Latest News and Application Notes

Any new technology comes with a learning curve. Whether it's finding the locations of buttons on a new remote or re-establishing your settings on a new phone, a change in equipment often means time spent learning how to use the new equipment instead of actually using the new equipment. This process is extended when there are multiple users. Ease of use becomes an important factor in a purchasing decision, and often, it may seem easiest to stick with a familiar brand just because it's already known. But familiarity doesn't mean most efficient, or even easiest. When every manufacturer promises "simple" and "user-friendly" design, how can you know you have the best solution?

Bakelite, Lucite, epoxy, or acrylic? Hot or cold? Compression or castable? With all of the options available for mounting materials, it can be difficult to know which one is the best option for your sample or why it even matters. However, your choice of mounting material is important, and it can affect the final quality of your prepared sample.

LECO is heading back to the show floor!

Are you attending the Cast Expo in Columbus, Ohio, from April 23 to April 26? Stop by Booth #2016 to meet our instrument experts and get answers to your metallographic questions!

Heading to AIST in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from May 16 to May 19, instead? LECO will be at Booth #505!

Many of LECO's instruments take advantage of powerful proprietary software that is constantly being improved and updated. While LECO's Cornerstone® brand software can check for updates itself if the instrument is connected to the internet, not all instruments can be connected, for privacy or security reasons. If you ever want to check your software version, you can go to LECOSoftware.com.

If all you need for your mount is a uniform shape to hold your sample, Bakelite or epoxy would work just fine. It's simply a matter of finding the mounting material that works best with the sample material. But if you need a mounting material that lets you see the sample mounted within, there is no better choice than Lucite.

To accurately perform a metallographic analysis of a sample, the preparation is critical. The microstructure and hardness of your sample has to be unveiled, and you have to be able to trust that what you're seeing is what is actually there and not just something inadvertently created in the preparation stages. When it comes to metallographic preparation, you really can't skip a step.

As the newest mounting press to enter LECO’s lineup of metallographic instrumentation, the MX400 will streamline sample preparation with its exceptional ease-of-use and dual mount capability in a fully automated solution.