Industrial forensics employs an analytical response to potential problems encountered at different stages in the industrial manufacturing process, examining each step in the product life cycle to identify, prevent and resolve manufacturing issues. In industrial forensics, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) is an analysis tool used for non-destructive analysis to identify and eliminate manufacturing issues or contamination during production and distribution. Analysis using XRF gives the operator a way to determine elemental composition of foreign material in failure analysis and root cause identification to optimise quality control and testing procedures.
The analysis described in the report was carried out using the Rigaku NEX DE VS direct excitation variable spot EDXRF spectrometer. The Rigaku NEX DE VS analyser is equipped with a high-resolution camera combined with automated collimators allowing for precise positioning of a sample for the analysis of 1 mm, 3 mm and 10 mm spot sizes. Fundamental Parameter methodology with small spot measurement capability is shown to enable the analysis of irregularly shaped samples and provide valuable tools in the investigation and identification of foreign materials of unknown composition.
