I am a bad, bad kid!
It has been literally weeks since I have updated my blog and I am sure you are wondering where the heck I went!
Well to be really honest, I have been running around like mad, most recently in Los Angeles this last week, trying to get business moving in my territory. The economy is not cooperating much at all.
I am hearing from businesses that, yes, they are ALMOST ready to expand/buy/invest BUT...
...business is still slow and we need to amass capital
...we are waiting for year-end to better see how our budget will hold up
...we don't want to spend all our capital in case the economy slows again
...we are waiting for our current system to fail completely before we invest in more equipment
Yes, there are a lot of "wait and see" attitudes out there to be sure. Unfortunately, "waiting" in business means sliding inexorably backward. Many of your competitors are not waiting. They are seeing this as an opportunity to add the capabilities they WILL need, before they need it. To stay ahead of the curve means starting fast out of the gate when business springs back.
I would love to hear someone say to me "Yeah, business has been really slow, so we are taking the time to upgrade our equipment and train our people so when things come back to life, we can hit the ground running, more competitive than ever!"
I'm reminded of a story (oh god... a story... here it comes!) of an engineer friend of mine I worked with in the industrial ultra-sonics industry. This was back in my early days, just out of high-school, but I was working in the product development division. He had big dreams for a new instrument and had a project moving forward. Things were working out well! I had finished the LCD display system and it was showing data in real-time, the system was cursor controlled with soft-buttons and a smart knob... we were 60% there!
Well, tragedy strikes. The stocks went down, the company lost value, the market went soft... Oh the horror!
His project was "suspended" due to "lack of funds" (lack of will is more like it... I noticed that there were lay-offs, but management didn't take a cut and the "pet" employees and projects hummed merrily along) and development stopped. (and don't even get me started about cutting marketing when the economy suffers! THAT is the single best way to ENSURE you fall off the map!)
When the market returned, and things bounced back and his project was funded again, we started where we left off, but the market had moved beyond us as we "waited for things to get better". Our competitors introduced a similar instrument before we could even get ours ramped back up! We waited, they didn't. We lost, they won. We were poised to be first, but wound up being a "me too".
My biggest concern is that companies will wait to get their competency updated for the next wave of business. But like a surfer late to the beach, the big waves will be carrying those who were prepared to new success, while many (maybe you?) are still paddling out from the perceived safety of the shore, or worse, being tumbled in the surf by forces you could never control and can no longer adapt to...
Geez! SO DARK! Well I guess that's how I am feeling today. Sorry if I am a downer today my friends, but the economy will only recover if we make the decision to do what we can to help. Sitting on money isn't the answer. Investing in ways to better withstand the next storm (enhanced competencies, better efficiencies, higher quality) are what will keep us in the game, and when demand and costs are low, that is when to strike!
In this case, knowing your metals is about finding ways to squeeze pennies from scrap or shave cost off production, and you don't do that by waiting for better times, you do it by making better time!
Have a great day!
Walter
P.S. Look for a big update to http://www.know-your-metals.com/ within the next few weeks, because my baby site is about to grow up a bit! And as always, if you need to get information about analytical equipment for metals, contact me at walter@know-your-metals.com or go to http://www.know-your-metals.com/ and take a look. Be sure to see what we have to offer at http://www.verichek.net/ too, you won't be sorry!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Monday, April 23, 2012
IRSI is a good one!
Well hello all,
Glad you could join me again. I am trying to collect all my thoughts and experiences from the recent ISRI conference and somehow cobble it into a ball of meaning and insight, but there is JUST SO MUCH. If you were in attendance you know what I mean; it's a huge conference with a huge exhibit area, right on the Las Vegas strip, in the heart of casino country... let's just say the environment is intended to be nothing short of overstimulating... But even through all of that, this year more than the couple of years before, I got the distinct feeling that people were there FOR BUSINESS. This was not a pleasure-cruise, this is money at stake
I was there to support our exhibit and provide demonstrations, so I was pretty much working the whole time while at the booth for Verichek. There was a diverse range of people and interests represented there, beyond metals analysis, of course. I came away with some new ideas for better addressing some under served markets with my products, which is always a good thing for business, and I heard from a lot of people about what is important to them.
It wasn't always "well you know, what I find important in the metals business..." though that did essentially happen a couple of times. But the very interesting things were what people responded to unconsciously... the way they wrinkled their brow or pursed their lips when certain things were mentioned. If you watch people carefully, you can see the wheels turning.
And for the first time in maybe the last 3 or so years, the price was not THE primary concern. Oh sure, they wanted to know what the price was, but the ballpark numbers didn't evoke the response they did a year ago, though they are essentially unchanged. The slight widening of the eyes wasn't there... the uncomfortable shift of weight.
The discussion didn't lead with price and the questions weren't about how we could whittle away the cost or throw in extra warranties or finance it on a 200 month lease, it was much more...substantial... than that.
Finally the conversation is returning to performance and value, the things they should have been all along!
