KEVOS® MAKEOS · Materials
Vickers and Knoop Hardness from Indentation
What Vickers or Knoop hardness does this indentation give?
Vickers (HV) or Knoop (HK) hardness from the test force and the measured indentation diagonal, with the indentation depth for checking specimen or case thickness.
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How this tool works
Inputs, units and where to find them
| Input | Unit | Typical source |
|---|---|---|
| Test | choice | Indenter type. |
| Test force | kgf | Test force in kilograms-force (HV10 = 10 kgf; 1 kgf = 9.80665 N). |
| Mean diagonal (Vickers) or long diagonal (Knoop) | mm | Measured diagonal: mean of both diagonals for Vickers, long diagonal for Knoop. |
Method and formulas
- Vickers: HV = 1.8544 F ÷ d²; depth ≈ d ÷ 7.
- Knoop: HK = 14.229 F ÷ L²; depth ≈ L ÷ 30.
- Minimum thickness ≈ 1.5 × diagonal (Vickers) or 10 × depth (Knoop).
- Example: HV10 with a 0.3 mm diagonal is 206.04 HV.
Limitations
- Diagonals must be measured accurately; small indentations magnify measurement error.
- Example values are illustrations. Replace them with values for your actual task.
Typical uses
- Calculate hardness from a microhardness reading
- Check case depth traverses
- Check minimum specimen thickness
Who it is for
- Quality inspectors
- Metallurgists
- Materials engineers
What you get
- Hardness number
- Indentation depth
- Minimum specimen thickness
Interpreting the result
- Report the force with the result (e.g. 206 HV10).
References
- Machinery’s Handbook, 29th edition (Industrial Press, 2012), printed pp. 1406–1412. Topic reference; no source tables or recommended settings are reproduced.
- ISO 6507-1 Vickers hardness test; ISO 4545-1 Knoop hardness test
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