2.

0 Objectives
Upon completion of this experiment, students should be able to;
1. Understand the procedure metallographic sample preparation.
2. Understand basic function of optical microscope and it’s operation
3. Perform analysis from the microstructure’s observation
4. Understand theoretical background of sample preparation and metallographic specimens

DISCUSSION:
From this experiment students was able to understand the procedure metallographic sample
preparation and basic function of optical microscope and it’s operation. Then they also had perform analysis
from the microstructure’s observation and understand theoretical background of sample preparation and
metallographic specimens.
In this experiment, the student were able to see the grain structure of the metallographic specimens. This
was aided with optical microscope with different magnifying beam, from M50, M100, M200 and M400. There
are few steps that students needed to do to be able to see the grain structure. The first step is cutting. The cutting
process used abrasive wheel cut-off machines. This machine utilise rubber or resin bonded abrasive wheel and
approximately 1.5mm thick and operate at relatively high speed. Care must be taken in selecting the proper
abrasive wheel and providing ample cooling. The original structure of the material may otherwise be drastically
altered due to the heat generated during cutting. In general, the specimen should never be heated enough to feel
warm to the touch.
After cutting the specimen, the next step is mounting. The mounting operation accomplishes three
important functions, it protects the sample edge and maintain the integrity of a materials surface features, fill the
voids in porous materials and improve handling of irregular shaped sample. There are two main techniques used
are hot compression mounting and cold mounting. Cold mounting is used for specimen that is sensitive towards
heat, for instance Titanium. Hot mounting is normally quicker and more economical. In this experiment, the hot
mounting was used. The specimen requires the resin (epoxy and diallyl phthalates) to be heated and cooled
under pressure. The process takes only several minutes.
Next, grinding. This process is done using rotating discs covered with silicon carbide paper and water.
There are a number of grades of paper with 240, 320, 400, 600, 1200 grains of silicon carbide. 240 grade takes
the a little longer time than the other grade and it's the beginning of the grinding process. The grinding process
continued until all the blemishes and scratches have been removed and the sample surface is flat. Wash the
sample in water and move to the next grade. After the final grinding operation on 1200 paper, wash the sample
in water and dry it before moving to polishers.
Polishers consist of rotating discs covered with soft cloth mix with hard powdery alumina particles
which is a very fine abrasive, until a mirror like finish is obtained. Start with 9, 5, 3, 1 pm and continue polishing
until the grinding scratches have been removed. Lastly, examined the specimen in the microscope after polishing
should reveal mirror like surface.
The last step is etching. The purpose of this step is to make visible the crystalline structure of the metal
and to covered with silicon carbide paper and water. There are a number of grades of paper with 240, 320, 400,
600, 1200 grains of silicon carbide. 240 grade takes the a little longer time than the other grade and it's the
beginning of the grinding process. The grinding process continued until all the blemishes and scratches have
been removed and the sample surface is flat. Wash the sample in water and move to the next grade. After the
final grinding operation on 1200 paper, wash the sample in water and dry it before moving to polishers.
Polishers consist of rotating discs covered with soft cloth mix with hard powdery alumina particles
which is a very fine abrasive, until a mirror like finish is obtained. Start with 9, 5, 3, 1 pm and continue polishing
until the grinding scratches have been removed. Lastly, examined the specimen in the microscope after polishing
should reveal mirror like surface.
The last step is etching. The purpose of this step is to make visible the crystalline structure of the metal
and to produce optical contrast between the various constituents. This is because polished metal specimens
usually show no structural characteristic and produced a highly deformed, thin layer on the surface which is
removed chemically during etching. Etching should always be done in stages, beginning with light attack, an
examination in the microscope and further etching only if required. If overetch a sample on the first step then the
polishing procedure will have to be repeated.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, all the objective of this experiment were achieved. The students understand the procedure
metallographic sample operation, basic function of optical microscope and it's operation since each and every
students has to use the microscope to see the grain structures. The students also performed analysis from the
microstructure's observation. Lastly, the students understand theoretical background of sample preparation and
metallographic specimens. In order to successfully conduct the microanalysis of the metallographic structures, it
is necessary to do a proper specimen preparation. The key to the mentioned proper specimen preparation is
knowing as much physical properties (hardness, fracture toughness and other) of the observed material as
possible. Generally, the point is to minimize the damage early in the microstructural preparation stage, and to
follow the guidelines outlined in this paper with the goal of obtaining accurate results from the analysis.