15 Durometer Manufacturers in 2024
This section provides an overview for durometers as well as their applications and principles. Also, please take a look at the list of 15 durometer manufacturers and their company rankings. Here are the top-ranked durometer companies as of April, 2024: 1.Phase II Plus, 2.PTC Instruments, 3.Haida International Equipment Co., Ltd..
Table of Contents
What Is a Durometer?
A durometer is a device used to measure the hardness of materials. It is used especially on non-metallic substances such as rubbers, plastics and elastomers.
Hardness is defined as "a measure of the degree of force exerted by an object on another object to resist it". There is no uniform unit of hardness, since the force applied by another object varies depending on the purpose, such as bending, elongation, torsion, etc. T
Therefore, different durometers are used for different purposes and for different applications.
The following are typical test methods for hardness:
- Brinell
- Vickers
- Rockwell
- Knoop
- Shore
- UCI (Ultrasonic Contact Impedance)
Hardness between different test methods cannot be compared as is. By using a hardness conversion table, they can be compared relatively.
Uses of Durometers
1. Hardness Testing by Indentation
- Brinell Hardness Tester
Measurement is made with a microscope or other optical device. It can handle higher loads (up to 3000 kg) than other measuring instruments and is suitable for large samples with rough surfaces. - Vickers Hardness Tester
This is measured by an optical device such as a microscope. In contrast to Brinell hardness measurement, in which the hardness value obtained varies depending on the test load even if the same indenter is used, Vickers hardness measurement is superior in that the influence of differences in test load is almost negligible. It can measure a wide range of samples, from soft to hard, and is used for clinical testing, especially in the field of dentistry. - Rockwell Hardness Tester
Unlike Brinell hardness testers and Vickers hardness testers, Rockwell hardness testers can measure quickly without optical equipment. Diamond conical indenters are mainly used, but steel or cemented carbide balls are used when measuring relatively soft samples such as soft steel, malleable cast iron, copper alloys, and aluminum alloys. They are mainly used to measure heat-treated steel materials. - Knoop Hardness Tester
Suitable for measuring light loads of a few grams, and used to measure cracks and coatings on ceramics and other materials.
2. Hardness Test by the Magnitude of Rebound of Hammers, Etc.
- Shore Hardness Tester
This tester can measure without damaging samples and is easy to operate. No power supply is required, and since it is compact and portable, large structures such as rolling rolls and railroad rails can be tested on site.
3. Other Testing Methods
- UCI (Ultrasonic Contact Impedance) Hardness Tester
The principle of UCI hardness measurement is based on Vickers hardness measurement. It has a smaller indentation mark than other test methods and can be used for thin and delicate parts. On the other hand, it is also used for large samples that are portable and cannot be moved.
Principle of Durometers
1. Principle of Brinell Hardness Measurement
A spherical indenter is pressed against a sample for 10~15 seconds, and the surface area S (mm2) is calculated from the test load F (N), indenter diameter D (mm), and dent diameter d (mm) to obtain the hardness.
Brinell Hardness (HBS) = 0.102 × (test load F/indentation surface area S)
= (0.102 × 2F)/{πD(D-√(D2-d2)}
2. Principle of Vickers Hardness Measurement
A diamond pyramid indenter with a facing angle of 136° is pressed against the sample, and the surface area S (mm2) is calculated from the test load F (N) and the diagonal length d (mm) of the indentation to obtain the hardness.
Vickers hardness (HV) = test load F/indentation surface area S
= 2Fsin68°/d2 = 1.854 F/d2
3. Principle of Rockwell Hardness Measurement
A diamond cone indenter with a 120° apex angle is pressed against the sample in the order of (ⅰ) to (ⅲ)
Hardness is measured from the difference in indentation depth between( ⅰ )and (ⅲ).
It is necessary to select a load at which the indentation depth is less than 1/10 of the sample thickness.
4. Principle of Knoop Hardness Measurement
A diamond square-weight indenter with diagonal angles of 172°30′ and 130° is pressed against the sample. The indentation is calculated from the surface area S (mm2) obtained from the test load F (N) and the long side diagonal d (mm) of the indentation.
