Getting Started - 5 of 5Updated 13 November 2026
Glossary
These are the terms we use across the Help Center, grouped by subject.
Products and Chemistry
- Two-component product: A base and a catalyst kept separate, which harden only after a homogeneous mix.
- Polymerization: The chemical reaction that turns the mixed base and catalyst into a solid, stable impression.
- Initial consistency: The texture of the product right after mixing. Three consistencies exist: Fluid, Pasty, and Manual Putty.
- Final hardness: The rigidity of the cured impression, given in Shore A. There are three families: Flexible at 40 Shore A and below, Medium between 40 and 80, and Rigid at 80 and above.
- Shore A: An international hardness scale for elastomers, from 0 (very soft) to 100 (very hard).
- Shore D: A scale for harder materials. Only P51 SD is given in Shore D.
- XL range: Fluid products for large volumes, with their own formulations and longer times.
The Impression
- Impression: The negative copy made with Plastiform, which you measure in place of the part.
- Complete impression: An impression of the whole internal shape. You need it to measure a diameter or a radius.
- Partial impression: An impression of one cross-section only, which is enough for a profile or a surface finish.
- Shape memory: The ability of the impression to return to its geometry after being deformed during extraction.
- Shrinkage: Plastiform has no dimensional shrinkage, so the volume does not change during polymerization.
- Resolution: The smallest detail the impression reproduces, which is 1 µm for Fluid and Pasty products and 10 µm for Manual Putty.
Extraction
- Undercut: A narrowing, a groove, or a thread that the impression must pass to come out.
- Removal constraint: How much the impression must deform to come out, as a percentage. You calculate it with C = (1 − Dmin / Dmax) × 100.
- Dmax: The largest internal dimension of the impression. Dmin: The smallest opening it must pass through to exit.
- Demolding ring: A small plastic tube placed on the filled cavity to hold a surplus of product, which becomes the grip.
- Test drop: A drop extruded next to the part before injecting. It shows that the mix is uniform, then that the impression can be removed.
Measurement
- Non-contact measurement: Inspection with a profile projector, vision system, scanner, or optical microscope. It is the reference method for any hardness.
- Contact measurement: Inspection with a caliper, micrometer, CMM probe, or roughness tester. It needs a Rigid impression, or a Medium one whose technical sheet allows it.
- Slice: A thin section with parallel faces, cut with the Double Blade Cutter and laid flat on the measuring plate.
- Setting ring: A certified reference part whose dimensions are known precisely. We use it to check that the measurement of an impression stays within the expected tolerance.
- Ra: The arithmetic mean roughness of a surface. P80 Ra is the product made to measure it with a contact roughness tester.
Related Pages
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