Woking-based Enthone, which supplies high-performance specialty chemicals and coatings for a wide range of applications in various sectors, has invested in an Innovatest micro-Vickers hardness tester from Bowers (
www.bowers.co.uk).
Business development manager Steve Grimsley says: “We were recently tasked with very accurately measuring the hardness values of components being supplied for an offshore oil and gas project.
“Given the extremely harsh sub-sea environments that the components were due to be used in, the quality of the deposits and coatings was of critical importance to their extended life.
“As our existing equipment was unable to perform the required tests — and given the tight deadline — I compared the technical specification of micro-Vickers hardness testers from three or four manufacturers and concluded that the Innovatest was the best for our particular needs.
“Bowers was able to deliver it from stock, and our operators mastered its simple controls after a very short training session.
“Now in regular use, our new hardness tester has proved to be very accurate and repeatable. As the machine was supplied with certified test blocks, it is in accordance with our quality standards, and all of its findings are traceable to national standards.”