BUEHLER

Guide to Petrography
Specimen Preparation
Stages
I Sectioning Specimen
I Impregnation &
Encapsulation
I Trimming
I Surface Preparation Prior
to Bonding
I Bonding
I Resectioning
I Grinding
I Polishing
I Microscopic Examination
I Image Analysis &
Capture
In 1849 when Henry Sorby,the father of pet-
rography,prepared a thin section,he may
not have envisioned that one day his tech-
nique would be used to analyze many
diverse materials such as ceramics,glass,
concrete,cement,soils,biomaterials,
and polymers,to name a few.Sorby demon-
strated to the scientific community that by
using simple techniques,one could reveal
the microstructure of materials observed
with a microscope.Although Sorbys method
of preparation was crude compared to the
methods used today,his basic technique for
preparing and
examining a specimen has remained fairly
similar.
There are two types of specimens routinely
prepared for analysis,thin sections and
polished bulk specimens.For polished bulk
specimens,the surface is prepared for exami-
nation with a reflected light
microscope.Thin sections,on the other hand,
are extremely thin,generally 30m or thin-
ner,and are typically observed with a trans-
mitted polarized light microscope.The chart
to the right describes a general procedure
required to prepare both thin sections and
polished bulk specimens.
Since 1936,Buehler has been the world
leader in developing and supplying high
quality laboratory specimen preparation
equipment and consumable products.
Buehlers experience paired with todays
technologies help deliver the fullest
product offering for all applications.
Together with our technical expertise and
lab equipment,Buehler is prepared to be
your materials preparation partner.
Buehler is the science behind materials
preparation and analysis

.
2
Introduction
3
Sectioning
A first step in specimen preparation is sectioning,per-
formed for the following reasons.
Obtain a manageable size specimen from the
parent material
Reduce thickness of the specimen so that
grinding time is decreased (as in the case of
preparing thin sections)
Expose the surface of interest
Historically,the sectioning process was considered
unimportant.However,sectioning can be the most
damage-inducing step in the whole process of
specimen preparation.This is especially true when
sectioning brittle and poorly consolidated materials.
Any severe damage caused in sectioning will be
difficult to remove in the grinding and polishing
steps that follow.It is important that the proper saw
and blade are selected to minimize any damage.
Selection of the saw depends upon the following:
Size of the specimen to be cut
Variety of materials in the specimen
Cutting speed required
Number of specimens required to be cut in a day
Serial sectioning requirements
Level of automation desired
There are two classes of cutters; some are designed
for bulk cutting and others are made for precision
sectioning.
Bulk Cutting
To get the specimen down to a manageable size
when there is no concern about kerf loss,a cutter for
removing bulk sections is ideal.
The 11-1360Lapro

24 (610mm) Diamond Slab

Sawis a high quality,durable machine designed
specifically for cutting rocks,minerals,concrete,glass,
ceramics,tile and other hard brittle materials up to
9.5 (241mm) in diameter.It features a unique
hydraulic and dead weight controlled feed system
that ensures proper feed rate and maximum blade
life.A special roller bearing,mounted above the 24
(610mm) diamond blade,is a key component of the
built-in blade sharpening mechanism,to provide effi-
cient cutting action every time.
The 10-2156Delta

PetroCut

Geological Cutter is
a manual,4Hp (3 kW) cutter using a 10 (254mm)
continuous rim diamond blade for sectioning rock,
concrete,refractory,etc.up to 3.75 (95mm) in diame-
ter.Features include a 10-3533 Rock Clamp
Assembly with cross-feed table for serial cutting.
Select other specimen vises for irregular shapes.
Impregnation
Once a specimen has been cut,it should be
thoroughly cleaned and dried.Materials that may
have pores,cracks,or are poorly consolidated,must
be vacuum impregnated with epoxy prior to
grinding.Epoxies that have a low viscosity,such as
Buehlers EpoThin

and EpoxiCure

,are ideal for this

process.
Top) The 11-1360 Lapro

24 (610mm) Diamond Slab Saw is

designed to section larger samples with a 9.5 (241mm)
cutting depth.Bottom) The 10-2156 Delta

PetroCut

Geological Cutter features a Rock Clamp Assembly for holding

most odd shaped rocks or minerals up to 3.75 (95mm) in
diameter.
4
Note,in some cases,it may be desirable to impregnate or
mount the specimen first and then section it with a saw.
This is done for weak,fragile or small specimens,which will
otherwise break or are too small to be held securely in a
chuck during sectioning.
To impregnate or mount the specimen using a 20-1382
Cast NVac 1000,place it in a mold,such as SamplKups

