Hardness and

scratch tester

STEP 4 Surface Testing Platform

This instrument can be used for all kinds of industrial coatings, from the plasma-processed layers used in semiconductor and optical technology to the decorative and protective coatings used for consumer goods and automobile parts. The Step 4 Surface Testing Platform is equipped with a nano/micro indenter and a scratch tester. During the measurement, the instrument records the load and penetration depth, returning a complete loading and unloading curve where the force is plotted as a function of the indenter penetration depth. From the processing of these curves, it is possible to obtain the instrumented hardness, elastic modulus and a wide range of micromechanical characteristics. The micro and nano indentation testers cover a wide loading range (0.002 ÷ 30 N). This allows to characterize the mechanical properties of different materials. The scratch test allows the characterization of the scratch resistance of a wide range of materials (polymeric, metallic, ceramic) and provides a quantitative, comparative measure of the adhesion of thin films onto hard or soft substrates. The test consists of sliding a tip of known geometry onto the sample surface, under a constant or variable normal load.

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RSA-G2

Thwing-Albert FP-2260

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