Scan Metals & Alloys in Seconds with a Bruker™ XRF Gun!
Metals are indispensable to industry, and 21st-century industry requires great consistency and precision in metals. Even minor compositional differences may dramatically alter the performance of industrial materials. Bruker is a world-leading provider of handheld X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) metal analyzers which offer an easy and reliable way to identify or verify metals and alloys accurately and in mere seconds. Use our contact form to get in touch with Bruker for more information, to arrange a free demo, or for a prompt quote.
Bruker is a leading global manufacturer of non-destructive metal analyzers that are based on X-Ray fluorescence technology. A handheld Bruker metal analyzer is a robust instrument that can be used with great ease for metal identification, to determine the composition and grades of multi-metal alloys, to test the purity level of a single metal, or to detect the presence of trace or “tramp” elements (micro-impurities) in alloys and other materials. Contact Bruker now to find out more!
Inconel 791 Ni-Cr
analyzed by Bruker gun
The S1 TITAN metal analyzer quantifies nearly any element from in the range from Magnesium to Uranium. In scrap yards, or factories, it scans with a swift and accurate grace the metallic composition of most stuff and provides a clear screen readout of the quantitative results. Typically, no special sample preparation is necessary. Bruker metal analyzers are small, convenient and easily portable, perfect for use on any location or in a metal analysis laboratory.
Metal Analysis: An Overview
The metals are a class of chemical elements characterized by certain common properties. In particular, they show a lustrous appearance when polished, and they conduct electricity and heat well. Out of the 118 chemical elements in the Periodic Table, 95 are metals. Metallic elements comprise one quarter of the Earth’s crust my mass. They are classified based on their physical or chemical properties. Physics defines as a metal any substance that can conduct electricity at the temperature of absolute zero. (However, not all substances that are metals from the physical point of view have the same chemical properties. That is why in chemistry, arsenic and antimony are typically classified as “metalloids.”) The main categories include ferrous and non-ferrous metals; brittle and refractory metals; heavy and light metals; base, noble, and precious metals. The ferrous metals are pure iron and its alloys. Nonferrous metals do not contain any iron. Metals are usually malleable and ductile, but the several that are not are called the “brittle metals,” namely beryllium, bismuth, chromium, gallium, and manganese, and the metalloids arsenic and antimony. The so-called refractory metals are the ones that are exceptionally resistant to heat and wear, notably niobium, molybdenum, tantalum, tungsten, and rhenium, all of which melt at temperature higher than 2000°C and a very hard at room temperature. The “base” metals are the most common ones and hence the cheapest, such as iron, nickel, zinc, and lead; they tend to corrode or oxidize easily. By contrast, the “noble” metals are resistant to corrosion and oxidation in humid air or when exposed to moisture. Metals traditionally regarded as “precious” and widely used in expensive jewelry are a subset of these. The noble metals include gold, platinum and silver as well as ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, and iridium. Copper is sometimes classified as a base metal and sometimes as a noble one, depending on context. Despite their great variety, the metals can be scanned with a Bruker XRF gun. Contact us now for more info!
Composite metallic substances are called alloys. Technically, an alloy is a combination of a metal with one or more metallic or nonmetallic element. At the microscopic level, alloys are characterized by the metallic type of structural bonding which results in the formation of a highly regular, crystalline atomic “lattice,” in which most atoms are of main metal, with the atoms of the secondary ingredients interspersed. When scanned by a Bruker XRF metal analyzer, a metallic material is briefly flashed with high-power X-rays. This exposure puts the constituent atoms in an “excited” state, causing them to emit characteristic X-ray radiation (XRF). Each elemental metal has a distinctive XRF signature, enabling accurate Id and quantification by a Bruker XRF metal analyzer gun. The advantage of analyzing industrially manufactured metals and alloys is their outstanding compositional homogeneity compared many other types of materials, including metallic minerals and ores. Contact us now for the best metal analysis solution!
In general, metal analysis is the process of determining or verifying the chemical composition of a metallic material. Some metal analysis techniques are termed “destructive” because they either destroy or alter the tested sample. Those methods that leave the sample intact are called “nondestructive,” and this latter class of procedures includes X-ray fluorescence. XRF is not the only nondestructive method of metal analysis, but probably the most universal, most popular and successful. One alternative is so-called optical emission spectrometry (OES), which, however, is not truly non-destructive because it uses as spark to excite the atoms of a test sample, and this tends to leave a small burn on it. Get in touch with Bruker if in doubt about with type of procedure best suits your enterprise.
More Information
Bruker XRF metal analyzers fulfill a wide range of metal analysis, identification and screening needs for most standard metals and alloys, based on a vast built-in database. It also analyzes the chemical composition of nonstandard and custom alloys. However, it should be borne in mind that XRF is “blind” to carbon.
See also:
- Alloy Analyzers
- Positive Material Identification
- Metal Purity Testing
- Scrap Testing
- Copper Analysis
- And numerous other applications. Contact us now!