.
Place the SamplKup mold and the paper cup containing
epoxy in the vacuum chamber.Turn the vacuum pump on
to evacuate its chamber.This draws air from pores of the
specimen and facilitates filling the pores with epoxy.When
a proper vacuum has been attained,tilt the epoxy cup and
pour the epoxy into the mold.Keep the mold under vacu-
um for 3-30 second intervals slowly releasing the vacuum
between them allowing air to enter the chamber forcing
embedding medium into the pores.
A specimen should not be left under the vacuum during
the curing cycle.Once the epoxy has cured,specimens can
be sectioned,ground,and attached to a slide;or if a bulk
specimen for reflected light microscopy has to be pre-
pared,it can be ground and polished.
Precision Sectioning/Trimming
Diamond wafering saws,such as the IsoMet

series,are
ideal for precision sectioning of petrographic specimens.
Cutting parameters for sectioning,which include blade
speed and feed rate,can all be precisely controlled.
11-1280 IsoMet

Low Speed Sawis designed to

section small specimens.Its speed is 0-300 rpm and the
maximum blade size is 5 (127mm).A precision
micrometer,available with imperial or metric graduations,
controls thickness of the cut.Accessories include,but are
not limited to,a 11-2487 single saddle chuck,
11-2486 wafer chuck,and 11-1185 irregular specimen
chuck.Optional accessories include a 11-2494 bone
chuck,11-2488 glass slide chuck and a 11-2481
goniometer.
11-2180 IsoMet

1000 Precision Saw has a large cutting

capacity with built-in inch or metric digital micrometer
cross-feed for sample positioning.Its greatest speed is
975rpm with a maximum blade size of 7 (178mm).When
sample size prohibits the use of standard chucks,an
optional 11-2182 cutting table can be installed for
manually sectioning or trimming.Accessory chucks are
similar to the IsoMet Low Speed saw but have the
capability of handling larger specimens.
11-2680 IsoMet

4000 Linear Precision Saw features a

SMARTCUT system which automatically monitors and
adjusts the feed rate to provide consistent,quality cuts and
prevents specimen and machine damage.A precision digi-
tal micrometer controls the thickness of a cut.The cutting
chamber has a safety hood.A digital panel
controls cutting parameters such as speed and feed rate.
Maximum blade size is 8 (203mm).The control panel is
capable of displaying cutting parameters in several
languages.
The 20-1382 Cast NVac 1000 is ideal for impregnating geological
samples with a suitable bonding material that fills pores,cracks,and
retards sample fracturing or plucking.
Top) A cement sample is precisely sectioned with the 11-1280 IsoMet

Low Speed Saw.Bottom) The 11-2488 Glass Slide Chuck for cutting
glass slide mounted samples is shown.
11-2780 IsoMet

5000 Linear Precision Sawis a

fully automatic linear feed precision saw.Similar to
the IsoMet 4000,it is however,capable of automatic
serial sectioning of a specimen to a precise thickness.
This is achieved by using an automatic linear feed
motor,which advances the specimen for repeated
cuts of desired thickness.Thickness,speed,feed rate
and other parameters are adjustable.The saw is ideal
for serial sectioning bones or teeth where several thin
sections can be used for mapping the specimen.In
addition,a cup grinder attachment is available for
grinding to a targeted depth which is useful for thin
sections.
Precision saws are capable of cutting very thin
specimens,although there is a tendency for a thinly
cut specimen to curl.Unless specimens are to be used
in the as-cut condition and do not have to be
cemented to a slide,it is advisable to cut them thick
enough so that they can be held by hand and ground
easily.
Selection of a proper blade
Blade selection is dependent on characteristics of the
material being sectioned.Low Concentration (LC)
Diamond Blades are recommended for
non-metallic materials that are hard and brittle such
as rocks and minerals.High Concentration (HC)
Diamond Blades are suggested for metallic
specimens which have biomaterials for example,
bone with metal.Additional information is available
in the Buehler Consumables Buyers Guide.
Bonding
The Buehler 38-1490PetroBond

