SEM image showing contamination on the surface of a component in an electrical switch assembly. Contamination analysis is conducted to determine the chemical make up and ID of the contaminants to identify the source.
Hardness Testing:
At ATRONA Test Labs we perform many types of hardness testing for metals and polymers including the following scales:
Rockwell A
Rockwell B
Rockwell C
Rockwell
15T, 30T, 45T
Rockwell
15N, 30N, 45N
Brinell
500 – 3,000 kgf
Microhardness
Vickers
Knoop
Shore A & D
Rockwell Hardness Testing:
Hardness testing is a general method for measuring the bulk hardness of metallic and polymer materials. Although hardness testing does not give a direct measurement of any performance properties, hardness correlates with strength, wear resistance, and other properties. Hardness testing is widely used for material evaluation due to its simplicity and low cost relative to direct measurement of many properties. Conversion charts from Rockwell hardness to tensile strength are available for some structural alloys, including steel and aluminum. At ATRONA our hardness testers are fully equipped with digital readouts and are capable of performing all Rockwell Scales.
Microhardness Testing (Vickers & Knoop):
Microhardness testing is an indentation method for measuring the hardness of a material on a microscopic scale. At ATRONA our microhardness testers are equipped with automatic stage and dual indenters (Vickers & Knoop). The indenter is impressed into the material at loads from 10 to 2000 gf. The impression length, measured microscopically, and the test loads are used to calculate a hardness value. Our microhardness testing is performed implementing state-of-the-art microhardness testing machines, ASTM E-384 and DIN/ISO 6507 compliant with powerful software capable of mapping and photo stitching, a high resolution camera, and a high performance computer. We are assured of extracting fast, accurate and repeatable test results.
Shore A & D Durometer Hardness Testing:
The hardness of plastics is most commonly measured by the Shore® (Durometer) test. Durometer Testing measures the resistance of plastics toward indentation and provide an empirical hardness value that doesn't necessarily correlate well to other properties or fundamental characteristics. Shore Hardness, using either the Shore A or Shore D scale, is the preferred method for rubbers/elastomers and is also commonly used for 'softer' plastics such as polyolefins, fluoropolymers, and vinyls. The Shore A scale is used for 'softer' rubbers while the Shore D scale is used for 'harder' ones.
At ATRONA the test method used is ASTM D2240 which is generally used in North America . Related methods include ISO 7619 and ISO 868; and DIN 53505. The results obtained from this test are a useful measure of relative resistance to indentation of various grades of polymers. However, the Shore Durometer hardness test does not serve well as a predictor of other properties such as strength or resistance to scratches, abrasion, or wear, and should not be used alone for product design specifications. Shore hardness is often used as a proxy for flexibility (flexural modulus) is specifying elastomers. The correlation between Shore hardness and flexibility holds for similar materials, especially within a series of grades from the same product line, but this is an empirical and not a fundamental relationship.
Hardness Testing:
At ATRONA Test Labs we perform many types of hardness testing for metals and polymers including the following scales:
Rockwell A |
Rockwell B |
Rockwell C |
Rockwell |
Rockwell |
Brinell |
Microhardness |
Vickers |
Knoop |
Shore A & D |
