Barcol Hardness ASTM D2583

Barcol Hardness is a method used to measure the hardness of both reinforced and non-reinforced rigid plastics. To perform the test, follow these steps:

1. Place the specimen under the indentor of the Barcol hardness tester.

2. Apply a uniform pressure to the specimen until the dial indication reaches a maximum.

3. The depth of the penetration is then converted into absolute Barcol numbers.

Note that the minimum thickness for the specimen size is 1/16th of an inch. The data obtained from the test is expressed as Barcol numbers, as given by the instrument.