Galindent: The reference metrological system for the verification of the geometrical characteristics of Rockwell and Vickers diamond indenters

The paper describes the GALINDENT system that LTF – Galileo Hardness Testing Department, in co-operation with the Institute of Metrology "G. Colonnetti", has developed for the geometrical verification of Rockwell, Vickers diamond indenters, as prescribed by ISO Standards. This system consists of two instruments: an Interferometric Sine-Bar, for angular, straightness and flatness measures and a Rotary Table, for the verification of the spherical tip of Rockwell indenters. These two devices can be set up in one workstation, interfaced with the same computer for data analysis. A software package has been specifically developed to manage the entire system. The measurement test cycle is completely automated in order to ensure objective and reliable results. The operator interface, based on a graphic window menu in the Windows® environment, is extremely user friendly and it does not require any programming knowledge.