Non-Destruct weld tests.

By TimJ Date 06-05-2007 08:19

The company which I work for manufactures hammers for use in hammer mills. We weld around the outside of the hammer and infuse tungsten carbide into the weld to make them last longer. Currently we only do destruct tests to see how much carbide is getting into the weld. I was wondering if there was any tester that would achieve this goal without having to destroy the part?

Any help as to where to start looking would be greatly appreciated.

By js55

Date 06-05-2007 15:42

The only thing I can think of is that there are certain 'matting' materials that are applied wet to the surface of steels. Once they dry they are removed and can then be examined microscopically for- microsturcture, creep, carbides, etc. Itis entirely non destructive.
I know there are some fellas in here that have preformed these tests and can probably help you out with more specifics.
The asumption is of course that surface indications are volumetric. I would think that it would work well for the determination of W carbides.

By js55

Date 06-05-2007 15:48

Replications. Thats the word I was looking for. Sorry about that.

By TimJ Date 06-05-2007 18:24

js55, Thanks for the reply.

Here's a pic of the weld and a cut section of the weld. It's a little blurry but you can see the carbide inside the weld (black spots in the weld)

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k27/timmyj2006/work003.jpg

By CWI555

Date 06-17-2007 19:23

Tim,

I might suggest contacting niton and inquiring if their niton minisort2 could do what your asking. It's a hand held spark emission optical spectrometry unit.
Be mindful that carbon cannot be picked up reliably by xray diffraction spectrometry.

regards,
Gerald