Nanoindentation for hardness testing has been touted as a luxury only available for more sophisticated research. This month, Nanovea announced its intent to bring nanoindentation to a wider market. Purchase orders will start in April, and smaller entities could be conducting nanoindentation measurements by June.

The N3 line provides fully automated nanoindentation measurement. The M3 supplies microhardness and elastic measurement data, the T3 gives wear-rate data and the P3 supplies macro-roughness and step-height data. These are the most commonly needed tests, according to Nanovea Marketing Manager Ray Weedman. The models are priced in the $20,000 range. The M3 and T3 use Nanovea’s Nano module, which has a nano-loading range of 5 mN to 400 mN and a micro loading range of 2 g to 200 g. The P3 uses the firm’s optical pen, which has a scan area of 1 x 1 to 15 x 15 mm and a step-size range of 1 x 1 to 5 x 5 µm. “The N3 line was designed from the heads of each of our existing lines,” Mr. Weedman said. “They have just been completely stripped down to provide a single measurement, whereas our existing lines have multi-measurement capabilities and, therefore, are more expensive and take much more user knowledge.”

The decision to offer the N3 line at a lower cost is one about which Nanovea is confident. “We know how the market works at $40,000 plus,” Mr. Weedman said. “We believe measurement technology of this type in a $20,000 price range is going to change things in a very positive way for many industries.”