Metal is perfection. The material properties of a material used directly influence the quality of the workpiece. Stratification, alignment and distribution of crystal cells as well as their size and growth form are the manufacturing processes which, on nanometer scale, give shape to extrudates, sheets, strands and foils made of metal. Ultimately, the production of high-precision tools and components depends on the uniform predictability of these starting materials.

With modern microscopes, examining micrographs is easier than ever before: computers automatically segment phases and count inclusions, apochromatic optics allow for streak-free images even with the metallic sheen of highly polished surfaces, and when examining metallic foils, even microfissures and tiny punctures, invisible to the human eye alone, become visible.