Thin-Section
Bonding Fixture is designed to provide a uniform
thickness of bonding media between specimens and
glass slides.The spring activated loading fixture can
accommodate up to 12 thin-section slides 2 x 3 (50
x 75mm).If the bonding agent requires heat,the
entire fixture can be placed directly onto a hot plate.
Impregnated sections must be ground flat before
cementing to the glass slide to ensure good
adhesion between specimen and slide.Hold the
ground surface towards a light at approximately a 45
angle to determine if the entire surface of the chip
has been ground flat.An even,reflective
surface indicates that it has been ground properly.
A non-uniform,dull surface may indicate it has not
been ground flat and should be re-ground for a
longer time.
It is sometimes helpful to pre-grind one side of the
glass slide surface.This produces a slide with more
uniform thickness and the roughened surface aids in
establishing a good bond.Generally,loose silicon car-
bide abrasive powders,with grit sizes of 600 (P1200)
or 1000 (P2000),may be used on a cast iron lap for
grinding slides.
Re-sectioning
The 10-2156PetroThin

Thin Sectioning Systemis

a semi-automatic device that can prepare thin
sections very rapidly without compromising
accuracy or quality.The PetroThin system is self con-
tained consisting of a diamond cutting blade,a dia-
mond grinding wheel,and a vacuum chuck that
accepts five sizes of glass slides.Two precision
micrometers control cutting and grinding of the thin
section.A vacuum chuck holds the thin section dur-
ing preparation and assures accuracy that other
mechanical holding devices cannot provide.
5
11-2780 IsoMet

5000 with 11-2740 cup grinder shown.Cup

grinding can be used for thin section preparation.
38-1490 PetroBond Thin-Sectioning Bonding Fixture assists in
bonding 12 ground specimens to glass slides prior to
re-sectioning.
6
Grinding & Polishing
Grinding is performed to remove deformation induced in
sectioning and to planar grind;and,in the case of thin
sections,this step removes excess material.Grinding is
generally performed using either fixed abrasives where the
abrasive particles are bonded to a substrate and are not
free to move,or loose abrasives where the abrasive parti-
cles are not bonded to a substrate but are free to roll on a
special platen as they abrade the specimen.This
latter procedure is called lapping.
Once a section is ground to the desired thickness,the
specimen can be examined using transmitted light or it
can be further polished.The purpose of polishing a
specimen is to remove any final deformation induced by
the grinding process and yield a surface that is essentially
damage-free.Polishing is accomplished by abrading the
surface with fine abrasives,progressively decreasing to
sub-micrometer size.Any deformation still remaining at
the specimen surface,after the last step will be visible
when the specimen is observed with the microscope;so,
the goal is to remove any damage prior to the last step.
A polished thin section can be examined with either a
transmitted or reflected light microscope.Advantages for
polishing during the thin section preparation process
include the following:
Mineral hardness may be determined
Chemical tests can be performed on the polished
surface
The time consuming procedure used for applying the
cover glass is eliminated
Cellular detail is revealed
There is an array of preparation systems available for
accomplishing both grinding and polishing.Selection of a
grinder-polisher depends upon the following.
Size of the cross-section
Number of specimens prepared each day
Level of automation desired
69-1000 MiniMet

1000 Grinder-Polisher is designed for

low volume laboratory work preparing small single
specimens.Its design employs a patented geometric
action that combines the advantage of hand lapping as
well as mechanical polishing.This motion provides a
random polishing action,thus eliminating any induced
directional polishing scratches.
Polishing bowls eliminate cross-contamination problems
between preparation steps.Attachments for the precision
thinning of materials (69-1566),wafer polishing
(69-1590),electromechnical polishing (69-1570),and thin
section preparation (69-1583) are available.
The 49-5500Alpha and 49-5100 Betaare manual
grinder-polishers designed for use with 8 (203mm) and
10 (254mm) platens,available in two speeds or variable
speed for greater versatility.Both the Alpha and Beta can
be upgraded to semi-automatic operation with an
addition of the 60-1990Vector

Power Head.This enables

sample preparation using either single or centrally applied
pneumatic loading.Single force loading is best for
petrographic specimens.The Petrographic/Histolic Thin
Section Specimen Holders60-3000 & 69-1584are ideal
for automating your thin section sample preparation.
Thin section preparation requires much more accuracy
than polished bulk specimens.Automation assists in
preparing specimens more accurately than is possible
Microstructure of a cement clinker (Portland cement used for
construction),showing various phases such as alite and belite.The
specimen has been etched with 2% nital,~260x.Reflected light.
38-1450 PetroThin

