Further information for the non-specialist
The ‘hardness’ of a material is a physical property. It’s a term that’s used frequently to describe a material’s ability to resist being deformed.
Hardness testing is crucial in much of manufacturing industry (it doesn’t require any specialist knowledge to grasp the significance of proper hardness for an application; imagine car wheels that became oval because they were too soft, or springs that snapped because they were too brittle!). The various hardness testing systems in use provide reliable information through straightforward methods involving measuring how much a material is deformed by being subjected to a specific load: In Brinell tests an indentation is made in the material and its width is measured; in Rockwell tests it’s a depth measurement. The tests are designed to meet internationally agreed standards and are carried out using sophisticated machines.
Brinell Hardness Testing Machines
Foundrax develops and manufactures Brinell hardness testing machines which enable measurements to be taken in almost every conceivable industrial condition. They have a direct pedigree stretching back over 60 years and an industrial heritage that can be traced to the 19th Century. An understanding of the rigours of steelworks conditions has informed the development of the entire Foundrax range.
When it comes to controlling the quality and consistency of material testing, the Brinell hardness testing process offers the assurance professional engineers seek. Foundrax is an acknowledged leader in this field and, through the development of accurate machines that automated both indentation and measurement, the company was instrumental in making the Brinell test the default option in much of heavy industry.
Benefits of Hardness Testing Machines
There are, then, two great benefits of using Foundrax’s Brinell hardness testing machines. Not only do they provide the technical information engineers seek but by automating the indenting and measuring processes they also save users a great deal of time. Given that some industrial processes require each and every component to be checked (for example every link, in every tank track in service with the British Army has been tested on a Foundrax machine, a total of well over 25 million test cycles), the cumulative time – and cost – saving can be huge.
Additionally, the Brinell test can be carried out on a wide range of metals and does not require the ‘laboratory level’ cleanliness demanded by some other systems.
At Foundrax, these machines are manufactured, serviced and calibrated to internationally recognised standards. They are purpose-built to test the hardness of metals (ie they are not modified versions of machines for other disciplines) and are UKAS certified. They are straightforward to maintain and priced for a range of budgets.
If your budget is stopping you from getting the equipment that you need, the Foundrax Finance Scheme might be the solution as it allows payments to be spread out over an agreed timeframe.
If you need to know more about hardness testing machines, please call Foundrax on 01458274888 today!
