HBS-62.5 Digital Display Small Load Plastic Aluminum Brinell Hardness Tester

The Brinell hardness tester utilizes one of the oldest hardness testing methods still commonly used today. Invented in Sweden by Dr. Johan August Brinell in 1900, this test is often employed to determine the hardness of castings and forgings whose grain structure is too coarse for accurate Rockwell or Vickers testing.

Brinell Hardness Test Procedure: In this test method, a predetermined force (F) is applied to a tungsten carbide ball of fixed diameter (D), held for a predetermined time period, then removed. The spherical indenter creates an impression (permanent deformation) on the test metal piece.

A hardness test is typically performed by pressing a specifically dimensioned and loaded object (indenter) into the surface of the material being tested. The hardness is determined by measuring either the depth of indenter penetration or the size of the impression left by the indenter.

Manual reading is straightforward. You look through the lenses, focus the optics, position the lens on the impression, and read the result in millimeters. The millimeter measurement is then converted to HBW (Hardness Brinell) by referencing a conversion table that provides the corresponding hardness value.

The Brinell hardness testing uses a 10mm hardened steel ball, while the Rockwell test uses either a much smaller steel ball (<4mm) or a diamond cone, depending on the material being tested. The Rockwell test measures the depth of the indentation, whereas the Brinell test measures the width of the indentation.

In the Brinell hardness test, an optical method measures the size of indentation left by the indenter. Unlike the Vickers method which uses a pyramid-shaped indenter, the Brinell method employs a spherical indenter pressed into the specimen.

The Brinell hardness number (BHN) is calculated by dividing the load applied by the surface area of the indentation.