Closed Loop Brinell Hardness Test – Does not require a clamp

I often get asked “Why do your large Brinell hardness testers not have a clamp option” The answer begins with understanding why old technology Brinell testers had and required a clamp feature. They were dead weight machines i.e. the load (in the case of regular Brinell 3000kg) was applied using actual physical weights hanging inside the machine. If a work piece or component was not clamped it could move as the weight was applied thus resulting in an indentation in the metal which could be less than the true size due to the movement. So A clamp was used to pre clamp the work piece or component thus stopping it from moving as the load was applied ensuring a true sized indentation.

However a modern closed loop Brinell tester like the Tinius Olsen models FH-009, FH-008, FH-012 do not use dead weights, this means clamping of the work piece is not required. This is because the closed loop system sampling and applying the 3000kg force ensures, very accurately, that the tester keeps pushing, keeps applying the force until the true 3000kgf is reached. So even if the work piece moves the tester keeps applying the force thus obtaining a true indent at 3000kgf.

See Clip with no clamp

Clip with Clamp

Same hardness tester exactly the same results.

This means modern Brinell testers are more efficient to use as clamping is not required and importantly they easily handle irregular shaped components which in the past would have been difficult to clamp.

Check out the TO Brinell for yourself click here