PCE Instruments – Ultrasonic / UCI Hardness Tester PCE-3500 incl. 50N probe

The UCI hardness tester PCE-3500 is designed for non-destructive hardness measurement of metallic components using the Ultrasonic Contact Impedance (UCI) test procedure. This procedure involves stimulating a Vickers diamond with its self-resonance at the probe. By pushing the probe, the vibration frequency is reduced, which is related to the surface hardness and the material’s e module and contact surface. The frequency shift, taking into account the material’s characteristic curve, is used to determine the surface hardness.

The UCI hardness tester operates non-destructively with minimal pressure on the surface. It is particularly suitable for edge layer hardened components such as those produced through nitriding or induction hardening. It is commonly used for punching tools, presses, thin-walled components, cog wheels, turbine blades, camshafts, and weld seams. The UCI hardness tester can also be applied to various other hardness testing tasks. It has interchangeable probes with different pressure forces to accommodate different applications.

After measuring the hardness of a component, the UCI hardness tester PCE-3500 provides statistical values such as MAX/MIN values and averages. It also allows calculation of the standard deviation and other coefficients, and displays the data in a bar chart. The measured data can be stored in the internal memory of the UCI hardness tester and evaluated using software.