When people begin to understand the value of an instrument beyond the price of the instrument, it becomes apparent that the value is greater only IF you apply the device in an effective manner. The small scrap yard that doesn't see but a few hundred thousand per year in revenues may not think an analyzer is of enough value, but if they dig deeper they find that they can add value to the equation in other ways, perhaps offering metal analysis services to even smaller yards for a fee, or sharing equipment among yards to spread the cost and still obtain the benefit of having an analyzer to accurately identify and value their products.
One thing everyone seems to be realizing though, their competition is analyzing materials and making it pay. If they can save a penny more because of accurate valuation of their materials, or offer a little more to their customers, they are going to win... sometimes staying competitive is the best reason; there is no standing still, if you aren't moving forward you're falling behind.
Have a great day and I will see you next time!
Glad you could join me again. I am trying to collect all my thoughts and experiences from the recent ISRI conference and somehow cobble it into a ball of meaning and insight, but there is JUST SO MUCH. If you were in attendance you know what I mean; it's a huge conference with a huge exhibit area, right on the Las Vegas strip, in the heart of casino country... let's just say the environment is intended to be nothing short of overstimulating... But even through all of that, this year more than the couple of years before, I got the distinct feeling that people were there FOR BUSINESS. This was not a pleasure-cruise, this is money at stake
I was there to support our exhibit and provide demonstrations, so I was pretty much working the whole time while at the booth for Verichek. There was a diverse range of people and interests represented there, beyond metals analysis, of course. I came away with some new ideas for better addressing some under served markets with my products, which is always a good thing for business, and I heard from a lot of people about what is important to them.
It wasn't always "well you know, what I find important in the metals business..." though that did essentially happen a couple of times. But the very interesting things were what people responded to unconsciously... the way they wrinkled their brow or pursed their lips when certain things were mentioned. If you watch people carefully, you can see the wheels turning.
And for the first time in maybe the last 3 or so years, the price was not THE primary concern. Oh sure, they wanted to know what the price was, but the ballpark numbers didn't evoke the response they did a year ago, though they are essentially unchanged. The slight widening of the eyes wasn't there... the uncomfortable shift of weight.
The discussion didn't lead with price and the questions weren't about how we could whittle away the cost or throw in extra warranties or finance it on a 200 month lease, it was much more...substantial... than that.
Finally the conversation is returning to performance and value, the things they should have been all along!
When people begin to understand the value of an instrument beyond the price of the instrument, it becomes apparent that the value is greater only IF you apply the device in an effective manner. The small scrap yard that doesn't see but a few hundred thousand per year in revenues may not think an analyzer is of enough value, but if they dig deeper they find that they can add value to the equation in other ways, perhaps offering metal analysis services to even smaller yards for a fee, or sharing equipment among yards to spread the cost and still obtain the benefit of having an analyzer to accurately identify and value their products.
One thing everyone seems to be realizing though, their competition is analyzing materials and making it pay. If they can save a penny more because of accurate valuation of their materials, or offer a little more to their customers, they are going to win... sometimes staying competitive is the best reason; there is no standing still, if you aren't moving forward you're falling behind.
Have a great day and I will see you next time!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Back From Boulder...
Hello again!
I just got home and off of the road from a trip to Boulder Colorado, for a web-demonstration of the Oxford Instruments PMI-MASTER Pro mobile spectrometer. I had a great trip and the prospects seemed very impressed with the operation! Not that is of great interest to you, but the reason I bring this up, is that in our current, massively connected lifestyles, it is becoming easier and easier to gain information and exposure to the products we need to stay competitive, without the expense, hassle and risk of moving equipment and people around the country to see an instrument operate. (you can see a recording of the demonstration if you like. Go HERE to see the you-tube video)
I am a firm believer that education is the most important part of my job. There is a lot of information out there, and much of it is terribly inaccurate, if not willfully misleading! At first, the people I interface with don't know if they can trust the information I provide or not (I certainly hope they do, but it is completely reasonable for them not to!) so being able to see for yourself goes a long way to clearing up misconceptions and erroneous assumptions that we all make in our heads, and helps us verify that what we are being told is true.
With metals analysis, the ability to see important elements, like carbon for instance, with precision is such an important factor. The ability to SEE that reproducibility is a prime motivator for the people who desire analytical equipment. Sure, precision specifications are provided, but there is something almost magical about seeing the PROOF, right there in front of you, especially when it's your own, familiar materials being analyzed. There are many other reasons as well, but my experience has taught me that this is generally the main factor, with ease-of-use, configuration flexibility, and even prestige following closely behind.
Just as a little exercise, imagine you are out shopping for a mobile spectrometer for your company. You search the web, you see this model, you see that model, you read the features, check the bells and whistles, you check on pricing. Geez... they all seem to be close in performance and investment. Which one will you feel most comfortable recommending to your organization; the ones displayed in the handsome, polished fliers you downloaded, or the one you saw analyze YOUR materials accurately and precisely? I know where I put my trust; in the claims I can VERIFY.
That's the main crux of my post today; verify the claims being made before you write the check. One of my prospects was relaying a story of a colleague he works with. They analyze materials in the field to determine proper welding technique and application of materials. They were told by the sales rep "Sure! This analyzer can analyze carbon steel NO PROBLEM!" And strictly speaking, it COULD analyze carbon steel... the salesman just "forgot" to tell them that the actual carbon WOULD NOT be part of the analysis.
