Geological Thin Section Preparation
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GEOLOGICAL THIN SECTION PREPARATION Full service system solutions for thin section preparation, lapping & polishing, cutting, bonding, testing and measuring

PROCESSING SHAPING FINISHING “Logitech equipment provides us with very consistent results across a wide range of minerals of varying hardness, this is essential for us to provide a high standard of work. We see very even surfaces with very few scratches and only a small relief depending on the sample material. The polished surfaces we produce are very well suited for automated mineralogy investigations  — the core of the Erzlabor product portfolio. Using Logitech equipment allows us to deliver to our customers results that are both precise as well as reproducible.” — Andreas Bartzsch...

PROCESS ROUTE Step 1· Slabbing & trimming The first stage in the thin-section preparation is cutting the sample to a suitable size for processing. This small section must first be removed from a larger rock sample. If a material is too soft, porous or friable in its raw state, the material must be impregnated with a synthetic resin before it is processed. The Logitech IU30 Impregnation Unit is designed to encapsulate and impregnate specimens with synthetic Logitech resins, allowing for safe processing without sample damage. The GTS1 Thin Section Cut-off and Trim Saw is ideal for geological...

Step 4· Preparation of slides Step 5· Bonding specimen to slides Step 6· Thinning bonded specimen Step 7· Lapping specimen Step 8· Polishing specimens Before any specimen can be mounted to the slides for further processing, the microscope slides must first be prepared to the required uniform thickness for sample consistency. The production of thin and ultrathin sections of materials requires that the sample materials are fixed to the prepared microscope slides. ‘Zero bonding’ and controlledthickness bonding are both important techniques developed by Logitech to enable thickness to be...

In addition to standard thin and ultra-thin section production, Logitech systems are versatile enough to accommodate material requiring special processing techniques such as concretes, fluid inclusions, coals and soils. Non-geological materials such as bone implants and tooth are also catered for. 1: Logitech offer versatile systems to accommodate different material types Before any processing can begin, water must first be removed from the soil. Normally the sample is left in a well ventilated area for several days until a constant weight is achieved and then dried on a hotplate at 40°C...

EQUIPMENT GLOSSARY GTS1 thin section cut-off & trim saw The GTS1 is a compact, bench-top unit for the preparation of geological thin sections. The saw is ideal for cutting bulk rocks and thinning. Trim rock samples to as thin as 300 µm with cuts of the highest quality ensuring sub-surface damage is kept to a minimum. Variable speed linear-drive system and feed-rate monitor allow the operator to control the rate at which the samples move through the blade, avoiding many problems associated with gravity-fed systems, such as slides shattering. The GTS1 accepts multiple slides up to 12 of 28 x...

Bonding jigs Logitech consumables Logitech PLJ precision lapping jigs are used to hold multiple slidemounted specimens via vacuum while they are being processed on a precision lapping machine. These allow the specimens to be automatically lapped to a high degree of parallelism and flatness. The robust construction of these jigs ensure they are suitable for both research and production environments and are ideal for the use in geological applications. Maximum sample capacity of 152 x 102 mm (6" x 4"), or multiple smaller samples. ‘Zero bonding’ and controlledthickness bonding are two...

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER “The combination of precision tolerances and high sample throughput on Logitech's lapping and polishing equipment enable our laboratory to produce research-grade thin sections at a speed necessary to keep up with campus and external demand. The auto-plate flatness technology saves hours of downtime each week while allowing us to hold a roughly one-micron flatness tolerance, worry free, during critical steps of thin section production.” — Jae Erickson Laboratory Co-ordinator Colorado School of Mines Logitech’s Technology Transfer programme is an integral part of our...

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