Micro Materials

Micro Materials Leading global innovator in highly specialised nanoindenters and nanomechanical test instrumentation

For over 30 years, Micro Materials has been a leading innovator in the highly specialised world of nanomechanics – constantly developing and refining equipment that has consistently set new benchmarks for performance and adaptability. One of our key objectives is to provide multi-functional nanoindenters and nano-mechanical test instrumentation that is intuitive and simple to use. NanoTest Vantage


The NanoTest Vantage system offers a complete range of nanomechanical and nanotribological tests in one flexible and user friendly instrument. With just one test platform a range of mechanical properties can be investigated, allowing a complete picture of material performance to be assembled. NanoTest Extreme
With the NanoTest Vantage, Micro Materials already offers the most comprehensive range of nano-mechanical test options. These are now further extended with the NanoTest Xtreme, which provides a high-vacuum environment for testing at high temperatures up to 1000 ºC and low temperatures down to -100 ºC. Established in 1988 Micro Materials has continually been at the forefront of innovation, with our pioneering approach leading to three world firsts:

- The first commercial nano-scale impact tester, for erosive wear, toughness and contact fatigue.
- First commercial high temperature nanoindentation stage.
- The first liquid cell, allowing the testing of samples which are fully immersed in a fluid.
- Providing innovative, versatile nanomechanical test instrumentation and responding to developments in applications in response to customer and market requirements. The integrity, reliability and accuracy of our equipment is paramount, as is our relationship with our users.

NordtribLooking forward to insightful discussions with fellow tribologists next week at the Nordtrib Conference!If you’r...
01/06/2026

Nordtrib

Looking forward to insightful discussions with fellow tribologists next week at the Nordtrib Conference!
If you’re attending, we invite you to visit our stand in the exhibition hall and to connect with our applications experts during the technical sessions, when they will be presenting on the following topics:

✅ New developments in tribological testing methods
for lubricants and currents approaches with electrified tribometries
– Philippe Kempe

✅ Mechanical characterisation of wood and laminate materials for wear and scratch resistance – Philippe Kempe

✅ Micro-scale impact tests to develop multilayer coating systems with enhanced wear resistance under cyclic high-stress contact – Ben Beake

for more information on the nano and micro impact testing capabilities of the hashtag Vantage and NanoTest Xtreme nanomechanical testing platforms supplied by Micro Materials Ltd, including the patented spatially-distributed impact test technique, please visit
📌 https://www.micromaterials.co.uk/impact

Engaging conversations are where ✨ new ideas and collaborations begin — see you in Tampere!

The latest collaboration between Micro Materials' Prof Ben Beake and Dr Stephen Goodes, Prof Tomasz Liskiewicz at Manche...
18/05/2026

The latest collaboration between Micro Materials' Prof Ben Beake and Dr Stephen Goodes, Prof Tomasz Liskiewicz at Manchester Metropolitan University and
Dr Sam McMaster at ARU has just been published in Tribology International, furthering their collaboration in developing state-of-the-art microtribological test methods for the NanoTest Vantage.

Their newly developed nano-fretting methodology enabled continuous measurement of actual track length and on-load displacement throughout accelerated fretting experiments on DLC coatings*, to investigate how contact size influences their friction and wear in much greater detail than has been possible previously.

*Diamond-like carbon (DLC) coatings are a family of meta-stable amorphous materials with properties varying with their sp2 /sp3 ratio, level of hydrogenation and presence of doping elements. DLCs are generally characterised by high hardness, chemical inertness and low coefficients of friction. DLCs have been studied at the micro and nanoscale under reciprocating sliding conditions and have been identified as useful for applications in data storage and protective coatings form micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and nano-electromechanical systems (NEMS).

In large scale mechanical systems, DLC coatings are a key protective coating.

NanoTest data featured last week in an invited talk at ICMCTF2026 given by Prof Tomasz Liskiewicz, The Manchester Metrop...
05/05/2026

NanoTest data featured last week in an invited talk at ICMCTF2026 given by Prof Tomasz Liskiewicz, The Manchester Metropolitan University in the biomedical materials session.