They didn't verify the claims made. They spent many tens of thousands of dollars. They now have an analyzer that is almost useless for their true needs. They are reluctant to purchase more analytical capability because they have already spent so much of their budget. Maybe they can recover some of the investment by selling the analyzer, but they will never gain the VALUE from the analyzer.
I try to make it easy for the people I work with to verify my claims. If you are dealing with me, I will try my darnedest to provide you with accurate and verifiable information. I offer demonstration for the equipment I recommend, whether in-person or via web-sessions, so they can trust that they will see the value from the product applied to their operation. Don't trust anyone who won't stand behind their equipment/service/claims to at least that level. I sure won't,and you shouldn't either.
Well, I am getting ready now to fly to Las Vegas for the International Society of Recycling Industries conference and exhibition. If you will be at ISRI, please come and say hello at booth 1221! We may have some special offers we can entice you with, but we will definitely have equipment we can demonstrate for you.
Thanks for reading, and if you haven't already done so, sign up for my free newsletter HERE as I will be sharing tips, techniques, stories and information on upcoming specials and other useful information that may help you with your metals analysis challenges. It's spam-free and I don't share addresses.
Thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Walter
I just got home and off of the road from a trip to Boulder Colorado, for a web-demonstration of the Oxford Instruments PMI-MASTER Pro mobile spectrometer. I had a great trip and the prospects seemed very impressed with the operation! Not that is of great interest to you, but the reason I bring this up, is that in our current, massively connected lifestyles, it is becoming easier and easier to gain information and exposure to the products we need to stay competitive, without the expense, hassle and risk of moving equipment and people around the country to see an instrument operate. (you can see a recording of the demonstration if you like. Go HERE to see the you-tube video)
I am a firm believer that education is the most important part of my job. There is a lot of information out there, and much of it is terribly inaccurate, if not willfully misleading! At first, the people I interface with don't know if they can trust the information I provide or not (I certainly hope they do, but it is completely reasonable for them not to!) so being able to see for yourself goes a long way to clearing up misconceptions and erroneous assumptions that we all make in our heads, and helps us verify that what we are being told is true.
With metals analysis, the ability to see important elements, like carbon for instance, with precision is such an important factor. The ability to SEE that reproducibility is a prime motivator for the people who desire analytical equipment. Sure, precision specifications are provided, but there is something almost magical about seeing the PROOF, right there in front of you, especially when it's your own, familiar materials being analyzed. There are many other reasons as well, but my experience has taught me that this is generally the main factor, with ease-of-use, configuration flexibility, and even prestige following closely behind.
Just as a little exercise, imagine you are out shopping for a mobile spectrometer for your company. You search the web, you see this model, you see that model, you read the features, check the bells and whistles, you check on pricing. Geez... they all seem to be close in performance and investment. Which one will you feel most comfortable recommending to your organization; the ones displayed in the handsome, polished fliers you downloaded, or the one you saw analyze YOUR materials accurately and precisely? I know where I put my trust; in the claims I can VERIFY.
That's the main crux of my post today; verify the claims being made before you write the check. One of my prospects was relaying a story of a colleague he works with. They analyze materials in the field to determine proper welding technique and application of materials. They were told by the sales rep "Sure! This analyzer can analyze carbon steel NO PROBLEM!" And strictly speaking, it COULD analyze carbon steel... the salesman just "forgot" to tell them that the actual carbon WOULD NOT be part of the analysis.
They didn't verify the claims made. They spent many tens of thousands of dollars. They now have an analyzer that is almost useless for their true needs. They are reluctant to purchase more analytical capability because they have already spent so much of their budget. Maybe they can recover some of the investment by selling the analyzer, but they will never gain the VALUE from the analyzer.
I try to make it easy for the people I work with to verify my claims. If you are dealing with me, I will try my darnedest to provide you with accurate and verifiable information. I offer demonstration for the equipment I recommend, whether in-person or via web-sessions, so they can trust that they will see the value from the product applied to their operation. Don't trust anyone who won't stand behind their equipment/service/claims to at least that level. I sure won't,and you shouldn't either.
Well, I am getting ready now to fly to Las Vegas for the International Society of Recycling Industries conference and exhibition. If you will be at ISRI, please come and say hello at booth 1221! We may have some special offers we can entice you with, but we will definitely have equipment we can demonstrate for you.
Thanks for reading, and if you haven't already done so, sign up for my free newsletter HERE as I will be sharing tips, techniques, stories and information on upcoming specials and other useful information that may help you with your metals analysis challenges. It's spam-free and I don't share addresses.
Thanks for reading!
Until next time,
Walter
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Back from AFS Regional...
Welcome back for another installation of Know Your Metals!
I had a busy last couple of weeks! A lot of travel, trade-show attendance and calls and visits in LA California!
The most recent trade event was a small, regional AFS (American Foundry Society) conference with a small exhibit area for vendors (yeah, the booth-boy attends these neighborhood events too!) at the Red Lion in Seattle WA.
