At Horizon Darts / Laserdarts, quality is of the highest priority. We take great pride in designing and supplying products that serve a purpose. When we design a new dart, we make sure the quality is second to none. Not only do we have MSDS chemical analysis sheets, but we also use government contracted recycling plants to both recycle and test the elemental composition of our barrels to ensure we maintain consistency and quality. Below is a breakdown of what XRF testing is and why it is so much more accurate than other practices.
XRF testing is a way to test the elemental composition of a substance without damaging the object being tested. The system is extremely accurate, quick, relatively cheap and typically provides easy to read results. As an acronym for “x-ray Florescence spectroscopy” this technique is made specifically to analyze the secondary x-rays that reverberate back to a detector from an initial x-ray source. When a primary x-ray is emitted from one of these machines to whatever you are testing, it will disturb the electron cloud changing the elemental orbit of electrons within the atom. This movement of electrons from lower orbit energy levels creates a secondary x-ray which is then measured. Each energy emitted by the x-ray is unique and a direct characteristic of the elements within the sample. This energy is measured to determine not only the composition of the sample but also the percentage of each element detected to very accurate detail. There are many different types of XRF testing machines. Many of them are in labs attached to computers, but now most are handheld devices that can be purchased publicly and produce easy to read results with little to no training. These are so common in fact, that many times you can go to your local recycling facility and they have one of these portable handheld devices at the ready.
So let me guess, you want to test something?… The benefits of XRF testing are extremely accurate with most materials but there are a few things that you must consider before you test. What is it? and What is on it? You can imagine that a sample must be incredibly clean to test without any residues, oils, chemicals or coatings that can influence your results. Even the machining process can leave metallic residue from tool wearing. Testing is best done on raw materials before machining to get the most accurate results. If this is not possible then all these items must be completely stripped from the sample, or it will not give an accurate reading. Once you have your results, you should be able to see the elemental composition by their respective atomic chart symbol in either percentage (%) or parts per million (ppm). These machines are usually very quick, maybe an hour to produce results in some labs but most of the devices today produce results in just a few seconds.
XRF testing is important because the idea of determining the elemental composition of a substance by mass is not an accurate way to measure what specific element is inside a substance unless you know specifically what every other atom of every other element otherwise that is not. In other words, tungsten content cannot be measured by length, diameter and weight which has been in the past common in the darting industry. To believe that someone could not easily alter the substances inside if this were the unit of measure would be neglectful. It is for this reason and more that there is a large misconception of tungsten in the darting world, and XRF is a great way to get rid of many of them.
Thank you and Shoot Well,
-Josh-
Horizon Darts / Laserdarts