Quality Control of Ash Fusion Temperature Measurement Using Pure Silver Wire as a Substitute for Gold Wire and an Acrylic Mold for Sample Preparation

Abstract

This study aimed to control the quality of an automatic ash fusion analyzer by using pure silver wire as a reference material instead of pure gold wire, thereby reducing costs, and by developing an acrylic sample-shaping device to minimize sample preparation time. The study involved 49 measurements of the melting point of pure silver wire using the automatic ash fusion analyzer. Control charts were constructed to determine the upper and lower control limits. The results showed that the average melting point of pure silver wire was 966.49 ± 7.24 °C, with an upper control limit of 988.22 °C and a lower control limit of 944.76 °C. All test results fell within these control limits, indicating that pure silver wire can be used as a reference material for quality control of the automatic ash fusion analyzer, while also lowering costs by replacing pure gold wire. In addition, an acrylic-based sample-shaping device was designed and fabricated using a 3-axis Mini CNC Engraving Machine (Model Z-DQ) in two versions. The device effectively shaped samples into pyramid-like forms prior to testing in the automatic ash fusion analyzer. This innovation not only reduced the time required for sample preparation but also confirmed the feasibility of using pure silver wire as a cost-effective alternative to pure gold wire for temperature quality control in the automatic ash fusion analyzer.