Foundrax

Foundrax Pioneering world leaders in the design and manufacture of Brinell hardness testing equipment and accessories. Customers in 45 countries. UKAS accredited.

Machines built for many decades of service in the toughest industrial environments.

This is a Brinell indentation, showing the 'pile up' created by lateral material displacement and, more interestingly, t...
26/05/2026

This is a Brinell indentation, showing the 'pile up' created by lateral material displacement and, more interestingly, the slip bands created by the steel shearing along particular planes as the stress built up (rather than deforming in a smooth, uniform manner). These lines give some indication of the plastic deformation field at the surface of the steel block. The second photo is revealing in a very different way. It is exactly the same indentation, simply lit and viewed from the other side of the block. See first comment for more information.

Every so often a job comes in that's a little out of the ordinary. This portable Brinell tester was made by a French man...
21/05/2026

Every so often a job comes in that's a little out of the ordinary. This portable Brinell tester was made by a French manufacturer and isn't something you see often in the UK. The gauge had failed and, despite our best efforts, we couldn't source a like-for-like replacement (the original manufacturer, for reasons of their own, couldn't help either). An unusual thread and a tapered fitting didn't make life any easier.

No matter — we machined a new fitting to take one of our own gauges and then completed the service and calibration in the usual way.

I realise it's hardly major engineering news, but it would have been easy to tell the customer we couldn't help and move on to something else. I doubt it made much sense for us financially, but we take our commitment to service seriously and we don't like letting people down.

If there's ever anything we can do for you, please do get in touch.

Recently, we received these three machines for service and calibration. I couldn’t help noticing them, as the colour of ...
23/04/2026

Recently, we received these three machines for service and calibration. I couldn’t help noticing them, as the colour of the bases is a good indicator of their age and we haven’t used this colour for a very long time indeed.

I did a bit of digging at that point, and it turns out that one is from 1982, one is from 1985 and one from 1987. There’s actually a very good chance that I painted at least one or two of them when I was a boy, earning a bit of pocket money in the holidays.

I am not writing this out of a sense of nostalgia, more that it is testament to how we work at Foundrax – we do our best do build things properly, so that they will last. That’s my philosophy anyway, as it was my Father’s philosophy and my Grandfather’s before him.
It’s nice to see that, after all these years, these three units are still in service, that we are right to go the extra mile, then as now, and to be proud that we build things to last.

Brinell hardness testing of large, unwieldy components: getting it right - Foundrax MD Alex Austin discusses:If you're r...
24/03/2026

Brinell hardness testing of large, unwieldy components: getting it right - Foundrax MD Alex Austin discusses:

If you're responsible for hardness testing, be that in a foundry, forge, stock holder or machine shop - you'll know operators are forced to contend with some very large and awkward samples; well beyond the safe lift up to the test bed of a floor-standing machine.

With large indentations that are almost 'immune' to surface irregularities, Brinell testing has a natural advantage in this environment and the portable Brinell hardness tester is the answer for large or immovable components. A well-designed hydraulic, hand-operated machine (our Model 134, for example (shown here testing a lift cable drum) can apply the full 3000 kgf load required for testing ferrous metals in a unit less than 600mm tall. Multiple accessories extend its versatility considerably.

OF TROMBONES AND THREADED RODOur production manager believes he has detected an off-straight batch of threaded rod and h...
19/03/2026

OF TROMBONES AND THREADED ROD

Our production manager believes he has detected an off-straight batch of threaded rod and he's rolling lengths of it back and forth on a plumb granite surface to catch the slivers of light that will prove him right. Exactly the same method is used to check that trombone slide 'legs' are 'true' before they are used in any complete slide assembly.

That was then, this is now…The Brinell hardness test was the first widely adopted one in industry but perhaps with some ...
12/03/2026

That was then, this is now…

The Brinell hardness test was the first widely adopted one in industry but perhaps with some misgivings as, in the fourth decade of the test’s life, the pre-eminent Oxford metrologist of his day, Dr Hugh O’Neill, famously remarked that the hardness of metals was “like the storminess of the seas…easily appreciated but not readily measured”.

It’s a witty quip but one, thankfully, that definitely no longer applies.

Depending upon your need, whether it is to test the hardness of tiny bearing races, of three tonne castings, of wafer thin plate or the barrel of a cannon, there’s a method to suit.

We’ve covered the purpose, history and methods of hardness testing in some depth in our Articles (see comments) – a resource for the curious, we hope!

Brinell scanners, AI and hypeRecent developments in the overlap between computing and optics, combined with advances in ...
09/03/2026

Brinell scanners, AI and hype

Recent developments in the overlap between computing and optics, combined with advances in machine learning, have meant that it is now easier than ever to use a machine to estimate the diameter of a Brinell indentation. And, as anyone who operates in this field knows, estimating the diameter of an indentation with a manual microscope is the most problematic element of the entire Brinell test cycle and the one most likely to produce an error in the hardness value.

Some in the hardness testing field have recently written about Brinell ‘scanners’, others refer to using “artificial intelligence” to measure these indentations and calculate the material hardness. Of course, such has been the rapidity of development in microprocessor power and calculating speed in the last forty five years that all manner of highly complex problems are now in the hands of computers, but what might not be fully appreciated is that Foundrax actually pioneered automated Brinell measurement and had a reliable commercial system available in 1982 (yes!) - and this system has been improved continuously; remaining way ahead of the international standards. The photo shows one at a customer's premises back around 2012.