I was very happy to attend, as it gave me a chance to reconnect with folks I had lost touch with due to job changes. I really like working with the foundry and metal manufacture folks. They tend to be a "no-nonsense" group of people and that suits my professional style just fine! They seem to know what they want and can make the case to get it!
Making metal and mixing alloys is as much art as science I think... Some of these guys have such a knack for it, they can almost tell you what is in an alloy by the smell! Well, maybe that is an exaggeration, but they are pretty darned good at it!
Most of us have to rely on equipment like OES spectrometers to get the low-down on an alloy. Commercial metals really do need to be closely monitored for material composition, or a alloy won't have the right characteristics (strength, flexibility, machinability, what-have-you) to fit the intended purpose. Speaking of art vs. science, the one MAJOR exception is art metals.
Foundries for art-metals are typically only interested in the chemistry in-so-far as it effects the pour into the mold and the color of the casting... Dang they have it SO easy!
For the rest of us though, gotta have that chemistry!
How do you analyze your metals? What kind of equipment do you rely on? Let me know, I would like to hear about what you are doing to maintain your quality, but also what your challenges are!
This is a short one this week, I hope you have a great week and remember, now is the time to...
KNOW YOUR METALS!
Thanks for tuning in again! Until next time!
Walter
(P.S. if you want more information about me or the products I recommend, visit
http://know-your-metals.com/
and while you are there, sign up for my weekly newsletter!)
I had a busy last couple of weeks! A lot of travel, trade-show attendance and calls and visits in LA California!
The most recent trade event was a small, regional AFS (American Foundry Society) conference with a small exhibit area for vendors (yeah, the booth-boy attends these neighborhood events too!) at the Red Lion in Seattle WA.
I was very happy to attend, as it gave me a chance to reconnect with folks I had lost touch with due to job changes. I really like working with the foundry and metal manufacture folks. They tend to be a "no-nonsense" group of people and that suits my professional style just fine! They seem to know what they want and can make the case to get it!
Making metal and mixing alloys is as much art as science I think... Some of these guys have such a knack for it, they can almost tell you what is in an alloy by the smell! Well, maybe that is an exaggeration, but they are pretty darned good at it!
Most of us have to rely on equipment like OES spectrometers to get the low-down on an alloy. Commercial metals really do need to be closely monitored for material composition, or a alloy won't have the right characteristics (strength, flexibility, machinability, what-have-you) to fit the intended purpose. Speaking of art vs. science, the one MAJOR exception is art metals.
Foundries for art-metals are typically only interested in the chemistry in-so-far as it effects the pour into the mold and the color of the casting... Dang they have it SO easy!
For the rest of us though, gotta have that chemistry!
How do you analyze your metals? What kind of equipment do you rely on? Let me know, I would like to hear about what you are doing to maintain your quality, but also what your challenges are!
This is a short one this week, I hope you have a great week and remember, now is the time to...
KNOW YOUR METALS!
Thanks for tuning in again! Until next time!
Walter
(P.S. if you want more information about me or the products I recommend, visit
http://know-your-metals.com/
and while you are there, sign up for my weekly newsletter!)
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
NACE and the BoothBoys...
Thanks for tuning in again! I am sorry for the delay in posting, but things do pile up a bit when I am out traveling... yeah, it's just a lame excuse, but I'm sticking to it!
NACE was a great experience, and not only for seeing the new offerings of other vendors and service organizations. It's also great see friends and colleagues I haven't seen in a while, and to meet new people and make new connections. We talked to a lot of people and I was surprised at how many different industries were involved in preventing, detecting, arresting and remediating corrosion!
As one of the Verichek BoothBoys, I was there with my friend and colleague, Tom Lambert. He is an awesome guy to work with, and if you are lucky enough to meet him, you will quickly see what I mean.
We had several instruments there for demonstration which drew a lot of attention. Of course the handheld XRF analyzer is popular wherever we take it, but the handheld arc instruments were the real attention grabbers. The one we brought for detecting the risk of FAC (flow accelerated corrosion) was of particular interest.
At a corrosion conference. Imagine that. Duh.
Well, since this is "Know Your Metals!" (and since I've brought it up) the instrument is a handheld spectrometer with specific sensitivity to chrome in the iron grades used for piping systems. Just like chrome on a bumper or faucet, the chrome in the pipe protects it against various types of corrosion. If there isn't enough chrome... well, unlike in your bathroom, where you risk staining the tile (Gads!) in a nuclear plant, you are gambling with safety... and lives... and the environment. It is surprising how much uncertainty there is out there! Gives me the willies sometimes...
I digress...
The handheld spectrometer operates by drawing an arc to the metal, which evaporates a small amount of the metal into the plasma of the arc. The elements from the pipe, now suspended in this energetic plasma, glow brightly. The spectrometer separates the different colors of light with a diffraction grating; kind of like a prism. Each element shines a different set of colors, which the instrument detects and reports as the relative concentration of different elements... TA-DA! Now you know if there is the proper amount of chrome in the pipe to protect it from the corrosion I spoke of. Yeah! SCIENCE WINS AGAIN!
