Vickers Sertlik

What Is Vickers Hardness?

In the Vickers method, a square-based diamond pyramid is pressed into the specimen surface, and hardness is calculated by measuring the two diagonals of the resulting indentation. Because the indenter's geometry is the same across the entire load range, a single scale is used from very low to high loads.

Purpose of Vickers Hardness

The purpose is to measure hardness in thin sections, coatings, hardened surface layers and individual microstructural phases. Case-hardening depth and weld hardness maps are derived with this method.

Which Products Is Vickers Hardness Applied To?

Hardened surface layers and case-hardening specimens
Coatings and thin films
Weld and heat-affected zone
Thin sheet and wire products
Microstructural phases and individual grains

In Which Sectors Is Vickers Hardness Used?

MetalAutomotiveAerospaceConstructionMachinery Manufacturing

Standards Related to Vickers Hardness

ISO 6507-1 (Vickers hardness test — test method)
ISO 6507-2 (verification and calibration of testing machines)
ASTM E384 (microindentation hardness of materials)
ISO 2639 / ISO 18203 (determination of case-hardening depth)

Vickers Hardness Conditions

Indenter: Square-based diamond pyramid with a 136° face angle
Test force: Selected from the macro, low-load, or micro range, per the application
Dwell time: Duration defined in the standard
Measurement: The two diagonals of the indentation are measured and averaged

Equipment for Vickers Hardness

Vickers/microhardness tester
Diamond pyramid indenter
High-magnification measuring microscope or automatic indentation reading system
Specimen mounting and polishing equipment
Hardness reference blocks

Sample Requirements for Vickers Hardness

For microhardness measurement, the specimen must be metallographically polished.
No heating or deformation must occur during surface preparation.
For cross-section measurements, the specimen must be mounted with the edge preserved.
Indentations must be spaced from each other and from the edge by the distances defined in the standard.
For coating measurements, coating thickness determines the load to select.

Duration of Vickers Hardness

A single measurement takes minutes. If a hardness profile or map is required, duration can extend to hours depending on the number of indentations; automated systems shorten this markedly.

Vickers Hardness Procedure

1The specimen is sectioned, mounted and polished.
2The test force suited to the application is selected.
3The machine is verified with a reference block.
4The indenter is pressed into the surface at the defined force and held for the dwell time.
5The force is removed and the indentation diagonals are measured.
6The hardness value is calculated.
7If a profile is required, indentations are arranged at defined intervals.

Vickers Hardness Acceptance Criteria

The method standard defines how the test is performed, not what the result should be. The acceptance limit comes from the material standard, the product specification or the customer's technical drawing; this page therefore gives no numerical limit.

Evaluation of Results

The result is reported with the designation stating the force used (e.g. HV 10). In case-hardening depth assessments, the profile curve is interpreted at the depth where it intersects the limiting hardness value defined by the material standard.

Vickers Hardness Report

Specimen identification, material type and cast/batch number, if any
Specimen geometry, dimensions and preparation method
Standard and test conditions applied
Test temperature and ambient conditions
Measured values and calculated quantities
Fracture surface or indentation photographs (where applicable)
Measurement uncertainty (if requested)
A statement that the result applies only to the specimen submitted for testing

Accreditation

EUROLAB holds internationally recognised accreditation obtained from accreditation bodies party to the IAF and ILAC multilateral recognition arrangements, under ISO/IEC 17025 for laboratory testing, ISO/IEC 17020 for inspection and surveillance, and ISO/IEC 17021-1 and ISO/IEC 17065 for system and product certification. This chain ensures the reports and certificates issued are accepted worldwide.

Whether this test can be offered within accredited scope depends on your product and the standard applied; since accreditation is method-based, the scope is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.

Scope and authorisations

Related Regulations

EN 10204 (inspection documents for metallic products)
EU 305/2011 Construction Products Regulation (for products used in construction)
Harmonised standards applied according to the product family

Mekanik Testler — What Does This Testing Field Cover?

