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Sources of Iron Iron is commonly expected to be found in samples as a wear metal, as it is the foundation element in all forms of steel, which is by far the most prevalent material in lubricated machines. It will often correlate with other metals like chromium, titanium, molybdenum, and vanadium; if the correlation remains…

Sources of Tin Tin is another wear metal expected in any machine using plain bearings, as lead and tin are the most predominant metals used in Babbitt overlay, with lesser amounts of copper, antimony, and/or arsenic. Typically, increasing levels of tin from this layer are not considered actionable, not until metals like copper or nickel…

Sources of Nickel Nickel is a wear metal found in some machines using plain bearings, as lead and tin are the most predominant metals used in Babbitt overlay, with lesser amounts of copper, antimony, and/or arsenic. Typically, increasing levels of nickel are from an intermediate layer and therefore considered actionable. Nickel can also increase as…

Sources of Chromium Chromium is a wear metal found in the coating of parts like valves, rods, rings, and bearings. Typically, increasing levels of chromium, and possibly nickel, disproportional with iron, indicate coating wear, whereas proportional increases suggest steel alloy wear. One form of proportional chromium and iron increase may arise from non-wearing parts made…