Manual
3
1
Introduction
1.1
General
Thank you for purchasing a durometer PCE-1000 from PCE Instruments. The PCE-1000 portable
hardness tester is ideal for testing the surface hardness of metallic surfaces quickly. In metallurgy, it’s
very important to know the hardness of the materials being used and this device allows for the materials
to be tested in the factory. The hardness tester brings together the parameters of Rockwell B & C, Vickers
HV, Brinell HB, Shore HS and Leeb HL.
Thanks to its portability, this hardness meter is very useful in production, quality control and technical
service. Its compact design and rechargeable battery makes this a very easy device to use. The PCE-
1000 hardness tester can be used in any position but doesn't have the capability to transfer or store data.
1.2
Measuring method
The measuring method by Leeb has first been applied in 1978. It is defined by the ratio the rebound
speed of an impacting object and its impact speed multiplied by 1000. The harder the surface of the
material is, the higher the rebound speed. The Leeb hardness value is able to make a direct connection
between
a group of materials (e.g. aluminium, steel,…) and its attributes.
For the most common metallic parts there are conversion tables which help to transfer HL-values in other
hardness units (HB, HV, HRC, etc.)
A hydraulic impactor with a spherical measuring tip (tungsten carbide) is skidded towards the surface and
it then rebounds back. The impact- and rebound speeds are measured at a distance of 1 mm from the
surface to be measured by making use of the following method:
A hydraulic impactor with an assembled permanent magnet induces an electric voltage when passing the
coil. The electric voltage has a proportional ratio to the velocity of the magnet.
Leeb hardness values can be calculated by using the following formula:
HL = 1000 x (V
B
/ V
A
)
HL : Hardness by Leeb
V
B
: Velocity back
V
A
: Velocity at arrival