About

Location: Wilsdorf Hall B011 (front half)

The MultiPrep™-8 Precision Polishing System enables precise semiautomatic sample preparation of a wide range of materials for microscopic (optical, SEM, FIB, TEM, AFM, etc.) evaluation. In particularly, the Multi Prep is used to prepare samples for TEM analysis, EBSD analysis, thin section preparation, and optical material polisihing. The instrument is capabile of parallel polishing, angle polishing, site-specific polishing or any combination in a reproducable manner, elminating user-derived inconsistencies. More information and training videos can be found in Sharepoint in the MultiPrep TEM folder.

MultiPrep Summary and Features:

  • 8" Precision platens lapped parallel within 2 microns
  • Variable sample load: 0-600 g (100 g increments)
  • Variable platen speed: 5-350 RPM (5 RPM increments)
  • Clockwise/counterclockwise platen rotation
  • Dual axis, micrometer controlled angular positioning of the sample (pitch and roll): +10° / -2.5° range (0.02° increments)
  • Front and Rear digital indicators to display positioning (static) and material removal with zeroing function, 1 µm resolution 
  • Automatic sample oscillation, adjustable sweep with 8 speeds with full or limited automatic sample rotation with 8 speeds

Rates

UVA RATES:

MultiPrep Instrument Usage: $0/day (bring own supplies)

MultiPrep Operator Costs and Training: $60/hr

MultiPrep Supplies (e.g. diamond slurry) are extra - cost dependent on product.

EDUCATIONAL, GOVERNMENT & NON-PROFIT INSTITUTIONS RATES:

MultiPrep Instrument Usage: $10/day + supplies

MultiPrep Operator Costs and Training: $70/hr

MultiPrep Supplies (e.g. diamond slurry) are extra - cost dependent on product.

INDUSTRIAL PARTNER RATES:

MultiPrep Instrument Usage: $20/day + supplies

MultiPrep Operator Costs and Training: $125/hr

MultiPrep Supplies (e.g. diamond slurry) are extra - cost dependent on product.

Contact Us

Richard White

Laboratory Manager, Materials Science & Engineering NMCF Facility Manager NMCF Principal Scientist for SEM, TEM, Optical, Metallography

Richard White is the NMCF Laboratory Manager and Electron Microscopy & Metallurgy Specialist. He specializes in Scanning Electron Microscopy imaging and compositional analysis; Optical Microscopy; Hardness Measurements; and Metallurgical Techniques for SEM and TEM. 

Helge Heinrich

Research Scientist, Materials Science & Engineering Principal Scientist for HR-S/TEM & FIB-SEM

Dr. Helge Heinrich joined the NMCF as the Principal Scientist for High-resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy, with expertise in focused ion beam sample preparation and cross sectional electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) from the University of Central Florida.

Joe Thompson

Laboratory Specialist, Materials Science & Engineering and VDOT NMCF Principal Scientist for Raman, AFM, SEM/Optical Microscopy, & Metallurgy

Joe Thompson joined the NMCF as a Laboratory Specialist, also providing analysis for the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). He specializes in Raman Spectroscopy, Atomic Force Microscopy, and Optical and Electron Microscopies.