The same testing machine is used as for Vickers hardness measurement.
Knoop hardness (HK) = 14229F/d2
5. Principle of Shore Hardness Measurement
A diamond hammer is dropped at right angles to the sample and the hardness is measured by the height of the rebound. The harder the sample, the higher the rebound.
Eutectoid carbon steel is used for hardness between 30 and 95 HS, and super eutectoid carbon steel for 100 HS.
6. Principle of UCI (Ultrasonic Contact Impedance) Hardness Measurement
A diamond indenter is pressed against a sample for approximately 0.5 seconds at a specified load. The resonance frequency that changes at this time is electronically read to measure the hardness.
Durometers for Metals
There are various types of durometers, some of which are suitable for certain materials and others for others. The following are examples of hardness durometers used for metals:
- Brinell hardness is mainly used to evaluate the average hardness of materials with inconsistent metallurgical structure, such as castings and forgings. It leaves relatively large measurement marks. It is also necessary to polish the measurement surface of the specimen prior to measurement.
- Rockwell Hardness is used to evaluate the surface hardness of heat-treated materials at the site of heat treatment of steel materials. This measurement method is suited for measuring relatively large materials and has little measurement error due to differences in the measurers. Various indenters are available according to the combination of reference load and test load.
- Vickers Hardness is used to evaluate hardness and coating hardness after surface hardener treatment, and to evaluate the cross section of welding materials and welding conditions. It also has the advantage that the same measuring element can be used regardless of the material of the specimen.
- Shore hardness is used to measure the hardness of metal materials after quenching, tempering and nitriding. Measurement of large materials is also possible.
Portable Durometer
Handheld hardness testers are available for measuring the hardness of sponges, rubbers, and plastics.
Portable hardness testers for metals are also available, although they are simpler than the simple tabletop durometers. The same indenter is used for the same type of measurement method, and multiple hardness units can be displayed by conversion.
List of 15 Durometer Manufacturers
*Including some distributors, etc.
Sort by Features
- Default
- Company Size: largest first
- Year Founded: oldest first
- Year Founded: earliest first
Sort by Area
- United States of America
- Canada
- China
- Germany
- Japan
-
-
-
Phase II Plus
Durometers
Manufacturer Overview
Phase II Plus, incorporated in 1982 and based in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, is a manufacturer of material testing instrument as well as machine tool accessories and precision measuring tools. The company offers a comprehensive line of hardness testers, including rockwell hardness testers, portable hardness testers, Brinell hardness testers, and Vickers hardness testers. The company also offers ultrasonic thickness gauges for testing both ferrous and non-ferrous substrates, durometers, as well as force gauges comprising of analog handheld force gauges, ranging up to 100lb/50kg capacity.
-
-
-
-
-
PTC Instruments
Shore A Scale Durometer
Manufacturer Overview
PTC Instruments, established in 1946 and based in Los Angeles, CA, is the largest manufacturer of durometers and surface thermometers in the world. The thermometers are handmade from quality materials in Los Angeles factory and used worldwide. PTC Metrology offers NIST-traceable calibration and certification services. The company is accredited by A2LA to ISO/IEC 17025:2017. The company’s practical training cuffs are used by all branches of the U.S. government, as well as several private training centres, police academies, and the Department of Corrections.
-
-
-
-
-
Rex Gauge, LLC.
Rex Gauge Durometers
Manufacturer Overview
Rex Gauge Company Inc., established in 1946 and headquartered in Illinois, US, is a manufacturer that specializes in durometer hardness gauges. The company offers a range of products, including durometer models, test block kits, operating stands, O-ring hardness kits, multi-scale durometers, and more. It also offers accessories, material thickness gauges, and pocket hardness testers. The products can measure hardness on multiple durometer scales, providing adaptability for different materials. In 2005, its custom durometer SG-5000 was officially luched as a Certified Space Technology. The company serves various industries such as science & technology, manufacturing, aerospace, defense, and more.
-
-
-
-
-
Qosina Corp.