In his talk, Prof Liskiewicz reported on collaborative work developing multilayer DLC coating systems to protect implants.

He described how data from the NanoTest nanomechanical testing platform supplied by Micro Materials Ltd is used to show the way in which changes to the coating multilayer structure have a significant influence on their mechanical properties and gave examples of the consequent changes in coating performance.

👓 For further information about the NanoTest Vantage in relation to biomedical applications, please visit https://www.micromaterials.co.uk/liquid-cell

Investing in knowledge is fundamental to delivering reliable results in advanced materials research. Krish Narain put th...
05/05/2026

Investing in knowledge is fundamental to delivering reliable results in advanced materials research. Krish Narain put this principle into practice last month in Japan, during in-depth product training delivered to the sales team at the Japanese distributor Micro Materials Ltd now shares with RTEC-INSTRUMENTS INC., following the recent acquisition of Micro Materials by the San Jose-based supplier of mechanical and surface testing instruments.

Sessions like these ensure that our 🌐 global network of distributors is not only well-equipped, but deeply knowledgeable, ready to provide responsive, high-quality support wherever our customers are based.

By strengthening technical expertise across our network, we reinforce the Rtec/Micro Materials joint commitment to helping researchers achieve precise, reproducible outcomes with confidence.

👉 For information about Micro Materials Ltd's NanoTest nanomechanical testing platforms, please visit https://www.micromaterials.co.uk
👉 For information about Rtec Instruments, please visit https://www.rtec-instruments.com

At the stand at the recent ICMCTF 2026 in San Diego - ready to connect with visitors and discuss the 🚀exciting prospects...
05/05/2026

At the stand at the recent ICMCTF 2026 in San Diego - ready to connect with visitors and discuss the 🚀exciting prospects opening up by our joining forces.
Vishal K Khosla, CEO of RTEC-INSTRUMENTS INC., and Krish Narain from Micro Materials, now part of the Rtec group, are pictured below discussing challenges, solutions and ✨ new opportunities with Santosh, a customer from University of Kentucky.

Following the acquisition of Micro Materials by Rtec Instruments, we've got some great new projects already underway, including the versatile new SMT-2000 PiQ Nanoindenter from Rtec.

Coatings developers may be especially interested in the possibilities opened up by Micro Materials' spatially-distributed impact test technique, available on the NanoTestVantage and NanoTestXtreme instruments.

👉 More information on the SMT-2000 PiQ Nanoindenter is available on the Rtec website at https://www.rtec-instruments.com


and on the impact and spatially-distributed impact test techniques at Micro Materials' website https://www.micromaterials.co.uk/impact

We were honoured to welcome Professor Jian Chen, from South East University, Nanjing, to our Wrexham site yesterday. One...
16/04/2026

We were honoured to welcome Professor Jian Chen, from South East University, Nanjing, to our Wrexham site yesterday. One of the oldest universities in China, South East University is known for its strong emphasis on engineering, architecture and information technology.

Together with Adrian Harris and Ben Beake from Micro Materials Ltd Materials, Professor Chen participated in an online discussion with Dr Hannah (Huixing) Zhang, National Physical Laboratory (NPL). During the discussion, and in a subsequent presentation delivered by Professor Chen to our engineering staff, he outlined exciting new developments in his research using the impact test technique pioneered by Micro Materials, with particular reference to its use with medium entropy alloys.

Micro Materials has a proud track record of working in close collaboration with customers from leading research institutions such as South East University.
If you would like more details of some of our recent projects, including a case study contributed by Professor Chen on multi-scale impact testing to study high-strain rate deformation, please visit https://lnkd.in/eudCByPm.

