Benefits of a Digital Hardness Tester

Hardness testing is widely used in a variety of industries including auto manufacturing, aerospace, oil and gas and many others. It tests the hardness of materials, which is critical for product development and keeps from having costly and embarrassing mistakes. If your company is looking to purchase a new hardness tester, you have a choice to make: digital hardness tester or analog hardness tester. Between the two, there are some definite benefits of a digital hardness tester.

Now, first off, in this technology age, some would ask why would anyone consider analog anyways? Why is this even being discussed? Yet, the fact is there are engineers in labs and in product development or manufacturing that have been hardness testing for years. Some for 25 plus years which mean well before digital hardness testers came out. Due to this, they are used to using the analog version and may feel like they just want to stick with that. The second reason is that analog hardness testers are cheaper than their digital counterparts. If your department is on a tight budget, they may opt for an analog version instead.

Benefits of a Digital Hardness Tester

However, digital hardness testers have some advantages and benefits that can save time and money in the long run. One key benefit of digital hardness testers is getting readouts. You can get exact digital readouts of the test making them much more accurate than the analog versions. A second benefit is getting these readouts to be able to be documented in an excel-like format. This means you do not have to have someone there recording the readout, as the machine does that for you. This also cuts down the chance for human error.

With digital hardness testers, you also have the ability to have a camera mounted in the tester. This allows the ability to take images of subject material, before and after the test. The camera helps create the precise measurements and calculations needed. Many come with an automatic focus adjustment with precise positioning at a specified magnification. This reduces reading time and increases reading accuracy.

Another benefit of a digital hardness tester is programming and automating the test procedures and results.

“An automatic hardness system typically consists of a fully controllable tester, including an auto-rotating or revolving turret and actuation in the Z axis either from the head/indenter housing or from a spindle-driven system for both applying the indent at a predetermined force as well as for focusing the specimen. Add to this a desktop or laptop computer with dedicated hardness software installed, an automatic XY traversing motorized stage and a USB video camera, and the result is a powerful, fully automatic hardness testing system.”  https://www.qualitymag.com/articles/87616-hardness-testing-gets-automated

So, to sum up, what are the benefits of a digital hardness tester?

• Digital readouts
• Ability to print those readouts
• Higher accuracy of measurement
• The ability to program and automate the test and results calculations
• Reduce the possibility of human error

What does this mean to you if you’re looking to purchase a new hardness tester? In short, it means though they do cost a little more than the analog versions, the time and money saved will more than make up the difference. Also, with reducing the chance of human error, it reduces the possibility for mistakes that can be costly in many different ways.

Metallurgical Supply Company (METSUCO) has been a leading supplier of hardness testing machines and blocks for over 30 years. We serve not only industries such as oil and gas, aerospace, automotive, and heavy manufacturing, but also universities and quality testing labs. Call 713-827-0700 or email sales@metsuco.com with inquiries.