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The 16th meeting of the IMEKO International Conference was held from Monday, September 25, through Thursday, September 28, 2000, at the Hofburg Congress Center on the premises of the new royal palace in Vienna.
Yamamoto was the only presenter from Japan at the TC5 session, and we delivered a paper on the HRC standard, titled as "A STUDY OF THE HRC HARDNESS STANDARD -EVALUATION METHOD USING VICKERS DIAMOND INDENTERS". This paper described our experiments using a Vickers diamond indenter mounted on a Rockwell hardness tester to detect changes in the test load while being applied something we cannot detect with a proving ringﾑand discussed the effects of the changes on HR hardness values by using a load cell as well.

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It is a great pleasure to announce that Hiroshi Yamamoto, Chairman of Yamamoto Scientific Tool Laboratory, was decorated with the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold, and Silver Rays, at the Imperial Palace in the spring of 2000.
Taking this opportunity, allow us to show our deepest gratitude to you for the valuable support you have given to us over the years, due to which we were able to receive this great honor. We also believe the award reflects appreciation of our consistent efforts and your support to develop better hardness standard blocks, which have served to improve the accuracy of hardness tests, thus contributing to the growth of the steel, ship-building, machinery, and other industries.
The present honor follows one awarded to the late Shoichi Yamamoto, founder (in 1939) of YSTL, in 1967. We believe this decoration is also a result of the company is impressive track record in recent years, including ISO 9002 certification, supplying hardness blocks to major laboratories over the world, and contributing to the development of the international traceability system.
We hope that this occasion will promote your deeper understanding of hardness block manufacturing, and we look forward to receiving your continued advice on which to base the further growth of our company.

Conferment of A Decoration from the honors list (13 recipients) offthe Science and Technology Agency, Spring 2000

Name : Hiroshi YAMAMOTO On August 18, 1925 birth, Chainman of Yamamoto Scientific Tool Laboratory
Honor received : Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Rays
Reason : Inventive contribution
The order was awarded in recognition of his inventive contribution to the development of high-accuracy hardness standard blocks, which are indispensable for maintaining the accuracy of hardness testing, a method of testing materials, thus contributing to the growth of the steel, ship-building, machinery, and other industries.

(Photo above)
Certificate No. 2174902
"This is to certify that HIROSHI YAMAMOTO was decorated with the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold and Silver Rays, by the Emperor of Japan at the Imperial Palace on April 29, 2000.
April 29, 2000
Yoshiro Mori, Prime Minister
Makoto Sakaki, Director-General of the Decorations Bureau,
Prime Ministerﾕs Office"

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Yamamoto Scientific Tool Laboratory Co., Ltd.
- Japan's sole dedicated manufacturer of hardness standard blocks
( A translation from ASAHI SHINBUN - Chiba, Apr. 23 1999 Issue)

�ｦDo you know how to determine the hardness of a material? There are many industrial materials, such as steel stock, bearings, rubber, and automobile parts. To check the hardness of industrial products that are usually expected to meet strict quality requirements, the most commonly used instrument is a hardness meter with a diamond-tipped indenter. Hardness is determined by measuring the depth or the length of an impression made in a tested material when a specified force is applied to the diamond indenter. To control the accuracy of a hardness meter, a metallic piece called a hardness standard block is indispensable and requires an extremely high level of quality. As Japan's sole company dedicated to the production of hardness standard blocks, Yamamoto Scientific Tool Laboratory (YSTL) enjoys a market share of more than 90% in the domestic standard-block market and its worldwide share among industrialized nations is also as large as about 25%. The company is called the hardness watchdog. �ｦThe company's 660-square-meter factory stands among many other factories on reclaimed land in Funabashi, Chiba. Mr. Takashi Yamamoto, president, showed us a standard block for Rockwell hardness, which is the most popular block in the industrial world. Measuring six centimeters in diameter and 1.5 centimeter in thickness, the standard block looks like an ice-hockey ball. It is made of a special alloy that is resistant to degeneration, and weighed heavily on my hand. Manufacturers' quality control staff measure the hardness of these standard blocks with their own hardness testing machines to verify the accuracy of the testers and make the necessary adjustments.�ｦMr. Yamamoto showed us ten small holes on the lustrous surface of the standard block, and explained that they were made during verification of the block. The dimensions of the holes were all matched to the level of 0.1 millimeters. "This is the proof of quality. Tested anywhere, a standard block should always provide the same value," says Yamamoto. �ｦThis metal block with uniform properties highlights the most important value of the company's products. So, how are they made to achieve this value? First, they cut off the ends of long steel stock to make it cylindrical and cut it in round slices. The cut pieces are then baked in an electric furnace until they redden, followed by oil or water cooling, and finally by cooling in liquid nitrogen at minus 196 degrees Celsius. "Every process extensively applies our expertise to stabilize the quality of blocks," explains Yamamoto. "Only such subtle differences such as the placement of blocks in the furnace and handling timing of less than one second significantly affect the quality of blocks produced. It is the work of craftsmanship."�ｦThe predecessor of YSTL was founded in 1939 by the president's late grandfather, Shoichi Yamamoto. At present, hardness meters number nearly 100,000 throughout Japan. Because standard blocks need to be renewed every two or three years to ensure the accuracy of hardness meters, the company can expect steady sales of about 30,000 blocks every year. "Given the limited market and tremendous effort that would be needed to compete with our 60 years of experience, no other companies have ventured into this market. So, it is as if we live at the bottom of sea, totally immune to upturns or downturns in the economy," says Mr. Hiroshi Yamamoto, 73, chairman and father of the president. �ｦMeanwhile, there seem to have been new moves lately. The growing interest in acquiring ISO (International Standardization Organization) 9000 series certification as proof of quality control excellence has raised the awareness of manufacturers about the accuracy of their hardness meters, making them increase the frequency of inspections. Last fall the president met with great enthusiasm from young Asian managers for this business when he attended an international hardness conference in Beijing. Excitedly he says, "I would like to expand our business into China and Taiwan this year. At last, our company seems to be expecting a new wave of interest." - Yuki Ichikawa �ｦCompany Profile Head office: 2-15-4 Sakae-cho, Funabashi-shi, Chiba TEL 047-431-7451 President: Takashi Yamamoto (age 42) Establishment: September 1952 No. of employees: 20 Capital: \10 million Annual sales: \250 million

