Many new products entering the market today are based on new materials and processes. These new materials are playing increasingly important roles—supporting innovation and boosting competitiveness in technology driven industries.
The manufacturing processes and quality requirements for products made using high-tech materials call for a comprehensive knowledge of process technology in addition to thorough knowledge of the material’s properties. Among the various mechanical and optical tests used to determine the characteristics of a material and its suitability for a given application, hardness testing is one of the most critical. Hardness is defined as the mean pressure a material will support. Hardness testing is typically undertaken to assess resistance to plastic deformation, a value of tremendous importance to the determination of part quality in a wide range of industries and applications.