Since 1964 Affri has been producing hardness testers combining test loads together with innovative devices which, together make up the Affri System. The Affri System has long surpassed the traditional philosophies using dead-weights and elevating screws found in conventional hardness testers. The novel Affri Closed Loop Load Cell technology is protected by many registered patents throughout the years.

Affri Systems is one of Europe largest Hardness Tester & Universal Testing equipment manufacturer. In its high quality & stylish Italian tradition, Affri’s product line depth is unparalleled by no other Hardness Tester manufacturer world wide.

Metlab Corporation has devoted an entire separate web site to highlight these outstanding accurate testers. www. hardnesstesting.ca please visit us at your earliest convenience and contact us to discuss this new product line for the North American market.

Over the next couple of newsletters, we will be highlighting various models and discussing their technological advantages.  In the meantime time, for those of us new to hardness testing or for those of us that need a refresher course, we will start with the basics.

WHAT IS HARDNESS?

The Metals Handbook defines hardness as "Resistance of metal to plastic deformation, usually by indentation. However, the term may also refer to stiffness or temper or to resistance to scratching, abrasion, or cutting. It is the property of a metal, which gives it the ability to resist being permanently, deformed (bent, broken, or have its shape changed), when a load is applied. The greater the hardness of the metal, the greater resistance it has to deformation.

In mineralogy the property of matter commonly described as the resistance of a substance to being scratched by another substance. In metallurgy hardness is defined as the ability of a material to resist plastic deformation.