Top Brands And Manufacturers Of Metallographic Microscopes

The science of metallography has become one of the most challenging and complex fields of study, thanks to the discovery and production of new metal compounds and alloys. As more and more advanced products require better and more complicated mixes of metals, the need to produce excellent metal products under highly exacting techniques has become necessary. Suddenly, old techniques are simply not enough, which is why newer metallographic microscopy are being produced to help manufacturers and researchers keep up with the demand. Here are some of the top brands of metallographic microscopes available in the market today:

Olympus
Olympus metallographic microscope are some of the must trusted microscopy instruments around. Olympus, a Japanese company, is one of the few manufacturers that originally sold microscopy as part of their product line. Olympus metallographic microscopes are produced following the stringent regulations and quality control that characterizes Japanese technology.

Olympus is one of the most innovative makers of metallographic microscopes, able to produce high quality optics and state of the art instruments applied to materials science. Some of its most popular metallographic microscopes include their GX series, composed of several designs that are excellent for personal, hobby or professional research use.

Nikon
Nikon is another Japanese company that began production at around the same time as Olympus, although their first products were mostly optical glass. Like Olympus, Nikon is also a top brand in Asia, Europe and America. They marketed their first microscope more than 80 years ago and have continued to become an optical instrument manufacturer to reckon with today.

Currently, Nikon is one of the top brands producing metallographic microscopes, offering precision and excellent optics in all their instruments. One of its most popular series is the Eclipse, available for use in different fields, including biological and metallographic research. Recently, it designed a 3-plate structure for its Eclipse MA100 series, allowing heavier samples to be mounted on the microscope. It also boasts of Nikon’s signature CFI60 optics, which provides high resolution imaging with a better working distance. The Nikon Eclipse is known as an easy to use microscope that is durable and offers superior imaging quality at an affordable price. It is available in both compact size and full size.

Leica
Leica is a top German brand of metallographic microscopes. It is actually a conglomerate that includes some of the most trusted names in optics – American Optical, Cambridge and Bausch & Lomb, among others. Its products are known for their superior optical system and for their durability and reliability. In fact, some of its microscopes, such as the Leitz Orthoplan and Ortholux, are still popular today. Leica manufactures its brand of microscopes under different names, including Wild, Reichert-Jung and Leitz. Many researchers and hobbyists trust Leica for the excellent quality of its instruments and for its innovativeness. After all, this is the optical system manufacture that combined microscopy and camera technology together to produce photomicrography.

One of its most popular metallographic microscopes is produced under the company’s umbrella name – the Leica DM series. It is a highly reliable microscope that is surprisingly simple to use for materials analysis. Leica designed their metallographic microscopes with the user’s convenience in mind, so operation of the instrument comes second only to the primary task of research.

Leica has the advantage of having American Optical under its wing. This is the first manufacturer that promoted the use of infinity optics, allowing only the instruments’ nosepiece to do the job of focusing while the rest of the body stayed in place. This is an innovation that is not in use with other microscope brands.

Carl Zeiss
Carl Zeiss is another top German brand of metallographic microscope. It is widely known around the world for the quality of its lenses. Top manufacturers such as Sony carry products made with the Carl Zeiss lens. It is one of only four manufacturers who produce microscopes full time. Most of its low end microscopes are produced in China and Mexico while their high end instruments are sold directly by the company. Their spinoff company, Jenoptik Germany, is a maker of digital microscope cameras. Its most famous product is the ProgRes series.

Motic
People looking for affordably priced metallographic microscopes will sooner or later encounter the brand name Motic. Motic is a Chinese company that is considered one of the best manufacturers of quality yet inexpensive microscopes. Their product line is not as extensive as other top brands but this is a young company and it is expected to expand. As proof of Motic’s reliability as a company, Carl Zeiss has actually given it the go signal to manufacture their Primo Star brand of microscope.