Keighley Laboratories highlights the importance of imported material inspection

With growing volumes of steel, alloys and metal components being sourced in the Far East from comparatively unknown suppliers, and manufacturers in this country ultimately responsible for any component failures, there is now a pressing need to re-inspect, or overcheck, material certifications. "If you have specified imported material to a particular grade or heat treatment process, then overchecking is the best way to ensure you are getting what you paid for," says Michael Emmott, commerical manager at Keighley Laboratories. "Often we find that the raw material is not as specified, even with the correct certification, creating potential problems down the line. "The cost of a simple chemical or mechanical overcheck or a full in-depth metallurgical analysis might be tens or hundreds of pounds, but if that item is safety critical or forms part of a product worth hundreds of thousands, then it's a comparatively small price to pay," Mr Emmott continues. "Besides, given the legal implications of a failure in the field, it's either a question of verifying incoming material or possibly putting your own business at risk." Through its in-house technical services laboratory, Yorkshire-based Keighley Labs is able to provide independent chemical analysis, employing state-of-the-art spectroscopy or classical wet methods; microscopic sample examination, using metallographic techniques; and mechanical testing for impact resistance, hardness, ductility, tensile strength and durability. In addition to overchecking certificated materials, these specialist techniques are also used in the allied fields of reverse engineering and failure investigation.