How can we prevent cracks from appearing in samples mounted by a metallographic mounting machine?

To avoid cracks in mounted samples, approach from several aspects.
In terms of mounting resin selection, for samples prone to cracking, such as brittle materials, select resins with low shrinkage and good flexibility, like certain modified epoxy resins.
Regarding process parameter settings, the heating temperature should not be too high and the heating speed should not be too fast, to prevent internal stress caused by the large difference in thermal expansion coefficients between the sample and the resin; generally, set according to the lower limit of the resin's recommended temperature range; the pressure holding time should not be too long to avoid excessive extrusion causing stress concentration inside the sample; the cooling speed should be slow, and natural cooling or graded cooling methods can be adopted to reduce thermal stress.
Perform pretreatment on the sample before mounting to eliminate surface stress, such as annealing metal samples.
When loading the sample, ensure it is placed stably in the mold to avoid tilted stress. If the sample itself has internal defects, non-destructive testing can be used to screen it before mounting, and defective samples should be repaired in advance or carefully evaluated for suitability for the mounting process.

Kunshan Fuze Testing Equipment Co., Ltd. can optimize the mounting process according to the characteristics of the user's samples, helping users effectively avoid the problem of sample cracking.