TROJAN (Suzhou) Technology Co., Ltd.
TROJAN (Suzhou) Technology Co., Ltd.
Metallographic preparation report of lead-antimony alloy
2021-02-22
Alloys containing lead and antimony have a small coefficient of friction, good toughness, thermal conductivity and corrosion resistance, and are the preferred materials for the production of battery plates, chemical pipes, and cable sheaths. Compared with pure lead, lead-antimony alloy has low melting point, good fluidity in molten state, easy to cast and form, and high hardness after solidification. It is an antimony-containing lead alloy used in the manufacture of lead-acid battery grids and conductive parts.
01Equipment and consumables
| Equipment | FlexPRESS mounting press; TableCUT-200 automatic precision cut-off machine; Alpha-600 automatic grinder&polisher; MN-60 series microscope; Electronic balance; Hairdryer. |
| Consumables | Ethyl alcohol;Degreasing cotton; |
02Sample preparation process
1-Cutting
Cut the specimen with TableCUT-200 automatic precision cut-off machine
TableCUT-200 automatic precision cut-off machine
| Equipment | TableCUT-200 automatic precision cut-off machine |
| Consumables | SiC cutting blade |
| Parameters | 2000rpm,0.2mm/s |
2-Mounting
Hot mounting with TJ2232.
FlexPRESS mounting press
| Equipment | FlexPRESS mounting press |
| Consumables | TJ2232 |
| Parameters | 180℃,120bar,5min,Medium-speed cooling |
3-Grinding
Manual grinding the specimen with Alpha-600 grinder&polisher,abrasive paper P800→P2500. Grind the specimen with 3μm diamond polishing film at last.
Alpha-600 automatic grinder&polisher
Abrasive paper
| Equipment | Alpha-600 automatic grinder&polisher |
| Consumables | Abrasive paper:P800;P1200;P2000;P2500 |
| Parameters | RPM200rpm,low pressure |
4.1-Polishing(plane polishing)
Polish the specimen with Alpha-600 automatic grinder&polisher,use SC polishing cloth with 3μm Oil-based polycrystalline diamond suspension.
SC-JP white natural silk polishing cloth
Polycrystalline diamond suspension
| Equipment | Alpha-600 automatic grinder&polisher |
| Consumables | SC polishing cloth,oil-based 3μm polycrystalline diamond suspension |
| Parameters | Same direction:150rpm,pressure:18N,time:300s |
4.2-Polishing(medium polishing)
Polish the specimen with Alpha-600 automatic grinder&polisher,use ET polishing cloth with 0.05 μm alumina suspension and 50nm non-crystallizing silica suspension for medium polishing.
ET-JP white synthetic velvet polishing cloth
Alumina suspension + non-crystallizing silica
| Equipment | Alpha-600 automatic grinder&polisher |
| Consumables | ET polishing cloth,0.05 alumina suspension+50nm non-crystallizing silica |
| Parameters | Same direction:120rpm,pressure:10N,time:120s |
4.3-Polishing(fine polishing)
Polish the specimen with Alpha-600 automatic grinder&polisher, use ET polishing cloth with 50nm non-crystallizing silica suspension for fine polishing.
Non-crystallizing silica suspension
| Equipment | Alpha-600 automatic grinder&polisher |
| Consumables | ET polishing cloth,50nm non-crystallizing Sicilia suspension |
| Parameters | Same direction:60rpm,pressure:6N,Time: until fine polished |
5-Observation
| Equipment | MN 60 series microscope |
| Parameter | 50×→500× |
03 Analysis
lead-antimony alloy 100×
lead-antimony alloy 500×
The lead-antimony alloy is very soft and sensitive to water. Therefore, its metallographic preparation is more difficult, and it is very easy to embed in the grinding stage and to corrode when polishing.
It is best to avoid using SiC abrasive paper for grinding, otherwise embedment will occur and the embedment will be difficult to remove. It is best to use abrasive paper for grinding. It can be ground in the order of 9μm→3μm.