3092 is measured by moving a tungsten carbide pen tip on the coating with a predetermined forceCoating hardness.

The instrument body includes an indicator slider, which is fixed by a screw lock. The slider has a rounded tip at the front end and is pressed by a spring. The spring has the following four types, corresponding to four different scale ranges:

• Grey spring: 0-3N (0.671lbF)

• Red spring: 0-10N (2.248lbF)

• Blue spring: 0-20N (4.49lbF)

• Green spring: 0-30N (6.74lbF)

The spring force can be controlled by the slider, and the compression of the spring increases the force of the pen tip pressing on the surface of the test piece. Use a hardness pen to make short and straight scratches, gradually increase the pressure, and the user can observe the force when the pen tip marks or damages the coating.

Each set of 3092 comes with a packaging bag containing a 0.75mm (0.03 ") diameter tungsten carbide pen tip and 3 springs (gray, red, and blue). Green springs ranging from 0-30N are also available as optional options.