Bought a $75 rockwell hardness tester but I have no idea how to refurb it.

J

jnanthony

Joined
Sep 19, 2019
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9
Good afternoon all,

I recently bought a used Wilson 3TY rockwell hardness tester. It has the arm and 15kg weight but is missing the other weights. It is also missing the indenters and the anvil is pretty rusty.

I gather that the weight plus the arm needs to be approximately 6KG, I need a diamond indenter, and I need to clean up the anvil with some stones.

What's throwing me for a loop is the electrical portion of this tester. I have no idea how it's supposed to work. Do I set the minor load and the electric motor does the major load?

Also, does this have a dashpot I need to refill with oil? I Know absolutely nothing about how this works.

https://imgur.com/gallery/6J3C7Nw
 
I just dug out the manual for my Wilson Tester but I am not sure it would help you much. There are many similarities but there is nothing electric/powered on mine.

A quick google throws up this which is a sales brochure but might be useful to you and possibly covers your model. With a bit of googling you might find the instruction manual - or someone on here might have it.

https://www.sterlingmachinery.com/m...S,-JR,-TT,TY,-LL,-MO,-FB,-and-LR-Brochure.pdf

I imagine you will have a dashpot, it needs filling with oil and you have to adjust it so that the load is applied in a certain time.
 
Yes, $75 but might need $1000+ to get running.

That "TY" is also a special twin tester model with a electric motorized unit for releasing the major load to increase testing speed and repeatability. Don't see that very often perhaps due to not aging as well as there 3TT and 3JR brothers.

Looks like she is in rough shape.
The repeatability and reproducibility might be shot.

You'll need to get some weights for to hang in the back and a diamond indentator.
 
Mike, I've seen the sterling brochure. The best I can figure is that the motorized portion is optional. There is a cam attached to the load removal lever and seems simple in operation. There is a micro switch on the top weight lever that i'm still trying to figure out.

I've started the process of degunking and lubing all the moving parts. Everything seems to be in fantastic condition.

If anyone has a digital or scanned copy of a wilson manual, I'd love to have it.
 
DeadboxHero said:
Yes, $75 but might need $1000+ to get running.

That "TY" is also a special twin tester model with a electric motorized unit for releasing the major load to increase testing speed and repeatability. Don't see that very often perhaps due to not aging as well as there 3TT and 3JR brothers.

Looks like she is in rough shape.
The repeatability and reproducibility might be shot.

You'll need to get some weights for to hang in the back and a diamond indentator.
Click to expand...

I've started the basic tear down for inspection and everything seems to be in fantastic condition. I can't find any wear on the moving parts and all of the machined surfaces are incredibly tight.

I have 1018 three inch solid round bar in the shop. My plan is to cut off a chunk and turn it in the lathe until I get near 6.5 KG total weight. Then, i'll start taking hardness measurements with test blocks and remove more material as needed. That's when I'll find out if the repeatability is shot.

I've already ordered two of the chinese ebay indenters. I just need to source some test blocks without breaking the bank too much.
 
I haven't time now but I will weigh my weights and get back to you. Better than guessing.

If no-one comes up with the correct manual, I will scan mine for you, I am sure it will be of some use.

Can you convert your machine back to manual mode, that will save some trouble.
 
Mike Read said:
I haven't time now but I will weigh my weights and get back to you. Better than guessing.

If no-one comes up with the correct manual, I will scan mine for you, I am sure it will be of some use.

Can you convert your machine back to manual mode, that will save some trouble.
Click to expand...

There's no conversion necessary. It will operate either way. The electronic portion is a cam that touches the major load arm and moves it 1:1 with the handle. I'll upload a video of it working later.
 
12345678910 said:
Start with the model and serial number, contact Wilson and get the manuals
Click to expand...

I already have. Wilson doesn't exist anymore. They were merged with Buehler in 2011 or so. I called and spoke to a service rep at Buehler. They don't have any documentation on this model.

They told me to call Instron, which I have yet to do.
 