Well, that was what we took to appeal to the corrosion engineers who were participating in the conference. And you know, it was a good success too! Now... not to put too fine a point on it, but there were a lot of guys there, and a gun that shoots an arc to metal and figures out what it's made of, well I can't help it, that is just damn cool to guys like me... Yes ladies, I am confirming that (as those of you who were attending with your guys already know) we are fascinated by bright lights and shiny objects.
The Salt Palace Convention Center was a nice place to have the event and the event and exhibit was well organized! There weren't long lines to battle with and the Freeman event labor was friendly, courteous and helpful. By the way, if you attend exhibition events, please take a moment next time to thank the guard or the janitor or other staff that makes these events possible, they work very hard and receive little recognition. Tell them you appreciate them. It matters.
All in all I was pretty impressed with the event! I have to say though, I was a little disappointed with the catering. As exhibitors, we put in long hours there and have little chance to get away. The meals should be good and there should be enough food for everyone. While the food at NACE was edible, it ran out WAY before all the exhibitors were fed, and I wouldn't order it from a menu.
Well, we made a lot of contacts, enjoyed the company of our fellow boothies and I learned a few things from the other folks I talked to. I wish that I had been able to spend more time talking to individuals (as opposed to talking to people, if you can understand what I mean) because I would be able to LEARN SO MUCH.
Well, next is a local AFS conference in my back-yard (Seattle), then a while in in Los Angeles, and then ISRI in Las Vegas... wow... looking at it, I am going to be running for a while!
Well I tell you, starting a blog is like anything else, the more you do it the better you get. I'll try to be a little more regular with my postings.
I hope you find what I bring here at least interesting. If you want to leave a comment, I would appreciate the feedback! I want to make this something you like to read, so let me know what kinds of things you want to understand better. I can't promise I'll have all the facts, but I'll do my darnedest to explore it with you so we will all know more!
Until next time!
Walter
www.verichek.net
NACE was a great experience, and not only for seeing the new offerings of other vendors and service organizations. It's also great see friends and colleagues I haven't seen in a while, and to meet new people and make new connections. We talked to a lot of people and I was surprised at how many different industries were involved in preventing, detecting, arresting and remediating corrosion!
As one of the Verichek BoothBoys, I was there with my friend and colleague, Tom Lambert. He is an awesome guy to work with, and if you are lucky enough to meet him, you will quickly see what I mean.
We had several instruments there for demonstration which drew a lot of attention. Of course the handheld XRF analyzer is popular wherever we take it, but the handheld arc instruments were the real attention grabbers. The one we brought for detecting the risk of FAC (flow accelerated corrosion) was of particular interest.
At a corrosion conference. Imagine that. Duh.
Well, since this is "Know Your Metals!" (and since I've brought it up) the instrument is a handheld spectrometer with specific sensitivity to chrome in the iron grades used for piping systems. Just like chrome on a bumper or faucet, the chrome in the pipe protects it against various types of corrosion. If there isn't enough chrome... well, unlike in your bathroom, where you risk staining the tile (Gads!) in a nuclear plant, you are gambling with safety... and lives... and the environment. It is surprising how much uncertainty there is out there! Gives me the willies sometimes...
I digress...
The handheld spectrometer operates by drawing an arc to the metal, which evaporates a small amount of the metal into the plasma of the arc. The elements from the pipe, now suspended in this energetic plasma, glow brightly. The spectrometer separates the different colors of light with a diffraction grating; kind of like a prism. Each element shines a different set of colors, which the instrument detects and reports as the relative concentration of different elements... TA-DA! Now you know if there is the proper amount of chrome in the pipe to protect it from the corrosion I spoke of. Yeah! SCIENCE WINS AGAIN!
Well, that was what we took to appeal to the corrosion engineers who were participating in the conference. And you know, it was a good success too! Now... not to put too fine a point on it, but there were a lot of guys there, and a gun that shoots an arc to metal and figures out what it's made of, well I can't help it, that is just damn cool to guys like me... Yes ladies, I am confirming that (as those of you who were attending with your guys already know) we are fascinated by bright lights and shiny objects.
The Salt Palace Convention Center was a nice place to have the event and the event and exhibit was well organized! There weren't long lines to battle with and the Freeman event labor was friendly, courteous and helpful. By the way, if you attend exhibition events, please take a moment next time to thank the guard or the janitor or other staff that makes these events possible, they work very hard and receive little recognition. Tell them you appreciate them. It matters.
All in all I was pretty impressed with the event! I have to say though, I was a little disappointed with the catering. As exhibitors, we put in long hours there and have little chance to get away. The meals should be good and there should be enough food for everyone. While the food at NACE was edible, it ran out WAY before all the exhibitors were fed, and I wouldn't order it from a menu.
Well, we made a lot of contacts, enjoyed the company of our fellow boothies and I learned a few things from the other folks I talked to. I wish that I had been able to spend more time talking to individuals (as opposed to talking to people, if you can understand what I mean) because I would be able to LEARN SO MUCH.
Well, next is a local AFS conference in my back-yard (Seattle), then a while in in Los Angeles, and then ISRI in Las Vegas... wow... looking at it, I am going to be running for a while!
