A device for testing wear and friction properties of materials comprising: - a rotating disk fixed to a vertical shaft driven by a first motor, - a friction surface provided on the rotating disk, - a sample holder for holding a sample surface in contact with the friction surface, - means for providing for intermittent engagement of a sample surface with the friction surface and for measuring the forces applied during said intermittent engagement, said means comprising a dynamic actuator and a three axes load cell connected with the sample holder, the device being characterized in that it further comprises: - a camera independent from the movement of the sample holder for detecting wear, - a data acquisition system connected to the outputs of the camera and the three axis load cell for the evaluation of wear and friction properties of samples, and configured so that at chosen intervals during the wear tests, normal force vs displacement curves in static indentation, that is to say with no sliding velocity, by suppressing temporarily the disk rotation, are recorded, and so that the shift of the force vs displacement curves along a test is evaluated, which is directly related to the change in thickness of the sample, that is, to the loss of matter, which can then be expressed in terms of weight loss, and wherein - the dynamic actuator, the sample holder and the three axis load cell are mounted on a drive system providing for horizontal and vertical displacement with respect to the rotating disk, said system comprising a mechanical support driven horizontally by a second motor and a vertical support mounted onto said mechanical support for movement therewith, which is driven vertically by a third motor, and wherein first motor, second motor and third motor are driven independently one of the other. - a rotating disk fixed to a vertical shaft driven by a first motor, - a friction surface provided on the rotating disk, - a sample holder for holding a sample surface in contact with the friction surface, - means for providing for intermittent engagement of a sample surface with the friction surface and for measuring the forces applied during said intermittent engagement, said means comprising a dynamic actuator and a three axes load cell connected with the sample holder, the device being characterized in that it further comprises: - a camera independent from the movement of the sample holder for detecting wear, - a data acquisition system connected to the outputs of the camera and the three axis load cell for the evaluation of wear and friction properties of samples, and configured so that at chosen intervals during the wear tests, normal force vs displacement curves in static indentation, that is to say with no sliding velocity, by suppressing temporarily the disk rotation, are recorded, and so that the shift of the force vs displacement curves along a test is evaluated, which is directly related to the change in thickness of the sample, that is, to the loss of matter, which can then be expressed in terms of weight loss, and wherein - the dynamic actuator, the sample holder and the three axis load cell are mounted on a drive system providing for horizontal and vertical displacement with respect to the rotating disk, said system comprising a mechanical support driven horizontally by a second motor and a vertical support mounted onto said mechanical support for movement therewith, which is driven vertically by a third motor, and wherein first motor, second motor and third motor are driven independently one of the other. - a camera independent from the movement of the sample holder for detecting wear, - a data acquisition system connected to the outputs of the camera and the three axis load cell for the evaluation of wear and friction properties of samples, and configured so that at chosen intervals during the wear tests, normal force vs displacement curves in static indentation, that is to say with no sliding velocity, by suppressing temporarily the disk rotation, are recorded, and so that the shift of the force vs displacement curves along a test is evaluated, which is directly related to the change in thickness of the sample, that is, to the loss of matter, which can then be expressed in terms of weight loss, and wherein - the dynamic actuator, the sample holder and the three axis load cell are mounted on a drive system providing for horizontal and vertical displacement with respect to the rotating disk, said system comprising a mechanical support driven horizontally by a second motor and a vertical support mounted onto said mechanical support for movement therewith, which is driven vertically by a third motor, and wherein first motor, second motor and third motor are driven independently one of the other.