I found this on line, it is closer to your model than mine is: http://amet-me.mnsu.edu/UserFilesShared/Equipment_Manuals/TE_110/Rockwell Hardness Tester.pdf

Also this but I suspect you might have found these already! https://ebooks-books.com/1_dark/?a=...ubid=6529&q=wilson 3tt hardness tester manual

My model is an OUR which is supposedly made in the UK under licence from Wilson - It looks very very similar and some of the parts are branded Wilson so I suspect the mechanism is the same. I wouldn't be surprised if it were made by Wilson in the US and just badged in the UK. The weights look exactly the same as on all the other Wilson models and I would be surprised if your weights were different.

Weights are as follows

1 Main weight with hanging hook - Marked 60kg load, Actual weight 1862g
2 Second weight - Marked 40kg (to make 100kg total load) Actual weight 1604g
3 Third weight - Marked 50kg ( to make 150kg total load) Actual weight 2005g


Hope this helps
 
Just noticed your existing weight is 15kg. I think that means you have a 'superficial tester' - for testing thin samples

So the weights I have quoted you will NOT be correct for your machine. If you look through the 3TT manual P5 and 6 (link above) you will see what I mean.
 
Mike Read said:
Just noticed your existing weight is 15kg. I think that means you have a 'superficial tester' - for testing thin samples

So the weights I have quoted you will NOT be correct for your machine. If you look through the 3TT manual P5 and 6 (link above) you will see what I mean.
Click to expand...

My machine is switchable from superficial to normal rockwell. I plan to use it for normal rockwell, so your final 150kg weight and mine should be the same.

Yours add up to 5471 grams for a 150kg load. If we follow the 1:25 ratio, that's only a load of 136KG. I don't think that number counts the 10kg minor load so it should be pretty close.
 
I spent the day reverse engineering the electrical portion and doing general cleanup of the machine. The electrical consists of two micro switches and a motor with a cam that applies the major load. Both micro switches have failed and all of the insulation on the wires is cracked and broken.

I've figured out how it works but it was a pretty crappy design from an electrical standpoint. A few of the connections were soldered, wrapped with electrical tape, then bound together with a cotton string. Electrical tape was never going to last. I have thoughts of rebuilding it but i'll have to custom fab the actuator arms for a new set of micro switches. I think i'm just going to remove all of the electrical and use it purely as a manual machine.

On the plus side, the dash pot seals looked great and there was still oil inside. I filled it with 10w oil and it works like a charm. I took apart the dial face and glued the copper shim that had fallen.

Pictures from the day's progress. https://imgur.com/gallery/A3WS1JP
 
My indenters just came in. I think i'm in luck. I found the right combination of stuff around the shop to equal Mike's weight within 1 gram or so.
I tested an AEB-L blade that I expect to be 60-61 HRC and I got 61 for each of five tests.

That doesn't guarantee the accuracy but it does show repeat ability.
 
Sounds good :-)

Regarding the weights:

Main Weight 1862/60 = 31.0 ?? seems light compared to the others
Second Weight 1604/40 = 40.1
Third weight 2005/50 = 40.1

It looks to me like the first weight should weigh 60 x 40.1 = 2406g I assume that their is some internal weight/part of the mechanism making up the difference.

So if you make the total hanging weight the same as mine you should be OK.

Hope I have explained that so it makes sense.
 
Mike Read said:
Sounds good :)

Regarding the weights:

Main Weight 1862/60 = 31.0 ?? seems light compared to the others
Second Weight 1604/40 = 40.1
Third weight 2005/50 = 40.1

It looks to me like the first weight should weigh 60 x 40.1 = 2406g I assume that their is some internal weight/part of the mechanism making up the difference.

So if you make the total hanging weight the same as mine you should be OK.

Hope I have explained that so it makes sense.
Click to expand...

Mike,

That makes sense.

Let me say Thank You for your help. I truly appreciate it. You were the only one that took the time to give information.
 
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