Hardness is a measure of how resistant solid matter is to various permanent shape changes when a compressive force is applied. There are different ways to measure hardness: scratch hardness, indentation hardness, and rebound hardness. Most commonly one refers to “Indentation Hardness” when talking about hardness. For hard plastics, the most common norm for hardness is the Vickers Hardness test, where a round shape is pushed into a surface with a fixed force. The indentation depth is a measure for the hardness of the material: the deeper the indentation, the lower the Vickers Hardness value and therefore the lower the hardness.
Material |
Units | ASTM# | |
Agilus |
Shore A |
D2240 | 30 - 35 |
Agilus Black |
Shore A |
D2240 |
30 - 35 |
Alumide |
Shore D/A |
DIN 53505 |
D 76 +/- 2 |
Aluminum (AlSi10Mg) |
HV5 | DIN EN ISO 6506-1 |
114 - 124 (after heat treatment) |
Multicolor |
Shore D |
DIN 5305/2240 |
81 |
PA 12 (SLS) |
Shore D/A |
DIN 53505 |
D 75 +/- 2 |
PA-GF | Shore D/A |
DIN 53505 |
D 80 +/- 2 |
Poly1500 | Shore D |
D2240 |
80 - 82 |
ProtoGen White | Shore D |
D2240 |
88 |
Stainless Steel (316L) | HRB | DIN EN ISO 6508-1 |
89 (after heat treatment) |
Titanium (TiAl6V4) |
HV5 |
DIN EN ISO 6507-1 |
308 - 332 (after heat treatment) |
TPU 92A-1 |
Shore A |
DIN 53505 |
92 |
TuskXC2700T |
Shore D |
D2240 |
81 |
TuskXC2700W |
Shore D |
D2240 |
81 |
VeroWhitePlus |
Shore D |
83 |