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For the purpose of convenience and to ensure that the perimeter of the sample is not damaged during preparation, the sample is housed in a plastic mount. The process of mounting involves samples being pressure molded within in a polymer cylinder, approximately 30mm The polymer selection was made of 'Polyfast' purchased from 'Struers Materialographic' surface preparation range.

 

The advantages of selecting Polyfast include solid edge retention surrounding the specimen as well as low shrinkage and good electrical conductivity. The chosen polymer was also compatible with the hardness and abrasion resistance of the samples.

 

A further advantage of using Polyfast is that the mold can be easily broken if required. For example if the mount cannot be used in a certain machine such as the XRD machine, or if the orientation of the specimen needs to be altered.