End-quench hardness tester.
An end-quench hardness tester is a specialized automated hardness testing system designed to determine the "hardenability" of steel. It is not a general-purpose hardness tester, but rather serves a standardized test called the "end-quench test."
Core Concept: End-Quench Test
This test assesses the hardenability of steel—the depth to which the steel acquires a high-hardness martensite structure during quenching. This is a key indicator determining the uniformity of a material's properties after heat treatment.
Equipment Composition and Working Principle
System Composition:
End-Quench Testing Machine: Used to quench one end of a standard specimen (Φ25×100mm) by spraying water.
Dedicated Hardness Tester Platform: Typically a Rockwell hardness tester (HRC) integrated with a high-precision, automatically moving specimen stage.
Workflow:
Specimen Preparation: The standard round bar specimen is heated to its austenitizing temperature.
End-Face Quenching: One end is rapidly cooled by spraying water on the testing machine.
Preparation of Measuring Surface: Two parallel planes are ground along the side of the specimen.
Automated Measurement: The sample is fixed on an automated platform, and the equipment automatically measures a series of hardness values (HRC) at fixed intervals (typically 1.5 mm), starting from the quenched end, according to a preset program.
Curve Generation: A hardness-distance-from-quenching-end curve is ultimately plotted, which is a quantitative expression of hardenability.
Core Values and Features:
Standardization: Strictly adheres to international standards (such as ASTM A255, GB/T 225) to ensure comparability of results.
High Efficiency and Precision: Automated measurement avoids the enormous workload and human error associated with manual point-by-point testing.
Data-Driven: Directly generates authoritative hardenability band curves, serving as the core basis for material selection and heat treatment process formulation.
Typical Application Scenarios:
Materials R&D: Evaluating the hardenability of new steel grades.
Quality Control: Conducting hardenability testing on incoming steel to ensure batch consistency.
Production Process Formulation: Providing data support for the heat treatment (such as carburizing and quenching) of key components such as gears and shafts, predicting the hardness distribution on their cross-sections.
End-hardness testers are core testing equipment connecting material composition, heat treatment processes, and final performance. They transform the crucial but abstract material characteristic of "hardenability" into standardized, quantifiable hardness curves, making them a cornerstone tool in the fields of metallurgy and machinery manufacturing.
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