Hardness Testing Services
Hardness testing measures a material’s strength by determining resistance to penetration. The hardness test is extremely useful in material selection because it provides a hardness value which indicates how easily a material can be machined and how well the material will wear. Hardness testing is also valuable in making decisions about treatments and coatings.The hardness test is usually performed using test machines equipped with an indentor that is forced into the test material over a certain amount of time. Laboratory Testing Inc. performs a number of hardness test methods that use the indentation process:
- Rockwell, Brinell and Superficial Rockwell hardness testing are performed on castings, forgings and other relatively large metal products and samples because the tests produce a large visible indentation.
- The Shore Durometer Test is available to measure the hardness of polymeric materials.
- Vickers and Knoop hardness testing are microhardness tests offered by our Metallurgical Laboratory to measure small samples or small regions in a sample. These methods can measure surface or coating hardness on carburized or case-hardened parts, as well as surface conditions such as grinding burns or decarburization.
The shape of the indentor varies by type of hardness test and includes cone, ball and pyramid shapes. Each test machine also uses a different force or load application system and records an indentation hardness value in kilograms-force according to their individual hardness scales. Conversion Chartscomparing scales are available on LTI’s website.
The experienced technicians at LTI perform microhardness and hardness testing according to ASTM and other required specifications for the type of material and its application. All specimens required for microhardness and hardness testing can be prepared at LTI.