Learn The Parts Of A Metallographic Microscope

Metallographic microscopes are microscopes which are used primarily inside electronics and industrial plants. These microscopes are very complex, and they allow for the viewing of opaque surfaces of metals and other similar specimens. The parts of a metallographic microscope are listed below.

Metallographic microscopes are specialty microscopes. They come in both upright and inverted models. Upright metallographic microscopes appear much like the same as traditional microscopes. On the other hand, the inverted models have their objective lenses positioned below the stage rather than the other way around.

Inside an industrial setup, metallographic microscopes are the perfect microscopes to be used for jobs that involve inspection of metals, metal alloys, and silicon wafer. They are also ideally used for quality control purposes. And these are all but possible because of the functional parts of a metallographic microscope.

And these parts of a metallographic microscope are the following:

1. Trinocular eyepiece
   Most metallographic microscopes, being very complex in nature, are trinocular. This means that it is equipped with three viewing ports. Two are used for binocular viewing. The additional one is used as an adaptor for a digital camera. Being such, a metallographic microscope can be used to take digital images of the sample. The digital camera attached to it can be interfaced with a computer system with a compatible monitor so that looking through the sample may be performed without the need to strain the eyes into eyepiece tube.


2. Illumination system
   Most metallographic microscopes are equipped with a built-in illumination system. It usually uses a halogen lamp. The lighting technique that metallographic microscopes commonly use is the reflected light technique, which is also the best one for viewing the surface of a metal sample. A metallographic microscope may also have dual lighting system. And that means it may also support either the bright field or the dark field illumination techniques, or both for that matter.


3. Powerful objectives
   Depending upon the actual specifications of metallographic microscope, they may be composed with two or more objectives. Being such, they are real compound microscopes. It is also possible that they are capable of enlarging a specimen to as high as 1250x. The 1250x can be achieved by using the right combination of eyepieces and objective lenses. A metallographic microscope can be equipped with a 12.5x eyepiece rather than the traditional 10x. And when the 12.5x eyepiece is made to work with an objective lens with 100x magnification power, then a total magnification level of 1250x is achieved.


4. Stage
   The stage of the microscope is the place where the sample has to be mounted. This stage can be positioned below the objective lenses. This is the traditional type of metallographic microscope. Or it could be positioned above the lenses. This is now the inverted type of a metallographic microscope. The inverted metallographic microscope can accommodate larger specimens than that of the upright types. In an upright metallographic microscope, the height of the sample is restricted by the objective lenses. However, with an inverted type, such restrictions are not present. Also, most of the stages of a metallographic microscope are mechanical.


5. Polarizer
   Not all metallographic microscopes are equipped with polarizers. Only the ones that use the advanced epi-illumination system have this part. A polarizer is a type of an optics that enhances the viewing of a metal’s surface. This optics produces polarized lights that are perfect for metallic specimens.


6. Body
   The microscope’s body is composed of the base, the arm, and the head. These are the parts that house the microscope’s delicate parts, like its optics. Some metallographic microscopes have a stable base with a movable body. These types of metallographic microscope are perfect for certain applications that require different arrangements. Also, the position of the moveable head can also be used to bring the specimen under observation into focus.


7. Focusing knobs and sliders
   These parts are primarily used to bring the image of the specimen under view into focus. There are knobs to control the intensity of the microscope’s built-in lighting system. There are also those that are used to adjust the focus, contrast, and brightness of the image. For metallographic microscopes that are equipped with a mechanical stage, there are also adjustment knobs that can be manipulated to position the sample in the direct path of the eyepiece.
   
   These are the purposeful parts of a metallographic microscope. Each of these parts adds certain functionality to the device. Without them working in harmony with each other, it is impossible for this type of a microscope to do the tasks that it is deemed to be capable of.