SUMMER 2023

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THE DISTRIBUTOR’S LINK
Rob LaPointe EXPEDITE TESTING SERVICE
Rob LaPointe is a noted authority in materials and fastener technology. With extensive experience in the
management and science of materials testing laboratories combined with master’s degrees in physics and
education, he excels at bringing solutions to the client. Working specifically in the fastener testing industry,
he has developed expertise in mechanical, nondestructive, metallurgical and chemical testing. With a
background of 20 years in physics education, Rob is effective at communicating complex ideas in a simple
and understandable manner, communicating well with clients enabling them to make informed decisions
about their products and business. Rob is President/CEO of Expedite Testing Service, 11645 Riverside Drive,
Suite 127, Lakeside, CA 92040. Tel: 619-736-7872, Cell: 909-254-1278 or visit www.expeditetest.com.
FASTENER SCIENCE: SPECTROSCOPY - THE ELEMENTAL
CODE BEHIND THE CHEMISTRY OF METAL
The topic of spectroscopy has always fascinated me.
Even before I knew what it was exactly, I was caught by
the name, the word. It was as if it were familiar. Maybe
it’s just the kind of word that you recognize as familiar
because you recognize its parts. Spectro or Spectrum,
meaning an image, apparition, or specter. Even more
fundamental, the root Spec is based in Latin, meaning
to look. The physics use of spectrum means an array of
entities or a broad range of objects. Such is the use of the
word spectrum to describe an array of white light, spread
out into its constituent colors. A rainbow.
The tail-end of the word, scopy, creates an action noun
with the word to which it’s connected, denoting scope. A
common example would be the word used to describe
using a microscope, microscopy. Spectroscopy is used to
describe the use of the spectrum of light that is emitted
by objects to understand the mechanics of how that light
was created or the interactions that the light has had with
other objects on its way to us.
To evaluate what materials are being used to make
fastener products, we must be able to see exactly
what atoms are used to form the mixture of elements
put together by the mill that produced the metal. To
manufacture the common alloys that are used to make
fasteners, producers begin with a base metal and add
other elements, in specific amounts, to create a solid that
has the properties we rely on in our fastener products,
such as hardness and tensile strength. For example, alloy
steel is an iron-based metal that is comprised of a mixture
of iron, carbon, chromium, molybdenum, manganese,
silicon, sulfur, phosphorus, copper, and nickel. There
TECHNICAL ARTICLE
FIGURE 1 A RAINBOW PRODUCED BY WATER DROPLETS
DISPURSING SUNLIGHT
are many variations of this recipe that offer different
mechanical properties to the alloy. Figure 2 shows a
recipe of alloy steel used to make A574 socket-head cap
screws. This recipe is available on the material test report
(MTR) from the mill that produced the material. The MTR
document is fundamental in the certificate package that
is provided to the customer for the products we sell. The
mill uses spectroscopy to determine the exact chemical
breakdown of the material they produced and to certify
that chemistry on the MTR.
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