Thin Sectioning System allows for the re-section-

ing and grinding of rocks or minerals,ceramics and geological speci-
mens in one machine.Grind to a thickness of ~100m.
7
when thin sections are prepared by hand.It is not
uncommon in hand preparation,to end up with a
thin section that is not uniform in thickness or to
have completely lost the section by applying more
pressure than is required during grinding.
Eliminate preparation inconsistencies and improve
productivity by using the Histolic Precision
Grinding Fixture60-8087.This fixture assists in
obtaining a specimen of very uniform thickness and
has carbide stops that prevent a specimen from
being over ground.The fixture is designed for slides
that are 27 x 46mm (1 x 1.8) in size.Three 60-8087
fixtures can be used in specimen holder 60-8017 for
semi-automatic preparation on the PowerPro

Family
of Grinder-Polishers for greater productivity and con-
sistency.
Ultra-Thin Sections
To best examine certain specimens,sometimes it is
necessary to prepare ultra-thin sections,much
thinner than 30m.A thin section of standard
thickness may contain several layers of fine crystals.
The conventional method of thin section
preparation may be unsuitable because at this
thickness,even light pressure can destroy the
specimen.Use of a vibratory polisher,however,such
as the 67-1635VibroMet

2 Vibratory Polisher,
makes it possible to obtain ultra-thin
sections.This polishing method is gentle and
removes material very slowly,which is essential for
preparing ultra-thin sections and EBSD work.
Histolic Precision Grinding Fixture 60-8087 will hold a 27 x
46mm (1 x 1.8) glass slide and is ideal for precise material
removal.
Granite thin section,under cross-polarized light (first order red
plate),~127x.Transmitted light.
Automate thin section preparation with the Petro Histolic
Single Force Specimen Holder 60-3000.The 60-3000 holds four
69-1584 Petro Histolic Single Force Specimen Holder
Accessories and can be mounted on the Vector Power Head.
The Alpha,Beta and Vector is one of various Grinder-Polishers
and Power Head with Single Force (ideal for petrographic spec-
imen preparation) that Buehler offers.Equipped with the
optional 60-3000 Petro Histolic Single Force Specimen Holder
& 69-1584 Petro Histolic Single Force Specimen Holder
Accessories,you now have a semi-automated grinder-
polishing system for improved consistency and productivity.
Viewing
The 30-8050PetroVue

Thin Section Vieweris designed

for monitoring section thickness and uniformity during the
grinding-lapping processes.This viewer has
permanent cross-polarizing filters with a 100W bulb and
provides a view of the entire thin section area.
Complete your thin section preparation lab with a
selection from the Buehler optical products catalog.The
material science based microscopes include compound
and stereoscopic instruments that can be configured with
both reflected and transmitted illumination as your
requirements dictate.
Take your thin section analysis to the next level with a
Buehler OmniMet

Image analysis system.Choose from a

basic image capture system to a full blown image analysis
suite with user definable analysis modules.All OmniMet
software suites have database capability,image
import/export and report generation utilities.
Accessories
For information regarding other Buehler products such as
slide holders,glass slides,petrographic fixtures,
ultrasonic cleaners,microscopes,and a complete range of
consumables visit http://www.buehler.com or consult your
nearest Buehler sales office.This brochure has been
designed to provide information on equipment selection,
enabling you to find the best fit for your application and
ensure the best results.Additional information on
preparation techniques is provided in the BUEHLER

SUM-MET

,A Guide to Materials Preparation and

Analysisfound by joining the Buehler e-Club at
http://www.buehler.com.
2007 BUEHLER LTD. Printed in U.S.A. 25M0107 FN01306 *For metallurgical equipment produced by BUEHLER LTD.USA
BUEHLER ANALYST

SECTION
6
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Cover Image:Microstructure from Niah Cave West Mouth,Sarawak,Malaysia which shows fine layers from the prehistoric cemetery sequence.The layers are primarily composed of
guano.The slide was made by Julie A.Miller at the Thin Section Facility,Department of Archaeology,University of Cambridge,UK.
For a complete listing of Buehler consumable supplies,please refer to Buehlers Consumables Buyers Guide.Buehler continuously makes product improvements;therefore,
technical specifications are subject to change without notice.
OmniMet

Modular Imaging Platform

30-8050 PetroVue

Thin Section Viewer,with a polarized light source,

is designed to quickly monitor thin sections for quality and thickness
without a microscope.