Taber Scratch Tester Used for Coatings & Flooring

Taber's Shear/Scratch Tester can be used to study resistance to scratching, gouging, shearing, marring, scraping and engraving on a range of rigid flat specimens. It may also be used to test the homogeneity of materials, the adhesive qualities of protective coatings and the impact of age on similar materials.

A removable scale beam is mounted on a pivotal shaft projecting from an adjustable gage block. The height of the pivotal shaft can be lowered or raised with an adjusting screw corresponding to the thickness of a test specimen up to 12.7 mm (0.5 inches). This adjustment helps the scale beam to be maintained in a level position with respect to the specimen and turntable. It is designed with an integrated bearing so that the scale beam can be tilted in a rest position enabling the operator to mount or remove specimens.

The scale beam is mounted with a calibrated sliding weight. By changing the position of the sliding weight, the load applied by the scratch tip (shear tool) can be adjusted between 0 and 500 g. A second calibrated weight may be fixed to the end of the scale beam, thus increasing the load capacity and changing the scale to 500-1000 g. Engraved graduations are marked on the scale beam representing 10 grams per division.

The motorized turntable is operated by an on/off switch and rotates at a constant speed to ensure greater accuracy in test results. The turntable rotates in a clockwise direction, but with a simple conversion the turntable rotation can be reversed.

The shear/scratch tester from Taber is available in two models:

Model 550 - 115V, 60Hz - Turntable speed 0.5 rpm, Conical diamond tool with 90°, 3 mil radius point

Model 551 - 230V, 50Hz - Turntable speed 5 rpm, Conical diamond tool with 90°, 3.5 mil radius point

Product Features

The product features of the shear/scratch tester are:

Constant speed motor

Balanced, calibrated scale beam

Soft touch ON/OFF switch

Interchangeable tools

Variable load from 0 to 1000 g

Adjustable gage block tests up to 1/2 inches (12.5mm) thick specimens