Hardness tester

The hardness tester is a special testing device that can be used to make comparative tests of materials and meaningful judgments about their hardness levels. There are various mechanisms and standards that have been established for this form of material testing. According to the different testing standards, there are Brinell, Rockwell, Vickers or Shore hardness testers. Likewise, there are different designs of hardness testers. Larger floor-standing models are designed for workstations in laboratories. An ultrasonic hardness tester, for example, is suitable for mobile inspection of materials.The different standards and measuring devices are each designed for specific tasks. For example, an ultrasonic hardness tester is designed for measuring alloys, non-magnetic metals and steel. Brinell, on the other hand, is used in the hardness determination of soft and medium-hard metals. Mild steel, aluminum-based alloys, cast iron or even wood can be measured using this method. Shore hardness testers are specially designed for elastomers, i.e. plastics, rubber and similar materials. Rockwell is very universal, but can only be used for particularly hard test pieces. Even pipes made of stainless steel cannot be tested, as they may yield due to their design. In such cases, the Vickers method is used. With this it is possible to test thin-walled materials. A mobile rebound hardness tester can be operated in different modes. There are devices that can switch between Shore, Brinell, Rockwell and Vickers.