Laboratories, Testing & R&D
Our philosophy is Innovation
Special steels are the material of the future. But new types of materials – even purer, harder and stronger – will play an important role in our future technology. Some of these materials have already successfully reached the market, others are currently being developed and analyzed in our laboratories.
At BÖHLER, innovation is tradition and has always been an essential part of our corporate strategy. More than 300 patents testify to the results of our research and development department.
Laboratories
Laboratories
Chemistry laboratories
Our state-of-the-art laboratories provide factories with important information for process control, product certification and environmental monitoring.
To determine the composition of metallic and non-metallic materials such as steel, non-ferrous alloys, raw materials and auxiliary products from the production of special steels, we use inorganic chemical analysis methods.
Process analysis and solids analysis
Tasks: Analysis of solid samples with the objective of obtaining the shortest turnaround times with maximum precision and accuracy.
Method: X-ray and spark spectrometry, as well as combustion analysis and melt extraction.
Wet chemistry
Tasks: Trace analysis by process samples and identify major and minor components for complex matrices, provision of calibration sample certificates, reference materials for solids analysis, analysis of specialized raw materials and waste, and analysis of environmental samples.
Method: Classical wet chemistry analysis methods combined with the most modern tests of optical spectrometry, mass spectrometry and chromatography.
Corrosion test
Tasks: Corrosion testing of steels and alloys.
Method: Various methods according to international standards and specific regulations for erosive corrosion resistance testing, intercrystalline corrosion, stress corrosion cracking, pitting corrosion – including electrochemical tests.
Testing
Testing
Mechanical and technological testing of materials
Tasks: Determine the mechanical parameters.
Method: Application of stress, hot tension, notched bar impact and stress rupture tests, as well as Brinell, Rockwell and Vickers hardness tests on steels and non-ferrous alloys in accordance with international standards and regulations.
Metallography
Tasks: Determine microstructure parameters of samples and components – including sample preparation, etching and graphic documentation – according to inspection standards and customer specifications.
Method: Determine the structure, grain size, purity level, decarburization, etc.
Heat treatment
Tasks: Heat treatment of samples and components according to customer specifications.
Method: Heating in laboratory furnaces supervised by the system, both air and vacuum, additional salt baths and sub-zero treatments for the transformation of residual austenite. Water and oil are available for quenching media.
Physics and metallurgical laboratories
Tasks: Hot deformation simulations, differential thermal analysis and dialometry test, forming and heat treatment simulations, creation of TTT and TTA tables, sub-zero simulations, definition of linear expansion coefficients and investigation of recrystallization and precipitation processes.
Method: Damage and material analysis of sample microstructures and fractures, as well as qualitative analysis of non-metallic inclusions using an electron scanning microscope, measurement of physical properties of materials by magnetic testing of soft materials, stress and strain analysis using strain gauges and X-ray diffraction analysis (residual austenite, phase analysis).
Research and Development
Research and Development
Our mission:
“In order to always offer our customers the best solutions, we continuously develop and improve our products and processes.”
The basis for achieving this lies in our world-class researchers and the experience gained from our global network and numerous cooperative ventures with national and international universities, schools and technical centers, research and development centers, as well as development agreements with key customers from a wide variety of business sectors.
Our research and development program focuses primarily on expanding our core competencies in tool steels, high-speed steels and highly technical specialty materials. Product and process development is a fundamental part of the program, which is oriented to meet market expectations and the ever-changing needs of our customers in the most competitive and efficient manner.
The use and development of computer simulations to precede the results of the different alloys allows us to implement the results of our products, as well as the use of mathematical simulations applied to production and processes, physical simulations of the behavior of materials and components during their production.