Sturbridge Metallurgical Services, Inc. was founded in 1990 by President and Owner, Courtney Grimes, as a small independent testing lab.
Originally started in his garage, he has built the business into a full-service, materials testing laboratory and a seller of metallographic equipment and supplies. They provide cutoff saws, polishing machines, microscopes, hardness testers, grinding papers, abrasive cutoff wheels, microstructure etchants, and much more.
With 15 full and part time employees and a strategic plan in place for continued growth, SMS is approaching their 30th anniversary with exciting things on the horizon. Having outgrown three previous locations, their current facility in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, has about 12,000 square feet of active laboratory space, instrumentation, and testing equipment – and, further, they’re excited to announce the recent acquisition of an additional 2,600 square feet of adjoining laboratory and office space within the same building.
This new space will include an upgraded machine shop for machining test specimens, expansion of the mechanical testing department, powder particle size testing for the additive manufacturing industry, upgraded salt fog testing capabilities, and an abrasion testing area for plating companies. Finally, the new space will also offer improved accommodations for the hosting of multi-party failure investigations and forensic engineering conferences for law firms and insurance companies.
Metallurgical Testing Services
Recognized as experts in the field, Sturbridge Metallurgical Services, Inc. is the laboratory to go to for reliable, accurate, and timely materials testing, as well as professional consulting services. SMS prides itself on fast delivery of high-quality results and knows what it takes to help you consistently meet your deadline and your budget. They work with a wide variety of industries including aerospace, transportation, medical device, commercial manufacturing, food services, sporting goods, and many other critical manufacturing industries. It’s like having your own in-house lab.
A Partial List of Services Includes:
- Root cause failure analysis and investigations
- Micro & durometer hardness, & Rockwell
- X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF)
- Metallography and metallurgical analysis
- Microstructure analysis
- Positive material identification (PMI)
- Scanning electron microscope imaging (SEM)
- Energy dispersive x-ray micro analysis (EDS)
- Material verification and certification
- Weld evaluation / Inspection: in-house CWI
- Corrosion testing / Salt fog testing
- Grain size analysis
- Coating evaluations and thickness verification
- EDM, ECM, and LBMR evaluations
- Tensile testing
- Chemical analysis
- Bond strength testing
- Taber abrasion testing
For a complete list of the most commonly used testing standards and all of their laboratory approvals and accreditations please feel free to go to their website for more information: www. smslabs.com/standards-approvals/
Accreditations & Certifications
Sturbridge Metallurgical Services, Inc. have A2LA- ISO/IEC 17025:2005 and NadcapTM Accreditations. They are ITAR registered, have GE, PWA, PWC and Sikorsky approvals, and also have State and Federal Firearms Licenses for the handling and testing of ammunition and firearm related components. They are constantly upgrading and receiving new accreditations and work to current AMS, ASTM, and MIL standards, individual prime contractor standards and specifications, and a number of other supplier and industry recognized standards and specifications as well.
Metallurgical Laboratory Equipment & Supplies
In addition to the materials testing services that they provide, Sturbridge Metallurgical also offers a broad selection of high-quality laboratory supplies and equipment for your own in-house laboratory needs. They are the exclusive US distributor of PresiTM Metallographic Preparation Equipment, represent Phase II testing equipment, and offer other laboratory equipment lines as well.
Metallurgical Lab Equipment
- Sectioning / Cutting machines
- Grinding and polishing machines
- Hot mounting presses
- Hardness and micro-hardness testers
- Microscopes and image analysis equipment
- Scales, ultrasonic cleaners and acid cabinets
- And more…
Metallurgical Supplies
- Sectioning supplies
(cut-off blades, lubricants, oils, etc.) - Mounting supplies (cold mounting epoxies, hot mounting powders, accessories)
- Grinding papers
(60 grit to 1200 grit silicone carbide papers) - Polishing supplies (polishing cloths, diamond suspensions, lubricants, and more)
- Miscellaneous supplies
(mounting cups, mold release spray, etc.)
For the entire list of the equipment and supplies that are offered by SMS. Please go to their website: www.smslabs.com/metallographic-supplies/ www.smslabs.com/metallographic-equipment/
With automatic scheduling and order fulfillment available, SMS will make sure that you always have the necessary supplies and other consumables on hand. They take care of the ordering for you so that you don’t need to be worried about running out of supplies or the hassle of reordering.
FineCut6TM- A versatile cutoff saw manufactured and marketed by SMS
Laboratory Packages Setup & Training
SMS provides customized laboratory packages with all of the necessary equipment and supplies designed to meet your specific testing needs. Whether you have new or existing spaces or just need to upgrade some of your lab equipment, they can help you transform it into a fully functional laboratory and provide all the supplies, equipment, training, and technical expertise necessary to have your personnel preparing and evaluating samples in no time.
Because SMS use the same equipment and supplies that they sell in their own lab, you can rest assured that they will provide you with the best turnkey solution to get your lab set up and functioning properly. These services are offered for all of the equipment and supplies that they sell ensuring that you are ready to hit the ground running as soon as your new stuff arrives.
If you already have a lab, but need some of your operators trained or retrained, SMS also offers standardized and customized training classes to meet your specific budget and testing requirements.
If you need technical assistance or metallurgical consultation, the materials engineers at Sturbridge Metallurgical have a wide variety of experience in a number of manufacturing processes and procedures. They have helped companies large and small to solve material and production related issues and can work with you onsite at your facility, in the lab at their Sturbridge location, via email, conference call, or even video conferencing if necessary.
Please go visit their website or give them a call to see how they can help you save time and money on your materials testing programs. www.smslabs.com
