348 Prakt. Met. Sonderband 52 (2018)
Both milling and in situ imaging of the Al alloy samples can be done with the EM TXP target
surfacing system (refer to figure 1). It is used for sample preparation prior to examination by
optical microscopy (OM) or scanning (SEM) or transmission (TEM) electron microscopy.
Milling, sawing, grinding, and polishing can all be done with this instrument, so users achieve
faster sample preparation workflows. The moveable pivot arm of the EM TXP system allows
an optimal angle for observation and imaging of the top face and front face (cross section)
of the sample. For in situ imaging, meaning the sample is never removed during preparation,
the EM TXP system is equipped with a standard M80 stereo microscope. To record images,
a digital camera, such as the [C90 E CMOS camera, can be installed.
Figure
EM TX
Figure 1: A) EM TXP target preparation system from Leica Microsystems for polishing, Sal
cutting, sawing, drilling, and milling of material samples. An integrated M80 stereo ies
microscope (red arrow) allows pinpointing of regions on the sample and easy preparation of Her
barely visible targets. B) By titling the specimen pivot arm (blue arrow), the sample can be
observed directly at a viewing angle between 0° and 60° or 90° with respect to the vertical.
At 0° there is a view of the sample in the working position. At 90° there is a top view of the J, Re
sample's top face allowing distance determination with an eyepiece graticule or digital
camera display. C) A Leica digital camera, such as the IC90 E CMOS camera, can be The tot
installed in the M80 microscope for recording images. boo
2. Materials and Methods cL
An Al alloy sample with a size of 10 x 10 x 10 mm was used. A macroscopic 3D welding he.
defect was visible in the alloy sample before any preparation was started.
The EM TXP surfacing system was used for the Al alloy sample preparation. The sample
preparation was carried out only with diamond milling and no polishing. Milling of the Al alloy
tt x