TPE
Distributor Overview
Qosina Corp., established in 1980 by Stuart Herskovitz, supplier of OEM medical device components to the medical, pharmaceutical, and bioprocessing industries headquartered in Ronkonkoma, New York. Their product portfolio includes sterilization supplies, needles, guide wire & catheter accessories, containers, and single-use sensors used in different applications including urology, vascular access, neuraxial, bloodline, cardiology, and respiratory. The company is ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 13485, ISO 45001, and ISO 22301 certified and offers brands such as Merit Advance, Nordson Medical, NRFIT, OETIKER, and SMARTSITE.
-
-
-
-
-
Qualitest International Inc.
Digital Micro Shore Durometer
Distributor Overview
Qualitest International Inc., founded in 1999, is a supplier of testing equipment such as hardness testers, material testing equipment, universal testing machines, and instruments for testing rubber, metals, paper, plastic, paint, and packaging materials used in the gold and jewelry, mining, oil and gas, surveying, and ultrasonic industries. The Lauderdale, Florida-based business offers technical support, calibration, and repair either directly or through the global QualiService authorized network. The company has an online store with international shipping.
-
-
-
-
-
Haida International Equipment Co., Ltd.
Desktop Shore Hardness Meter
Manufacturer Overview
Haida International Equipment was founded in 2004 as a manufacturer and supplier of Testing Equipment in China. The company deals in various precision testing instruments, machines, and services such as Batteries, Furniture, Textiles, Leather and Shoes, and Rubber and Plastic test equipment. There is also Adhesive tape, Cookware, Luggage, Optical, and Vibration test equipment along with Accelerated Environment Test Chamber (AES) that executes QC inspection on electronic appliances, paper products, metals, research institutes, and lots more. The other testing machines cater to industrial and mining enterprises, colleges and universities, engineering quality supervision stations, and other departments.
-
-
-
-
-
FUTURE-TECH CORP.
ROCKWELL HARDNESS TESTER
Manufacturer Overview
Future-Tech Corp., established in 1995 and headquartered in Kanagawa, Japan, is a manufacturer of hardness testers and accessories. Its products are supplied in the domestic market of Japan, and also to more than 35 countries around the world. The company offers a range of products including the Microhardness Tester FM-X Series, which is a new standard of Microvickers hardness tester. Its series adopts the loading by Load-cell and the multistep load switching, which have made it possible to achieve heavy accuracy. The company also produces and sells sample preparation machines such as cutting machine and grinding press.
-
-
-
-
-
JFE Advantech Co.,Ltd.
Ultrasonic Hardness Tester SONOHARD
Manufacturer Overview
JFE Advantech Co.,Ltd. was established in 1973 and is a manufacturer of water instruments and measuring devices based in Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. The company produces various products such as submerged level detectors, ultrasonic pulse coherent flowmeters, optical dissolved oxygen meters, electromagnetic flow velocity meters, and comprehensive water quality meters. The products have been used in various applications including sewage treatment plants, agricultural water systems, factory drainage, hydroelectric power plant, and deep wells management. The company have been certified with ISO 9001 for the water instruments and measuring products in 1995.
-
-
-
-
-
Bareiss North America, Inc
Fully Automatic Durometer
Manufacturer Overview
Bareiss North America, Inc., founded in 1954 and based in the United States, is a manufacturer of mechanical hardness testers. The company produces various products such as analog durometers, abrasion testers, punching presses, Rockwell testers, and digital durometers and supplies to different industries such as automotive, food, defense and aerospace, paper & textile industry, and metals & ceramics. The company holds Environmental ISO 14001:2004 certification to produce products that do not impact the environment and follows the traceability of national standards as required by DIN EN ISO 9001 and DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025.
-
-
-
-
-
Teclock
Handy Durometers
Manufacturer Overview
Teclock, founded in 1950 and based in Okaya, Nagano, Japan, is a distinguished manufacturer of precision measuring instruments. Its instruments has a high dimensional accuracy with a smallest scale of 0.0005mm. Its product lineup includes dial indicators, lever testers, thickness gauges, depth gauges, and calipers. The company also offers height gauges, stands, handy durometers, and micrometers. The company also provides a Cloud-based IoT measurement solution, enabling the seamless digitization and analysis of measurement data.