When people refer to a Brinell automatic scanner, they are using what is almost a generic term to describe a system which can view an indentation, measure its diameter, and calculate hardness from that diameter with no human intervention. Such systems can take a number of forms (indeed the term ‘scanning’ is a very broad one and we don’t generally use it). At the end of the day only one thing matters: Does this automatic Brinell microscope (or Brinell scanner if you prefer), however it works, measure indentations accurately and give repeatable results, and will it continue to do so month after month in the rigours of a steelworks?

This is important because the Brinell method remains the test of choice in iron and steel, the oil and gas industry, automotive industry and many others, because large components with relatively little surface preparation can be tested easily and quickly.

Foundrax’s advanced automatic Brinell microscope uses proprietary software, is field proven, is far more accurate than the international Standards demand, and is fitted to machines which have been engineered to cope with years of robust use. Machines which have been endorsed by household-name clients building world-class products.

For firms which do not have the space or funds for a floorstanding automatic hardness tester, we have our portable BRINtronic automatic measurement system – the same technology as discussed above, supplied either modular, with a PC, or in an armoured case, for use with machines which are not fitted with automatic measurement systems.

So, don’t be bamboozled by talk of Brinell automatic scanners and artificial intelligence – please talk to us first!

The effects of Brinell testing vary according to indenter sizeOne issue that occasionally comes up is that of indentatio...
25/02/2026

The effects of Brinell testing vary according to indenter size

One issue that occasionally comes up is that of indentations of similar diameters but made by different sized indenters.

Sometimes finding the true edge of the indentation is difficult because the process of indentation pushes material sideways and leaves a ‘pile up’ around the indentation that can make it very hard to decide where it starts and where it finishes.

The profile of the indentation and nature of this ‘pile up’ is affected by the size of the indenter.

It may be thought that one 3mm diameter indentation is much like any other but this is not the case. For example, the profile of a 3mm diameter indentation made with a 5mm ball is quite different from one made with a 10mm ball. The diagram illustrates this clearly.

In either case, once an indentation has reached a diameter of 3mm, much more of the test material will have been disturbed by a 5mm indenter than by a 10mm one. That makes sense. The volume displaced has to go somewhere — it either elastically recovers, plastically flows beneath the indenter, or piles up around the rim. The ratio between these depends on the material's work-hardening characteristics and the strain field geometry and there is, of course, much less resistance to ‘sideways’ deformation than to ‘downwards’. The consequence of this is the shape of the pile up (or sink-in, for that matter) at the edge of an indent will be quite different and therefore, so will the position of the true edge.

Now, for those whose task it is to measure indentation diameters, the question of pile-up is significant. Where does the indentation end and the pile-up begin? That can be a challenge on occasion, and add to that the fact that the edge of an indentation can appear to move as you adjust the angle of the light shining on it and the fact that different types of material have different deformation characteristics and the fact that metal may deform more easily in one direction than another because of the molecular grain structure (and thus produce an elliptical indentation not a truly round one) and it quickly becomes apparent what a challenge this is.

Since launching the first Foundrax automatic Brinell microscope in the early 1980s, the algorithms have been refined and refined and the present system can detect hundreds of diameters, accurately, in well under a second. The system can easily distinguish the position of the true edge regardless of the pile-up, no matter what the indenter size. It continues to easily surpass all the international Standards. The equipment is integral to some of our larger machines or available as a separate portable unit; the ‘BRINtronic’.

'Sentinel' Brinell hardness testers under construction at Workshop 1.
23/02/2026

'Sentinel' Brinell hardness testers under construction at Workshop 1.

Are Brinell hardness disputes originating at your goods-out desk? You're not alone if that's the case. We often hear of ...
19/02/2026

Are Brinell hardness disputes originating at your goods-out desk?

You're not alone if that's the case. We often hear of situations where someone has resorted to an independent laboratory to validate the hardness of their components or material when challenged by a customer. In most of these disputes, one party had an unassailable advantage over the other – an automatic Brinell microscope. In others, both supplier and customer were taking manual readings and therefore in need of a third-party laboratory to resolve disagreements.

Even the most experienced operators can misjudge the diameter of an indentation when peering through a manual microscope, it’s easy to do. This is why, around 15 years ago, we started making reference indentation blocks specifically to aid the training of workshop technicians.

After measurement, the fortunate operator might have a Brinell calculator to hand – perhaps online – to perform the calculation and arrive at the hardness value. A less fortunate one will have to get it off a diameter-to-hardness conversion chart, perhaps in very small print with the odd black grease streak across it.

Mistakes occur which, when the component is destined for use in a critical application, could be very problematic.

An automatic Brinell microscope which exceeds all international standards for accuracy, and which returns hardness values in under a second, could easily save two minutes per indentation. Factor that into a busy production line and the investment seems an obvious step.

Rugged, steel-bodied and connected to its dedicated computer by an armoured cable, such a tool would eliminate forthwith the risk of mis-supply of goods – or enable you to reject incoming materials with confidence. The latter benefit could see an automatic microscope paying for itself outright: I have had several experiences where a customer has come to us for one of our BRINtronic systems specifically because a measurement dispute has cost tens of thousands of pounds. A company with an impeccable record might get away with a mishap like this, but only once.

An automatic microscope of the sort I mentioned earlier can work in multiple Brinell ranges, in any lighting conditions – from a sunny yard to the darkest corner of the workshop – and it can also be fully networked so that individual and batch readings are recorded live if that's what you need.

If you would like to know more, I'll be happy to help. Message or call me and I'll talk you through the options.

Alex
MD

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18 Wessex Park, Somerton
Somerset
TA116SB

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Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
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