Technical Notes, including a recent publication on on the spatially-distributed impact test developed by Micro Materials, are available to download from our website at: https://lnkd.in/ekGybGnz

A valuable step forward as we begin our next chapter. The recent strategy planning session at RTEC-INSTRUMENTS INC.'s Sw...
02/04/2026

A valuable step forward as we begin our next chapter. The recent strategy planning session at RTEC-INSTRUMENTS INC.'s Swiss office provided an excellent opportunity for our Sales Director Krish Narain to engage with colleagues from our new partner organisation. It was a productive forum to align on priorities, share perspectives, and start building the strong foundations needed for effective scientific and engineering collaboration.

With the 🐇Easter period symbolising renewal and 🐣 fresh growth, the timing felt especially fitting. We are excited to contribute our expertise in the field of nanoindentation at room and non-ambient temperatures, learn from new colleagues, and help shape ✨ innovative solutions together.

Thank you to everyone involved for the warm welcome and open exchange, it was a highly encouraging start to this new phase.

For details of the high temperature capabilities of our hashtag Vantage and hashtag Xtreme instruments across indentation, scratch and impact, please visit
https://www.micromaterials.co.uk/technical-notes
to download the NanoTest high temperature nanomechanical measurements portfolio from the list.

📣 RTEC-INSTRUMENTS INC. Instruments Inc announces today:We’re proud to announce the acquisition of Micro Materials Ltd.,...
24/03/2026

📣 RTEC-INSTRUMENTS INC. Instruments Inc announces today:

We’re proud to announce the acquisition of Micro Materials Ltd., a UK-based pioneer in micro- and nanoindentation technologies.
“This acquisition brings together two highly complementary organizations with a shared vision for innovation in surface mechanical testing,” said Vishal K Khosla, CEO at Instruments.
Krish Narain, Sales Director at Micro MaterialsMicro Materials Ltd., added:
“This partnership enables us to expand our global reach while continuing to deliver high-performance solutions to our customers.”

Together, we can now measure key mechanical properties—including hardness, wear, modulus, friction and creep—across an unmatched temperature range from 4K to 1200°C, enabling new possibilities for materials science and tribology worldwide.

We’re just getting started and excited for what’s ahead.
https://lnkd.in/e8ufUcSN https://lnkd.in/dzjtU8B


Micro Materials Ltd is exhibiting at TMS 2026 in San Diego! Meet our experts later this month on Stand 322 at TMS to lea...
05/03/2026

Micro Materials Ltd is exhibiting at TMS 2026 in San Diego!

Meet our experts later this month on Stand 322 at TMS to learn about Micro Materials Ltd's product developments, including our patented “spatially-distributed impact test" technique, a nano-impact testing method for simulating erosive wear.

Not attending TMS this year? - if you're a materials researcher keen to know how the new impact technique could save you time when developing new coating systems, - please visit
📌 https://www.micromaterials.co.uk/impact call to speak directly with our applications team. Tel: +44 (0) 1978 261615

And to find out more about our multifunctional NanoTest Xtreme nanomechanical testing platform, for testing at temperatures upto and exceeding 🌡️ 1000 degrees C under high vacuum, here's the link: 👇 https://www.micromaterials.co.uk/nanotest-xtreme

Breakthroughs in materials science drive transformational change, helping to build a more sustainable future. A new ERC ...
18/02/2026

Breakthroughs in materials science drive transformational change, helping to build a more sustainable future. A new ERC report explores materials research in advanced materials in sectors ranging from health and electronics to energy, construction and mobility.
👉 Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/ezwDBbBU

If you need to know how your advanced materials will perform in extreme environments, for example
📌 low oxygen, low temperatures for satellite development
📌 the effect of cold on weld repair in oil/gas pipelines or
📌 high temperature for aerospace engine components,

the Xtreme supplied by Micro Materials Ltd is the most flexible multi-load range high vacuum testing platform available and offers a complete range of nanomechanical tests:

- indentation
- scratch and wear
- friction
- high strain rate impact

👉 For further details, visit https://www.micromaterials.co.uk/nanotest-xtreme




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