Another advantage of the hardness tester is its NDT feature. At the tip of the probe there is a Vickers diamond which is excited in the ultrasonic frequency range. If the diamond touches the test piece surface during the hardness test, the vibration is damped. The resulting frequency shift is directly related to the surface hardness of the test piece. Due to the low test forces, the penetration depths of the diamond are very small, which is why only an almost invisible impression remains.
The hardness tester is therefore used for checking small thin-walled components, for surface-hardened test specimens or for nitrided components. The hardness tester has also proven itself in the measurement of weld seams and the inspection of components with complex geometries.
In addition to the UCI measuring method, the hardness tester can also be equipped with a rebound tester. This allows the hardness tester to be upgraded to a Leeb hardness tester.
The universal hardness tester PCE-3000ULS combines the advantages of two methods: Ultrasonic Contact Impedance (UCI) and Dynamic Rebound (Leeb). This allows the user to solve almost any field hardness testing task.
The universal hardness tester enables express hardness testing of carbon and structural steels, welds, electroplated coatings, overlays, heat resistant, corrosion resistant and stainless steels, hardness measurement of hardened surfaces, thin-walled hardened parts, even in hard-to-reach places and at any angle.
Ultrasonic contact impedance (ASTM A1038)
With the UCI probe, hardness testing of small, thin specimens with complex shapes is now possible. With the UCI probe, the user can measure the hardness of grooves, small radius surfaces, shaft necks with mirror-like surfaces, gears and blades.
Rebound hardness test according to Leeb (ASTM A956)
With a dynamic type D probe (Leeb probe), the user can test the hardness of solid parts with rough surfaces. The instrument can be equipped with additional interchangeable probes with different dimensions and spring stiffnesses.
Main function
This instrument has all the functions for working with materials and scales, making it a universal instrument for non-destructive metal hardness testing.
The one-point calibration allows the creation of a user-defined hardness scale based on an available sample with known hardness. This advantage allows the user to calibrate the hardness tester as accurately as possible to approach the accuracy of a stationary hardness tester. It also allows the user to measure the hardness of a large batch of products quickly and with high accuracy.
With the PCE-3000ULS, the user can create and store more than 500 hardness scales and view the history of all measurements after testing. The UCI probe is pre-calibrated for steel. The Leeb probe is pre-calibrated for steel, cast iron, stainless steel, aluminium, bronze and brass, copper.
Standard Rockwell, Vickers, Brinell and Shore calibrations are also available. The user can create and correct additional calibrations for soft and hard materials.
