To meet the challenges of the metal treating industry, Solar Atmospheres purchased and commissioned a Hitachi smart Scanning Electron Microscope. The FlexSEM1000 II will allow Solar to meet customer needs, such as strict requirements for low level contamination from carbon, oxygen and/or nitrogen post heat treating.

Additionally, the SEM will enable Solar to fulfill materials characterization and microstructural determination requests beyond the basic metallography and hardness testing. This investment is a response to the changing needs of Solar's customers, and is in keeping with the company's mission of looking forward in the area of technical capabilities while demonstrating a willingness to accept a challenge.

"This addition is a game changer," stated Don Jordan, Solar's vice president of technology. "We have made significant investments in our technical capabilities over the years, and this was a natural addition to our core competencies."

The SEM unit includes an energy dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS) option to characterize the elemental composition of the sample under investigation. "SEM technology has come a long way recently," Jordan continued. "Today's SEM technology means you don't need to be a PhD to run the machine. The human interface is user-friendly, meaning quick and accurate metallurgical photos and spectroscopy can be achieved."

"SEM analysis is yet another value-added service available to our customer base" stated Mike Moyer, director of sales. "Many of our customers have needs over-and-above what commercial heat treat companies offer. Now, not only can we help our customers develop a complex heat treatment process, but we can provide them with the analytical results to validate that process. It's a one-stop shop for them, adding value and reducing the time necessary to bring a process to production."