Well I tell you, starting a blog is like anything else, the more you do it the better you get. I'll try to be a little more regular with my postings.
I hope you find what I bring here at least interesting. If you want to leave a comment, I would appreciate the feedback! I want to make this something you like to read, so let me know what kinds of things you want to understand better. I can't promise I'll have all the facts, but I'll do my darnedest to explore it with you so we will all know more!
Until next time!
Walter
www.verichek.net
Friday, March 9, 2012
Off to SLC for NACE!
Hello again! I'm going to apologize for the lack of formatting! I'm posting from my iPad and for some reason, the carriage returns don't work!
Well, me, my computer, iPad and iPhone are headed off to the beautiful Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City Utah. I'll be joining friends and colleagues, doing our best to arrest corrosion in it's tracks! Or at least be able to predict when and where it is likely to occur... you know... whatever works best!
Knowing your metals is crucial to understanding metal corrosion. Of course, there are the obvious examples; you don't try to store corrosive materials in vessels that will react to the contents, but there are other, more insidious things lurking about that can cause corrosion, and failure (and heartache, and job loss, and injury, and contamination... Ok, waxing dramatic, but it's still true!) so even before detecting corrosion, knowing that you COULD have a problem is a invaluable first-step to making sure it never happens in the first place!
A problem seen in some piping systems is a phenomenon called Flow Accelerated Corrosion, or FAC. I will be demonstrating an instrument in SLC that is designed to measure the chrome in piping components and report on the likelihood that FAC will be a problem in that part. Chrome is a major element in making iron based alloys resistant to corrosion... that's why it's on the steel grilles, wheels and bumpers of older cars (well, and to look cool and shiny and stuff too...)and it performs a similar function in the metal of pipes and valves (the corrosion protection, not the cool, shiny stuff) but ONLY IF there is enough of it! By analyzing the chemistry of the metal in a pipe, and determining the amount of chrome it contains, you can tell how likely the part is to experience this type of corrosion.
All very fancy, I know!
So if you are in SLC and want to see this kind of stuff, drop me a line here (Verichek@me.com) and I'll sneak you in under my jacket... Or i could email you a pass you can print out so you can come see us at booth 1818... You choose...
See you there!
Walter
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
...why folks, it will even cure toothaches!
Thanks for checking in again! Welcome back.
After talking about XRF and OES analyzers last time, I thought I had better talk about some of the challenges that users might face with these technologies. I don't want folks to think there are no limits to their special, magical powers! Hopefully I can offer a few tips to help improve the results and experiences people have using them. I'll start with handheld XRF for this episode.
Before I get into any trouble here and have metal samples crashing through my windows, I want to say that I am not claiming to be an expert or have all of the correct theoretical answers. What I will be sharing here will be (largely) based on my experience, but will be flawed and imperfect, just like me. What I do bring to the conversation is some years of experience, both in manufacturing and sales, of handheld XRF analyzers.
Anyway, handheld XRF is a powerful technology and a great tool to have in your arsenal. These fully featured spectrometers can help you prevent mix-ups, as I highlighted in my previous issue (man was that guy grumpy after that demo!) they can also help you sort scrap or recycled materials to feed new processes. They can be used to screen out inappropriate materials as with lead in toys. They can even be used in mining applications (mining applications are fraught with challenges, not the least of which is having no real "dirt" standards, but I'll talk about that another time) to help determine ore quality. But, as with all things, they have limitations and weaknesses.
The most frequently cited limitation I hear of XRF is... Drum-roll please!
Carbon
Yep. Carbon.
XRF cannot now and likely will never be able to see carbon and there's no use whining about it! Quit asking when it will be available too! (I'm talking to you David!) It's just not in the cards for a handheld device, and the reason is physics.
XRF analysis is all about the x-ray energy that atoms can absorb, which pushes electrons out of their orbits, and the energy atoms emit when electrons fall into the holes left by those pushed-out electrons. Carbon is a very light element. It doesn't have many electrons that are in tune with x-rays and can be pushed out by that energy. Furthermore, when an electron does get pushed out and one falls in the hole it left behind, the little photon it emits is a weak one and can't travel far. It gets swallowed up by pretty much anything it runs into, even air.
It isn't until the sodium-magnesium range of materials do you start getting x-rays that can actually get into a detector IF they can make it through all the air, window materials and other stuff waiting to suck them up! And then it's only about 6 or 7% of them that get to the detector to form a signal. Almost sad...
So you see, carbon analysis ain't gonna happen with handheld XRF anytime soon! Fortunately there are methods for measuring carbon in metals, OES being one of them, though admittedly, there are more precise methods than OES but they tend to be a little more pricey to operate, with more chemistry, additives and consumables involved. With proper sample prep and data averaging, OES can do a respectable job...
But I digress, dang it, we're talking about XRF here so let's get back to it.
This same issue arises when you are analyzing aluminum with XRF. Aluminum and many of the alloying elements used in it are light elements and provide wimpy x-rays. The vast majority of XRF analyzers out there aren't even able to measure the x-rays that aluminum, magnesium and silicon emit. To get around this, many analyzers will instead look for the copper and iron and other heavier elements that are alloyed with aluminum to make identification guesses.
