Elmet LLC is primarily a metallurgical and metallographic laboratory focused on the electrical and electronics industries.  All circuit boards, connectors, clips, cages, and electrical devices have metallic components that can suffer damage or fail due to causes such as fatigue, corrosion, stress overload, dendritic growth, and fretting.  These are metallurgical issues, not electrical issues, and a metallurgical perspective brings insight into the problem.  We provide that insight through investigation and thorough explanation of the metallurgical factors at work, from manufacturing defects to design to conditions of use.

Much of our work is solder joint cross sectioning, and we have a large capacity to handle this type of work.  With five automated polishers we can process more than 20 cross sections per day, day after day.  We have two metallographic studios with studio cameras, stereomicroscopes, and metallurgical microscopes to document the incoming parts, the cross sections, and the microstructures. Our scanning electron microscope assists us in evaluating intermetallic layers, microstructures, fretting, and fracture.  The EDS (energy dispersive spectroscopy) system allows us to analyze solder compositions, contamination, and debris observed on circuit boards.

We have staff holding certificates in IPC-A-610 inspection (CIS), electrical engineering, and metallurgical engineering, and we have a great deal of experience with failure analysis of metallic components.