Advancing Materialographic Automation: Obtain a Fully Integrated Workflow with OLYMPUS Stream 1.8

Olympus today launched the latest version of its highly successful OLYMPUS Stream materials science microscopy imaging software. OLYMPUS Stream 1.8 provides new and improved features, enhancing the overall capabilities of the software to help users fully integrate and automate their workflows. Users will benefit from the advanced automation of a multiple stage location engine, extended data management, new measurement options and new additions to the optional Materials Solutions: Particle Distribution, Porosity, Throwing Power and Phase Analysis. These Materials Solutions enable users to build a fully guided, or even automated, system to precisely match the needs of their materialographic analysis.

The optional OLYMPUS Stream Materials Solutions provide additional functionality at the click of an icon, enabling even the most complex imaging tasks to be executed quickly and precisely. The newest additions to the range provide an advanced level of functionality, which is compliant with all relevant industry standards. The Materials Solution “Porosity” facilitates the measurement of porosity – especially in steel castings – something which is of great significance within the automotive industry. Dedicated to the manufacture of printed circuit boards (PCBs), the Materials Solution “Throwing Power” measures the distribution of copper plating thickness. The Materials Solution “Particle Distribution” provides users with a simple method of creating particle distribution histograms according to the size, shape and color values of particles, while the Materials Solution “Phase Analysis” has been updated to allow users to perform analysis on multiple regions of interest at the same time.

In addition to the Materials Solutions, the measurement toolbar can be augmented by three new advanced measurement tools for easy calculation of asymmetries, throat thickness and multiple distances (using multiple perpendicular lines). The user can thus obtain fast and reliable results for advanced requirements such as weld measurement.

Available as part of OLYMPUS Stream Motion, the new Stage Path functionality effectively integrates stage control into the workflow of many Materials Solutions. This simple step-by-step wizard allows a motorized stage and Z drive to be automated via the Materials Solution itself, enabling the definition of a complete workflow inside the stage path, with the option to assign several scan areas per sample. Multiple samples can be queued, with numerous scan areas, and the stage paths stored and retrieved as required, making this an extremely efficient and easy to use function.

New options in data management offer a range of enhanced functionality to suit individual needs. Now integrated into packages starting from Stream Basic, "Stream Document Storage" is easy to use, with many filters, free text search and the ability to save images automatically. The optional "Workgroup Database" offers a structured data system which allows simultaneous access by up to five users, while the optional "Enterprise Database"* offers an advanced solution for large working groups by supporting unlimited users and including User Rights Management and an External Database Interface (LIMS).