Hard act to follow

Incorporating a functional load cell, force feedback technology and closed loop load application, the cost effective EW-3001 tester is able to accommodate a wide variety of test loads from 30kgf to 3,000kgf.

Traditionally, hardness testing systems have utilised a ‘dead weight' mechanical design, or a relatively inaccurate spring force mechanism, to apply a test force. Such outmoded systems lack test control as they give no feedback of the actual applied force. Modern closed loop technology, employing an accurate force-feedback system, as used in the EW-3001 bench hardness tester, constantly measures and controls the force applied to the tester's indenter. As a result, the EW-3001's control system offers an almost unlimited choice of test loads that are suitable for virtually any test condition.

The new tester eliminates system overshoot by the use of sophisticated algorithms that detect contact between the unit's indenter and the tested object's surface. Following initial indenter contact, the application and removal of the chosen test force is completed in a fully automatic test mode.

Bowers claim the technology not only guarantees high accuracy, repeatability and reliability but also the new unit's powerful, 32-bit CPU system provides the user high testing speeds. Working in Brinell scale HB 30, 31.25, 62.5, 100, 125, 187.5, 250, 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 3,000kgf, the tester features a large multi function LCD display, a high quality Brinell microscope, and a built-in hardness calculator that sends Brinell hardness values directly onto the unit's display.

The EW-3001 is also able to supply useful conversions of Brinell hardness values into Rockwell, Vickers, Leebs and tensile strength scales.

Several options are available, including a precise electronic microscope with a high resolution encoder allowing the operator to observe indentations and to make easy measurements while maintaining fast and error free operation. With the click of a button, the EW-3001's electronic microscope records the actual diameter of a Brinell indent or the diagonal measurement of a Vickers indent.

Bowers Metrology
www.bowers.co.uk