-
-
-
-
-
Elcometer Limited
Durometer
Manufacturer Overview
Elcometer Limited, established in 1947, has a global network of facilities and is a manufacturer in the UK and the USA of inspection equipment for the coatings, concrete, and NDT industries. The company's core portfolio of products covers four divisions: Blast, spray, coating inspections, and NDT equipment. Example products include industrial and commercial spray equipment used for protective coatings to meet OEM requirements, bodyshop spray equipment, and components used primarily to provide repair and customized work to the interior and body of passenger cars, trucks, vans, and trailers by their clients, including commercial, industrial, and OEMs.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
INSIZE CO., LTD.
Shore Durometer
Distributor Overview
Insize Co., Ltd., established in 1995 and headquartered in Jiangsu, China, is a supplier that specializes in supplying measuring instruments. The company offers a wide range of products, including calipers, depth-measuring instruments, height-measuring instruments, and more. It also offers comparison instruments, micrometers, and bore gauges. Its calipers can provide measurements in metric (mm) and/or imperial (inch) units, allowing users to work with their preferred measurement system. The company has achieved ISO 45001:2018 and ISO/IEC 17025:2017 certifications. It serves a range of industries, including automotive, aerospace, oil and gas, government, and more.
-
-
-
-
-
Mitutoyo Europe GmbH
Shore Durometer
Distributor Overview
Mitutoyo Europe GmbH, established in 1934 and based in Europe, is a supplier of metrology and precision measuring equipment. The company is an ISO 9001:2015 certified supplier that supplies to different industries, including aerospace, automotive, medical, and electronics. Various measuring equipment procured and supplied to customers globally are calipers, micrometers, portable hardness testers as well as DRO linear scales and counters. The company also procures optical measuring devices such as profile projectors, measuring microscopes, and coordinate measuring machines including CMM probes and enclosures.
-
-
-
-
-
Ueshima Seisakusho Co., Ltd.
Durometer
Distributor Overview
Ueshima Seisakusho Co., Ltd., established in 1977 and headquartered in Osaka, Japan, is a manufacturer that provides rubber testing equipment. The company offers a wide range of products, including blow point Analyzers, Rubber Process Analyzers, and Rubber Rheometers. It also provides services related to rubber testing equipment. Its product measures the viscoelastic properties of rubber and other elastomers. The company has been certified for ISO 9001 quality management and ISO/IEC 17025:2005. It provides testing equipment to industrial sectors such as rubber, plastics, and paints.
-
-
Durometer Manufacturer Ranking
*Including some distributors, etc.Ranking as of April 2024
Derivation Method| Rank | Company | Click Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phase II Plus |
27.8%
|
| 2 | PTC Instruments |
16.7%
|
| 3 | Haida International Equipment Co., Ltd. |
11.1%
|
| 4 | Qualitest International Inc. |
11.1%
|
| 5 | Mitutoyo Europe GmbH |
5.6%
|
| 6 | Rex Gauge, LLC. |
5.6%
|
| 7 | Qosina Corp. |
5.6%
|
| 8 | Teclock |
5.6%
|
| 9 | Elcometer Limited |
5.6%
|
| 10 | FUTURE-TECH CORP. |
5.6%
|
Derivation Method
The ranking is calculated based on the click share within the durometer page as of April 2024. Click share is defined as the total number of clicks for all companies during the period divided by the number of clicks for each company.Number of Employees
Newly Established Company
- Haida International Equipment Co., Ltd.: 2004 (20 years ago)
- INSIZE CO., LTD.: 1995 (29 years ago)
- FUTURE-TECH CORP.: 1995 (29 years ago)
Company with a History
- Mitutoyo Europe GmbH: 1934 (90 years ago)
- MURATEC-KDS CORP: 1937 (87 years ago)
- Teclock: 1950 (74 years ago)
Durometer Manufacturers in United States
*Including some distributors, etc.
Global Distribution of Durometer Manufacturers by Country
*Including some distributors, etc.
| Country | Number of Companies | Share (%) |
|---|---|---|
United States of America
|
5 | 35.7% |
Japan
|
5 | 35.7% |
China
|
2 | 14.3% |
Canada
|
1 | 7.1% |
Germany
|
1 | 7.1% |
