Material testing
Before you put it to work, we put it under the microscope.
Microscopic structures – major findings
Our materials engineers lift the lid on a fascinating new world when they put steel under their scanning electron microscopes. The surface of the material, which STIHL uses in a variety of alloys, could be mistaken for a mountain range or other impressive landscapes. The black and white images, which initially appear incredibly abstract, provide our engineers with a great deal of information. The image can be zoomed up to a factor of 10,000.
Trained eye
This allows us to identify the cause of any breaks, as the edges of the break take on a different appearance depending on whether it was caused by a mistake in the heat treatment process or general material weakness. Using micrographs of a variety of metals and metal alloys, we can even identify individual crystals typical of alloy materials. This expands our knowledge and expertise when it comes to materials, their properties and their behaviour. This culminates in the ability to select the ideal materials together with our suppliers.