About 5 years ago, SDD hit the market and aluminum analysis became much better. Silicon Drift Detectors offer greatly improved count-rates (how many x-ray photons per second can be measured) over standard SiPIN detectors, sometimes by a factor of 10 or more. Sensitivity improvements inherent in SDD structure also mean better signals from these weak photons.
But since such a low percentage of the photons make it into the detector, aluminum analysis can be improved by using longer analysis times, and I recommend 20-40 seconds at least, sometimes more for 3000 and 5000 series alloys
Well, I better wrap it up; it's a blog not a novel! Until next time!
Walter
Verichek Instruments
After talking about XRF and OES analyzers last time, I thought I had better talk about some of the challenges that users might face with these technologies. I don't want folks to think there are no limits to their special, magical powers! Hopefully I can offer a few tips to help improve the results and experiences people have using them. I'll start with handheld XRF for this episode.
Before I get into any trouble here and have metal samples crashing through my windows, I want to say that I am not claiming to be an expert or have all of the correct theoretical answers. What I will be sharing here will be (largely) based on my experience, but will be flawed and imperfect, just like me. What I do bring to the conversation is some years of experience, both in manufacturing and sales, of handheld XRF analyzers.
Anyway, handheld XRF is a powerful technology and a great tool to have in your arsenal. These fully featured spectrometers can help you prevent mix-ups, as I highlighted in my previous issue (man was that guy grumpy after that demo!) they can also help you sort scrap or recycled materials to feed new processes. They can be used to screen out inappropriate materials as with lead in toys. They can even be used in mining applications (mining applications are fraught with challenges, not the least of which is having no real "dirt" standards, but I'll talk about that another time) to help determine ore quality. But, as with all things, they have limitations and weaknesses.
The most frequently cited limitation I hear of XRF is... Drum-roll please!
Carbon
Yep. Carbon.
XRF cannot now and likely will never be able to see carbon and there's no use whining about it! Quit asking when it will be available too! (I'm talking to you David!) It's just not in the cards for a handheld device, and the reason is physics.
XRF analysis is all about the x-ray energy that atoms can absorb, which pushes electrons out of their orbits, and the energy atoms emit when electrons fall into the holes left by those pushed-out electrons. Carbon is a very light element. It doesn't have many electrons that are in tune with x-rays and can be pushed out by that energy. Furthermore, when an electron does get pushed out and one falls in the hole it left behind, the little photon it emits is a weak one and can't travel far. It gets swallowed up by pretty much anything it runs into, even air.
It isn't until the sodium-magnesium range of materials do you start getting x-rays that can actually get into a detector IF they can make it through all the air, window materials and other stuff waiting to suck them up! And then it's only about 6 or 7% of them that get to the detector to form a signal. Almost sad...
So you see, carbon analysis ain't gonna happen with handheld XRF anytime soon! Fortunately there are methods for measuring carbon in metals, OES being one of them, though admittedly, there are more precise methods than OES but they tend to be a little more pricey to operate, with more chemistry, additives and consumables involved. With proper sample prep and data averaging, OES can do a respectable job...
But I digress, dang it, we're talking about XRF here so let's get back to it.
This same issue arises when you are analyzing aluminum with XRF. Aluminum and many of the alloying elements used in it are light elements and provide wimpy x-rays. The vast majority of XRF analyzers out there aren't even able to measure the x-rays that aluminum, magnesium and silicon emit. To get around this, many analyzers will instead look for the copper and iron and other heavier elements that are alloyed with aluminum to make identification guesses.
About 5 years ago, SDD hit the market and aluminum analysis became much better. Silicon Drift Detectors offer greatly improved count-rates (how many x-ray photons per second can be measured) over standard SiPIN detectors, sometimes by a factor of 10 or more. Sensitivity improvements inherent in SDD structure also mean better signals from these weak photons.
But since such a low percentage of the photons make it into the detector, aluminum analysis can be improved by using longer analysis times, and I recommend 20-40 seconds at least, sometimes more for 3000 and 5000 series alloys
Well, I better wrap it up; it's a blog not a novel! Until next time!
Walter
Verichek Instruments
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
HOW do you know your metals?
This is my "kick-off" posting in the Know Your Metals blog! Thanks for taking the time to read!
Metals are a common manufacturing material and surround us everywhere. Manufacturers and producers are constantly on the lookout for new alloys, new uses and new ways of producing products that enhance value, reduce material costs and improve quality. Metals are a global product, coming from all corners of the globe. KNOWING your metals has never been more important than it is now, with the increase in competition and the prevalence of material fraud and falsification.
FRAUD!?! Yes, plain as day, there are shady vendors out there who will gladly provide a certification sheet to meet your specifications, but if you are not verifying that the certification is for YOUR materials, what is that certification worth?
