Hardness Testing

Hardness implies resistance to deformation; in the case of metals, this characteristic is a measure of their resistance to permanent or plastic deformation.

Buehler Macromet 3 Rockwell / Superficial Hardness Tester:

Rockwell hardness testing is the most widely used method for determining hardness, primarily because the Rockwell test is simple to perform. By the use of different loads and indenters, Rockwell hardness testing can determine the hardness of most metals and alloys. Rockwell hardness values are expressed as a combination of a hardness number and a scale symbol representing the indenter and the minor and major loads. For example: 64 HRC represents the Rockwell hardness number of 64 on the Rockwell C scale. The majority of applications are covered by the B, C and Superficial scales for testing steel, brass and other metals.

Buehler MicroMet 4 – Vickers & Knoop Microhardness Tester:

Microhardness testing can be defined as indentation hardness testing that involves forcing a diamond indenter of specific geometry into the surface of the test material at loads ranging from 1 to 1000gf. In Knoop and Vickers microhardness testing the hardness value is determined by measuring the size of the resulting unrecovered indentation by using a microscope and established formulas and look-up tables. These two microhardness test methods produce an indentation depth of less than 19µm.