Thermo Fisher Scientific
Phenom ParticleX (photo) is a desktop scanning electron microscope (SEM) that is designed to provide additive manufacturing (3D printing) companies faster quality-control analyses of materials used in development and production. The Phenom ParticleX includes a broad range of automated SEM analyses to identify faults in materials or gage the impact that development and production changes have on a final product. By keeping quality control in-house, Phenom ParticleX users can analyze materials up to ten times faster than outsourcing, says the manufacturer. The high-resolution imaging and chemical analysis capabilities in the Phenom ParticleX deliver more detailed failure analyses than is possible using optical microscopes. Additive manufacturers can characterize size distribution, particle homogeneity and foreign contaminants to evaluate the purity of metal particles at the microscale. Industrial manufacturers can use it to confirm whether components fulfill technical cleanliness specifications. It also provides detailed feedback on the cleanliness or purity of a final product without the manufacturer having to share this confidential and valuable data with third parties. — Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Waltham, Mass.