Intentionally or by mistake, metal suppliers are sending materials that may not measure up to your standards. Worse yet, if the wrong materials make their way into your products, they can corrupt your process, damage tools and cause product quality issues or failures. The damage to your reputation in the market can be irreparable. Here's a case in point:
I went to a manufacturer of metal parts to demonstrate my handheld XRF analyzer. We talked about the instrument, analyzed a few samples and the owner was fairly impressed, but did not see that he had any problems or indeed a real need...UNTIL... We came to a sheet of stainless steel supplied by his customer, the US Army no less, to make some kind of mounting brackets. The specifications were for 316 Stainless.. when I analyzed the sheet it was 304 Stainless. "That can't be!" the owner exclaimed "I got that from the Army to make the brackets! Check it again!" A re-check did not change the facts: he had 304 SS. He was obviously concerned and had no idea how such a thing could happen. I took a walk around the sheet and noticed a small, paper tag... Ah ha! The root of the mix-up! Apparently, when the shipment was loaded,the stock-person saw the tag and said "Ok, 316 SS" but what the tag actually SAID was 3/16" SS. Yes, a very simple and innocent mistake, but detrimental to the quality of the product! And without incoming inspection, the Army would receive inferior parts that could possibly impact someone's survival! So would you say an inspection program is necessary?
What do you do? The best and clearest answer is to validate and verify your incoming materials through an inspection program that includes elemental analysis. Elemental analyzers for this purpose are readily available and are becoming very economical. Capabilities that once were only available in equipment costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, can now be obtained for a fraction of that cost.
(My company, Verichek, offers a variety of these analyzers: http://www.verichek.net/)
The most popular technologies (and easiest for users to employ!) are x-ray fluorescense and optical emission spectrometry. They work based on the fact that under certain circumstances, metals (and indeed, all elements) give off photons when properly excited, and the "wavelength" or energy of the emitted photons is very specific to the element that generated it. By measuring the energy of the photons, we can tell what element it came from, and by "counting" the photons and comparing them to the total number we detect, we can tell how much of each element is in the sample. The differences between these two technologies is the method of excitement: x-rays in one case, an electrical arc in the other, and the way it is detected: a multi-channel solid-state detector for x-ray spectrometers, single channel photomultipliers or CCD elements for optical emission spectrometers.
Both of these technologies allow for a high degree of certainty in verifying the composition of your materials and matching them to the certifications.
If you aren't inspecting your incoming materials, what are you risking?
Verichek Instruments
Metals are a common manufacturing material and surround us everywhere. Manufacturers and producers are constantly on the lookout for new alloys, new uses and new ways of producing products that enhance value, reduce material costs and improve quality. Metals are a global product, coming from all corners of the globe. KNOWING your metals has never been more important than it is now, with the increase in competition and the prevalence of material fraud and falsification.
FRAUD!?! Yes, plain as day, there are shady vendors out there who will gladly provide a certification sheet to meet your specifications, but if you are not verifying that the certification is for YOUR materials, what is that certification worth?
Intentionally or by mistake, metal suppliers are sending materials that may not measure up to your standards. Worse yet, if the wrong materials make their way into your products, they can corrupt your process, damage tools and cause product quality issues or failures. The damage to your reputation in the market can be irreparable. Here's a case in point:
I went to a manufacturer of metal parts to demonstrate my handheld XRF analyzer. We talked about the instrument, analyzed a few samples and the owner was fairly impressed, but did not see that he had any problems or indeed a real need...UNTIL... We came to a sheet of stainless steel supplied by his customer, the US Army no less, to make some kind of mounting brackets. The specifications were for 316 Stainless.. when I analyzed the sheet it was 304 Stainless. "That can't be!" the owner exclaimed "I got that from the Army to make the brackets! Check it again!" A re-check did not change the facts: he had 304 SS. He was obviously concerned and had no idea how such a thing could happen. I took a walk around the sheet and noticed a small, paper tag... Ah ha! The root of the mix-up! Apparently, when the shipment was loaded,the stock-person saw the tag and said "Ok, 316 SS" but what the tag actually SAID was 3/16" SS. Yes, a very simple and innocent mistake, but detrimental to the quality of the product! And without incoming inspection, the Army would receive inferior parts that could possibly impact someone's survival! So would you say an inspection program is necessary?
What do you do? The best and clearest answer is to validate and verify your incoming materials through an inspection program that includes elemental analysis. Elemental analyzers for this purpose are readily available and are becoming very economical. Capabilities that once were only available in equipment costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, can now be obtained for a fraction of that cost.
(My company, Verichek, offers a variety of these analyzers: http://www.verichek.net/)
The most popular technologies (and easiest for users to employ!) are x-ray fluorescense and optical emission spectrometry. They work based on the fact that under certain circumstances, metals (and indeed, all elements) give off photons when properly excited, and the "wavelength" or energy of the emitted photons is very specific to the element that generated it. By measuring the energy of the photons, we can tell what element it came from, and by "counting" the photons and comparing them to the total number we detect, we can tell how much of each element is in the sample. The differences between these two technologies is the method of excitement: x-rays in one case, an electrical arc in the other, and the way it is detected: a multi-channel solid-state detector for x-ray spectrometers, single channel photomultipliers or CCD elements for optical emission spectrometers.
Both of these technologies allow for a high degree of certainty in verifying the composition of your materials and matching them to the certifications.
If you aren't inspecting your incoming materials, what are you risking?
Verichek Instruments
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