Portable Hardness Testing for Effective Quality Control: Techniques and Applications

 

The purpose of hardness testing is to ascertain a material's strength, heat treatment, and wear properties. It's usually carried out on metals to confirm their characteristics and fitness for specific applications. Traditionally, the test could only be conducted with a benchtop system. However, advancements in technology have led to the development of portable hardness testing methods that allow testing on different scales, depending on the applied force and indenter's shape, with Brinell and Rockwell being the most frequently used. Let’s talk about the different methods and their applications.

 

Leeb testing technique

 

Leeb hardness is the indenter’s relative velocity before and after impact. A portable hardness testing device that uses this testing technique will bounce the indenter off the test piece surface with a spring-loaded mechanism. One of the benefits of this system is its portability, so you can bring the device to the element instead of taking a sample or bringing the element to it. In most cases, the material for testing is heavy and oversized, making it difficult to transport. The testing method is also convertible using calibration curves to another scale, like Rockwell.

 

Rockwell testing

 

Newer hardness testing methods are more versatile. The Rockwell system is a good example of this. It uses a static Rockwell indenter and pressure from the operator’s hand to identify hardness.

 

Ultrasonic systems

 

Some portable hardness testing methods utilise advanced ultrasonic technology. This time, the portable probe’s ultrasonic frequency is forced against a surface to determine hardness. Newer devices also integrate live, cloud-based systems that allow you to wirelessly link the hardness probe or indenter to a smartphone or tablet through an app. That way, you can easily acquire, view and save data and increase test speeds.

 

Get the right equipment from us.

 

Here at PCTE, you can find a range of non-destructive equipment for any portable hardness testing requirement. Our products include the Equotip 550 LEEB, UCI, Rockwell, and Live. We’re confident that we have what you’re looking for, so contact us today to get a quote along with other details.

 

 

 

 

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