Microstructural Investigation of Austempered Ductile Iron (ADI) with "Shuttle & Find"

Austempered ductile iron (ADI) excels through strength, wear resistance and toughness – characteristics that make ADI the material of choice for use in combustion engines and gear box components. This means that safety aspects are also involved in addition to purely functional aspects. For this reason, changes in the ADI production process need to be monitored with respect to the material's characteristics and must be optimized systematically. For the micro- and nanoscopic analysis of the structure and precipitations, scientists typically use both light and electron microscopes. To date, however, there has been no possibility of relocating regions of interest without doubt when transferring the sample from the light to the electron microscope or vice versa. "Shuttle&Find" – the interface for correlative microscopy in materials analysis — offers an easy-to-use solution, enabling seamless integration of these two complementary technologies for the first time.