procedures) data sheets guarantee the correct preparation of the spray protection coatings without preparation artifacts.

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Мая Microstructure of a laser weld seam on top of the copper pin in an electro motor after etching with waterbased solution of ferrinitrate 10%.

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Июня Hardness mapping on an edge-hardened gear wheel, tested with HV 1.

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Июля Microstructure of a cast aluminium electrolytically etched with Barker etchant.

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Августа Dendritic structure of a CoCrMo cast alloy after fine polishing.

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Сентября Micro laser weld seam on a copper sheet after fine polishing.

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Октября Microstructure of an edge-hardened gear with a ferrite-pearlite base structure, etched with 3% alcoholic nitric acid.

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Ноября Microstructure of an Al-Si alloy with primary silicon particles after fine polishing.

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Декабря Microstructure of a nodular cast iron (GJS) after etching with nitric acid with and without using a lambda plate.

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