FLEXIBLE TESTER USED FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF HARDNESS TESTING TASKS

Marshall Vehicle Engineering: Operating from a 12,800m² state-of-the-art design and manufacturing facility based in Mildenhall, Suffolk Marshall Vehicle Engineering’s advanced design capability means that they are the design authority for many military vehicle bodies, variants and ancillaries currently in service around the world. MVE’s wide range of products includes troop transport, specialist load beds/trays and armoured protective systems for military logistic vehicles. The company’s comprehensive array of capabilities enable it to provide a range of optimum solutions that are designed, tested and fitted for all logistic applications on a variety of wheeled chassis types; light, medium and heavy.

Drawing on more than 60 years of experience in the production of specialist military vehicles, MVE specialises in the design and manufacture of load beds/trays for the volume production of cross country vehicles for military and other specialist users. Employing the latest design and engineering techniques, the company also makes use of the latest production techniques including robotic welding, surface pre treatment and e-dipping to help maintain a constant programmed supply of ‘high quality & long life’ load beds/trays manufactured to programme, quality and cost.

MVE’s current main contract relates to the production of 6,700 load beds/trays for the UK MoD’s support vehicle contract with MAN Vehicles UK. The support vehicles are amongst the most up to date currently involved in logistic support. Delivery of the 4,000th completed vehicle recently occurred to time, cost and performance.

The nature of the vehicles manufactured by MVE, and the serious implications of any failure in the field, means that quality assurance is of paramount importance to the company. In addition to the in-process quality checks and inspections made by the company’s staff, a stringent regime of testing helps to ensure that the materials used on each vehicle are of the required standard and are able to withstand the harsh conditions that vehicles can be subjected to.

Typical of the investments made by MVE in ensuring the continued quality of the materials the company use, is the company’s recent purchase of an advanced material hardness tester.

Steve Peel, MVE’s Quality Manager takes up the story: “Although we accurately specify the type and grade of the metals we use in accordance with our ‘belt and braces’ approach to quality, we recently decided to invest in a modern, Rockwell hardness tester. Having weighed-up the qualities of several alternative testers, we came to the conclusion that the CV-600 MBDL Rockwell hardness tester, from Bowers Metrology UK, best met our needs.”

“Now in daily use, in addition to our checks on incoming raw material, the flexible tester is now used for a wide variety of hardness testing tasks. Our new bench tester has recently proved invaluable for the in-depth testing of the hardness of steel used at critical shackle mounting points and of load bed floor plates. This procedure helps assure the integrity of the material used within highly stressed areas.”

“As the CV-600 MBDL is able to accommodate large parts, we are able to utilise it across a wide range of components. The machine’s speed of operation, ease of use and accuracy means that it is now making a significant contribution to our material quality control procedures.”

Bowers Metrology UK claims that the CV-600 MBDL bench hardness tester provides the user with extremely high standards of accuracy, reliability and durability at an affordable price. Boasting a rugged construction to help withstand the toughest of shop floor environments, and a large working capacity enabling the largest of test specimens to be accommodated, the CV-600 MBDL is able to operate in Rockwell scales A, B, C, D, E, F, G, K, L, M, P, R, V.               

With a system accuracy conforming to EN-ISO 6508 and ASTM-E18, Bowers’ budget priced motorised tester boasts a hardness resolution 0.01 of a Rockwell unit. The easy to operate CV-600 MBDL is able to operate under test loads of 60, 100 and 150kgf, with available dwell times ranging from 0 - 99 seconds, in 1 second steps.

An easy to read OLED full colour, multi function display shows a progress bar graphic for the preload function. Further displayed parameters include preload applied, main load applied, dwell time, conversion to Brinell, Vickers and all Rockwell scales, USB2 output, Go/No Go limit settings, shape correction and SPC.

Standard delivery includes a comprehensive range of test anvils, indenters and test blocks enabling the CV-600 MBDL to undertake accurate Rockwell hardness testing procedures across a wide range of specimens.

For more information on the CV-600 MBDL hardness tester, click here.

Published on February 22, 2011 15:19