What is Rapid Prototyping?

3Diminsional Resins
3Dimensional Resins (3DR) develops a "new" proprietary urethane-acrylate resin, specifically designed to expand Stereolithography (SL) opportunities within the Rapid Prototyping (RP) and Rapid Manufacturing (RM) industry. For more information about Ure-Clear TH100, Ure-Elast HR80A, Ure-Flex MR45A, Ure-Flex MR65A [also known as URE-CLEAR, URE-ELAST & URE-FLEX], click here.

T Peel
A test used for metal-to-metal adhesives. The specimen is made from thin sheets 12" long by 1" wide with 9" bonded and 3" unbonded. The free ends of the specimen are each bent through 90 degress, clamped in the testing fixture and pulled apart at a constant rate. A record of the loaded versus distance peeled is made. The units of T Peel are pounds per inch. [Also referred to as ASTM D1876 or D1876].

Taber Abrasion
A 4" diameter sample is mounted on a rotating turntable. Abrasive wheels are applied to the sample using a fixed weight. For a specified number of cycles, the abrasive wheels wear away the sample. The taber result is calculated by measuring the weight lsos per thousand cycles of abrasion. [Also referred to as ASTM D 4060 or D4060]

Tear Strength
The tensile force necessary to cause tearing over a given length, expressed in pounds per various linear inches (pli). Either a Die "C" or a preslit rectangle are the commonly used specimen shapes to determine tear strength of polyurethanes. [Also referred to as ASTM D624 or D 624]

Teflon®
The trademark for Polytetrafluoroethylene, a polymer noted for its slippery nonsticking properties.

Tensile Lap Shear
The most widely used adhesive test. The specimen is prepared with 1" aluminum strips bonded in a simple overlap of 1/2". The test is similar to a tensile strength setup and the force applied at bond failure is reported as the lap shear value. [Also referred to as ASTM D 1002 or D1002]

Tensile Strain
The change in a polymer's length when stretched, divided by its original length, before stretching.

Tensile Strength
The resistance of a material to forces pulling on it lengthwise, measured by the minimum amount of force required to break the material.

Terephthalic acid
One of the monomers from which polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is made.

Tetrix
Play it now...

Thermal conductivity
Ability of a material to conduct heat; quantity of heat that passes through a unit cube of a substance in unit of time when difference in temperature of two faces is one degree.

Thermal stress cracking (TSC)
Crazing and cracking of some thermoplastic resins, which results from over-exposure to, elevated temperatures.

Thermodynamics
The principle that at constant temperature the internal energy of an ideal gas is independent of volume. Real gases change their internal energy with volume as a result of intermolecular forces

Thermoplastic (adj)
Capable of being repeatedly softened by heat and hardened by cooling. (n) A material which has a linear macromolecular structure that will repeatedly soften when heated and harden when cooled. Typical of the thermoplastics family are the styrene polymers, and copolymers, acrylics, cellulosics, polyethylenes, vinyls, nylons, and the various fluorocarbon materials.

Thermoplastics (semicrystalline)
Thermoplastics displaying crystalline and amorphous regions; plastics that can be melted (softened) by application of heat.

Thermoset
A polymer material in which the chain molecules are cross-linked in three dimensions through covalent bonds and which is characterized by the fact that it sets when heated and cannot be remolded.

TMA Method
Glass Transition Temperature determined by Thermal Mechanical Analyzer. [Also referred to as D 3386 or D3386]

Toughness
The amount of energy a material absorbs at failure. translucent Material permitting light to pass through it.

Transition Temperature (Tg)e
When a cured material is heated, vast changes in thermal and mechanical properties occure. These changes are particularly large near the glass transition temperature (Tg). Below the Tg the material is hard and "glassy" above the Tg it has rubbery characteristics. Tg is the transition termperature from a glassy to rubbery state. t this temperature, tensile strength , hardness, electrical properties and chemical resistance depreciate rapidly, while tensil elongation and flexibility increase markedly. Tg usually occurs over a range of temperature, but for simplicity on temperature is selected as Tg.

Transparent
Material through which objects can be seen.

Tszuj
(Pronounced "zhoozh") To tweak, finesse or improve.