Equipment Guide > Hardness Testing

Hardness Testing

Hardness is a characteristic of a material. It is the resistance to indentation, and it is determined by measuring the permanent depth of the indentation.

The Institute has a fully automatic hardness testing machine which can perform Knoop, Vickers & Brinell hardness testing.

• The Vickers hardness test method is used for micro hardness testing on thin sections of test material, on small parts
• The Knoop hardness test method is used in near the edge material testing, testing multiple indentations in close proximity, and indentation of very thin materials
• The Brinell hardness test method is used to test materials that have a structure that is too coarse or that have a surface that is too rough to be tested using other test methods

Applications and Capability

• The time-consuming creation of test points, especially with tooth flank testing, is minimised by means of pre-defined templates
• The equipment allows the entire hardness testing procedure between HV30 and HV1 to be carried out using a single device
• Test mapping for Knoop, Vickers & Brinell hardness testing to e.g., EN ISO 9015 & EN ISO 22826
• Pre-defined patterns can be adapted for each respective test piece, such as the hardness profile across a weld

Key Features

• All axes are equipped with the direct, optical path measuring system as standard. The axes and turret can be positioned to an accuracy of 1.5μm, so even thin layers, or special testing or analytical coordinates, can be repeatedly and accurately approached.
• Wide test force ranging from 0.25g – 62.5kg.

Test Methods and Force Range

Vickers

DIN EN ISO 6507, ASTM E-384, ASTM E92

HV 0.00025*, HV 0.0005*, HV 0.001, HV 0.002, HV 0.003, HV 0.005, HV 0.01, HV 0.015, HV 0.02, HV 0.025, HV 0.05, HV 0.1, HV 0.2, HV 0.3, HV 0.5, HV 1, HV 2, HV 2,5*, HV 3, HV 5, HV 10, HV 20, HV 30, HV 50, HV 60*.

Knoop

DIN EN ISO 4545, ASTM E-384, ASTM E92

HK 0.001, HK 0.002, HK 0.005, HK 0.01, HK 0.015, HK 0.02, HK 0.025, HK 0.05, HK 0.1, HK 0.2, HK 0.3, HK 0.5, HK 1, HK 2.

Brinell

DIN EN ISO 6506, ASTM E-10

HBW 1/1, HBW 1/2.5, HBW 1/5, HBW 1/10, HBW 1/30, HBW 2.5/6.25, HBW 2.5/15.625, HBW 2.5/31.25, HBW 2.5/62.5, HBW 5/25, HBW 5/62.5.

* not according to standards

Equipment

• QATM QNess60A + EVO Hardness Tester