(Column) Source of Power Pursuing Excellence as a Practical Tool �ｦIt was just before the Pacific War began when the predecessor of this company was founded. As military production increased, the necessity of hardness standard blocks began to be addressed by the industry and academia. During the 1960s, Mr. Hiroshi Yamamoto, the present chairman of YSTL, worked on the standardization of hardness in Japan as a member of the Japan Industrial Standards (JIS) committee. "The history of the standardization of hardness in Japan coincides with the history of YSTL," he proudly recalls. "Unlike length and weight, which have absolute units of measure, the world of hardness is hard to define with crystal clarity. The more I study it, the more certain I become that there are no absolutes in the world of hardness," he confesses. �ｦThe company's motto is the pursuit of "zero hardness dispersion" blocks. The president says, "We put more weight on how they are useful at industrial sites and laboratories, rather than the academic accuracy of hardness. We want to make an excellent and practical tool." �ｦIt's been two years since Mr. Takashi Yamamoto took office as the third president. He says: "I do not totally deny my interest in having a try at new businesses, but our customers won't let us do it, saying should it affect your main business, how on earth do you think you can take responsibility for it?"

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Mr. Hiroshi YAMAMOTO was awarded

We are pleased to announce that we finally acquired ISO 9002 certification (JQA-2078) on December 26, 1997. We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the support of our customers who encouraged us in our efforts to obtain certification .

Based on our corporate motto, " Seeking Zero Hardness Dispersion, " YSTL will continue to contribute to the international industrial world by producing hardness blocks that meet international standards of quality and hardness.

Finally, we would like to thank you again for your loyal patronage , and hope to receive your continued support in the years to come.

1. ISO-compatible HR Hardness Block

Yamamotoﾕs high precision hardness blocks, which comply with Japanese Industrial Standards (JIS), employ highly pure, dedicated plates to achieve ideal hardness blocks with ﾒZero dispersion in hardness values.ﾓ Regarding Rockwell hardness, especially, we have adopted standard conditions for determining reference values commonly applicable to every kind of measurement in the world in compliance with ISO 6508 international standards. Today, our reliable products are highly evaluated by many customers worldwide.

2. HLE and HLD Hardness Blocks

Dedicated plates are also used for large-sized HLE and HLD blocks. Dimensions of ｯ 115 X 33 thick and mass of 2.7 kg fully take into account mass effect against repulsion energy.

3. Micro Hardness Block "HMV 30" of Pure Gold

Pure gold is adopted as a material of the new specification micro-hardness block HMV 30 (ｯ 25 X 0.5 mm thick). A sufficiently large indent can be obtained even for an extremely small load, and the block features stable material quality. This new version of the micro-hardness block in gold is ideal for managing hardness tests with extremely small loads.

4. Ultra-hard, Ceramic Hardness Block "HMV 1650"

As regards ultra-hard hardness blocks, for which many requests have been received from customers in the field of surface modifying and mew materials, we have adopted silicon nitride (10 X 10 X 5 mm thick), which demonstrates a remarkable balance between hardness and indent profile.

5. Internet Catalog Service for Hardness Blocks Launched

Yamamoto has opened an Internet home page. Types and specifications of all products, and information on applications are explained at our URL, and can be immediately obtained on your display. Both Japanese and English versions are available. Please click the following URL.