The section below describes the field that the Vickers Hardness test belongs to; the conditions and acceptance criteria of this particular test are given in the sections above. The scope specific to your product is confirmed in writing at the quotation stage.

Mechanical testing measures how a material or a part behaves under force. The family ranges from static loading (tension, compression, bending) to time-dependent behaviour (fatigue, creep), and from hardness and wear to fracture toughness.

What these tests have in common is that the result is reported as a MATERIAL PROPERTY. Yield strength or hardness is not a conformity decision; it is numerical data against which the design and the product standard will compare. Mechanical test reports are therefore usually an input to an engineering decision rather than to a product approval — material selection, safety factor, life prediction.

The distinction between static and dynamic behaviour is the key to understanding the field. A part may appear entirely unstressed under a static load yet break under repeated loading; fatigue fracture occurs at stresses well below the yield strength and gives no warning. For rotating, vibrating or cyclically loaded parts, a tensile test alone is therefore not sufficient evidence.

Test conditions determine the result, and this is critical for the readability of the report: specimen geometry, loading rate, temperature, conditioning and the gripping arrangement. The same material gives different values under different conditions. In plastics the rate effect is very pronounced, in metals the temperature effect; in composites the specimen orientation changes the result entirely.

Hardness is the most misused measurement in the field. Because it is fast, close to non-destructive and inexpensive, it is often used in place of strength. Conversion tables from hardness to strength exist, but they are APPROXIMATE and depend on the material group; using them as the sole evidence in material acceptance is wrong.

The fracture mechanics side requires a specific competence. Fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth rate measurements make it possible to calculate how long a cracked structure will last; they are the basis of damage-tolerant design in fields such as pressure equipment, aircraft structures and pipelines.

Method groups in this field

Static tests
Tension, compression, bending, shear and torsion. Yield and tensile strength, elongation and modulus of elasticity are obtained.
Impact tests
Charpy and Izod notch impact; the brittle-to-ductile transition behaviour of the material is determined as a function of temperature.
Hardness
Brinell, Vickers, Rockwell, Shore and micro hardness. Valuable for surface treatment depth and local differences in strength.
Fatigue
Force- and strain-controlled axial fatigue, fatigue in bending; S-N curves and the endurance limit.
Creep and stress relaxation
Behaviour under long-term load at high temperature; decisive for boiler, turbine and pressure equipment materials.
Fracture mechanics
Plane-strain fracture toughness, the J integral, CTOD and fatigue crack growth rate.
Wear and friction
Taber and rotating drum abrasion, coefficient of friction measurements.

Commonly confused in this field

Calculating strength from hardness is approximate; it cannot be used as the sole evidence in material acceptance.
Adequate static strength does not demonstrate fatigue strength; a cyclically loaded part requires a separate test.
If test rate and temperature are not reported, the result cannot be compared — especially for polymers and composites.
A test specimen and the actual part may not give the same value; moulding orientation, weld lines and differences in surface treatment all have an effect.
A strength value given for a composite without stating the specimen orientation is meaningless.
ASTM and ISO counterparts measure the same quantity but use different specimen geometries; the results are not treated as directly equivalent.

Which decisions these results support

Design verification and material selection
Incoming material control and supplier approval
Meeting the mechanical requirements of the product standard
Failure analysis, life prediction and damage tolerance calculation
Verifying heat treatment and surface treatment processes

Related Tests

Frequently Asked Questions About Vickers Hardness

Are micro Vickers and macro Vickers different scales?

No, the scale is the same; the difference is the applied force. However, at very low loads, measurement sensitivity and the effect of surface preparation increase, so results are always given with the force.

Can coating hardness be measured directly?

Yes, if the coating is thick enough. For thin coatings, the indentation depth is limited relative to the coating thickness to exclude the substrate's influence; measurement is made on a cross-section if needed.