Materials testing seminars

Hardness testing is the most widely used test method in materials testing. There is hardly a metallic component in industrial manufacturing that is not hardness-tested during the production process. From the simple sewing needle to aerospace parts, hardness testing is an integral part of quality assurance. Nevertheless, knowledge of the necessary boundary conditions and the test accuracy of hardness testing tends to be limited.

Seminar objectives: In this seminar you will receive important information on the application and the limits of hardness testing. The fundamentals and advanced knowledge of all common hardness testing methods are taught. You will learn how to define appropriate test specifications. This increases manufacturing reliability and the quality of your products. Practical exercises in applying hardness testing are an important part of the seminar.

The seminar is aimed at newcomers and returners to hardness testing, technical draughtspersons, group leaders, heads of department as well as employees and engineers from quality assurance, production, development and design who carry out hardness testing and draw up test and heat treatment specifications. Particular importance is attached to communication among participants and the exchange of experience.

This 4-day intensive seminar gives apprentices the opportunity to consolidate and extend their training in a compact format. In the optimally equipped technical centre, a facility rarely available in companies, apprentices can get to know test methods in depth and practise them under production conditions.

Seminar objective: Apprentices and laboratory staff learn to think in an interconnected way and to recognise whether the required test method is meaningful and feasible. It is important to arrive at the test result in a targeted, reliable and cost-conscious way, and to know and confidently apply the relevant test standards.

To ensure optimum and efficient training, the number of participants is limited to 8.

Seminar objectives The aim of the seminar is to provide theoretical and practical knowledge for the independent preparation of metallographic sections. In small groups, participants independently cut, mount, grind, polish and etch samples from heat treatment.

The case hardening depth is determined on case-hardened samples and the nitriding hardness depth on nitrided samples.

The focus is not on hardness testing of the specimens, but on teaching the practical knowledge required to produce and evaluate metallographic sections.

Seminar objectives The aim of the seminar is to provide knowledge for interpreting the microstructures of ferrous materials and for their correct preparation.

Metallographic examinations require both knowledge of producing sections (preparation) and a solid basic understanding of materials fundamentals. The seminar therefore specifically teaches the fundamentals of materials science and thus an understanding of the structure of ferrous materials and their microstructures.

The particular points to be observed in microstructure evaluation and preparation are also discussed. The theoretical knowledge is then practised intensively and put into practice.

This intensive seminar is held with a maximum of 8 participants.

On-site (field) metallography has long been used to determine directly on components and large plants whether they can remain in service.

In this seminar, in addition to the theoretical fundamentals, we will introduce participants to the practical application of:

• Grinding and polishing
• Etching
• Replica (foil impression) technique
• Microscopy

Everything is actively practised and applied, so that practical work takes up around 70 % of the total seminar time.

Sufficient equipment and sample material are available. A wide variety of materials are examined and documented.

For all sample materials, the microstructures obtained with classic metallography are compared with those from mobile metallography, to show participants the essential differences between the two preparation methods. The most important focus is: practice – practice – practice

This additional qualification closes practical and theoretical gaps in the fundamentals of heat treating metallic materials. Each module concludes with an examination.

GM 1: Fundamentals of materials engineering

• What is steel?
• Steel designations (according to standards)
• Alloying elements and their influence

GM 2: Heat treatment processes

• The various heat treatment processes
• Hardening + tempering/quenching and tempering
• Case hardening + carbonitriding
• Nitriding + nitrocarburising
• Surface hardening
• Cooling / quenchants

GM 3: Testing

• Furnace monitoring
• Temperature control and monitoring
• Gas monitoring
• Monitoring quenchants
• Hardness testing methods for monitoring heat treatment (overview)
• Heat treatment specifications on technical drawings