Understand the Rockwell Hardness Tester and Its Working Principle

If you are working in a manufacturing industry, metallurgy,  or others, Rockwell hardness tester may maybe a common machine that you always see. But how does this tool work and what are its working principles?

As it is named, this test is done to test the hardness or ability of a material to face a change. It is done by pressing that tested material until you can get a result. This result is essential to be an analysis. 

Rockwell Method is Used Here

To do this rockwell hardness test, the machine uses a Rockwell method for this case. It is one of the most common hardness testers that are used because this method is quite fast, and simple, and doesn’t require a microscope, or measuring traces of change.

Furthermore, the Rockwell hardness tester is also known as a non-destructive test or NDT. It means that this step will not destroy anything. To do so, you must place a material that will be tested in this machine.

After that, the surface of that material will be pressed with an indenter. It is done by pressing the mirror weight, plus the major weight. After that, the major weight is commonly released and the minor one is kept.

Why Is the Rockwell Test Performed?

You may maybe questioning why this rockwell hardness testing is done. It is a kind of test that is applied to decide how big the capacity of a material is, especially to face a change.

By pressing that tested material, there will be a result that is important to be an analysis the hardness. This is done the load given to an area gets that weight. The details of this tool are listed in its guidebook.

To use this rockwell hardness tester you must install the indenter first based on the type of test needed. The indenter’s types are ball and the cone. After that, place your material (specimen) in the plat available and set the load needed.

To know its hardness value, you can see the needle installed on this machine. This is called a dial indicator pointer. You may need to note that value for your data and to get the more accurate result, you can do the same test again.

The Advantages of the Rockwell Hardness Test

Rockwell Tester like this comes with some advantages of plus things. This machine can be used for really hard materials, from grinding stones to plastics. In other words, it is suitable for hard and soft goods. 

To get a more accurate result for this rockwell hardness test machine, please try to make a stable environment around it. Do not cause any movements or shocks around this tool, especially when the test is in process. 

Another advantage is that this rockwell hardness tester is getting more modern time by time. Nowadays, this machine has been synchronized with the digital method and is easier to operate as well.

It is one of the most popular methods that are used by people until now. By having more digital implementation inside, you can experience the best high-tech technology that gives a more accurate result too. 

The Procedures of the Rockwell Method

In fact, there are some other methods that exist to test the hardness of a material. Those methods are Vickers and Brinell where these things apply the manual measurement to get the results.

Meanwhile, the Rockwell method is different because the hardness value can be read straightly in a scale or rockwell hardness test chart installed in the tool. However, there are more points that you must note while doing the test:

• The specimen is better to have a smooth and flat surface as its major requirement. Besides that, it must be able to be pressed properly and equip the horizontal surface too.
• Commonly, this rockwell hardness tester has some measurement scales. The uses is highly based on the indenter combination types and also major load. There are 3 types of indenters here and they have 3 kinds of major loads. This means you can find 9 different combinations there. 
• After the specimens are freed from both of the loads, the scale pointer will point to a number as the hardness value of that specimen.
• The writing of that hardness value is like this for example: 74 Rc. 74 here means the value and Rc itself refers to the scale used. 

The Industries that Use Rockwell Hardness Tester

This Rockwell hardness tester has been used in various industries around us. Those are the Aerospace and Defense, Metallurgy, manufacturing industry, construction and engineering, automotive, electronics, medical and pharmaceutical, plastic & polymers, etc.

The aims are varied for sure such as in medical and pharmaceutical scope where this test is essential to know the hardness of a material used in some aspects. Such as in surgical equipment, objects for implants, and more.

Meanwhile, this rockwell hardness tester is also used by Plastic and Polymers companies for some aims. Those are to know the strength of their plastic materials, packaging, polymer-based products, and more.

In the Aerospace and Defense industry, this machine can help people to check the strength of the material used in several components. Examples are missile casings, aircraft, armor plating, and so on.

It is recommended to know the accurate hardness value of something and to ensure the quality. If your business is in one of those industries, you may need this machine as soon as possible.

Exploring the Features of a Rockwell Hardness Tester

A Rockwell hardness tester is equipped with key features such as an indenter, load application system, measuring transducer, and test anvil, all designed to deliver precise results. Whether the indenter is a steel ball or a diamond, the quality of these components is crucial for accurate hardness testing.

To ensure optimal performance, it’s important to choose a tester from a reputable provider like Qualitest – Advanced Testing Technologies. Qualitest offers a diverse range of hardness testers, including portable, digital, universal, analog, and X-series models.

For those looking to invest in top-quality testing instruments, visiting https://www.worldoftest.com/ and exploring the product menu will provide access to a wide selection of industry-leading machines. Each product page offers detailed information to help in selecting the best Rockwell hardness tester or other testing instruments from a trusted source.