Silflo® : Replica kit

Why make replicas?

Certain materials cannot be scanned directly:
  First of all, human skin. Physiological movements of a living body make a direct measurement imprecise. Additionally, tests are often "multi-centrical". In other words, tests are often carried out on geographically diverse volunteers. Sending a replica kit directly to the volunteers means that they do not need to travel to a centre.
  Secondly, highly reflective surfaces. These surfaces cannot be measured directly by an optical gauge because the optical beam is completely reflected in a given direction and is therefore, invisible to the CCD detector.
  Finally, surfaces that are difficult to access. If the part to be measured is too heavy or too large or if the area to be measured is too difficult to access (the bottom of a groove for example), a replica measurement is the solution.

The advantages of the Silflo® kit

 Simple. t is easy to make a replica : : mix a spoonful of Silflo with a few drops of catalyst using a spatula or a spoon, and the material is ready to use.
 Safe. Unlike Epoxy resins, Silflo is compatible with biological tissues. It is recommended for skin measurements; however, it is advisable to avoid contact with the eyes and other sensitive parts of the body (Silflo was initially developed for dental replica applications).
 Diffusing. Thanks to its white mineral charge, Silflo® works extremely well with optical gauges.
 Faithful. Its texture is very fine (size of the mineral charge grain is 0.1 µm), therefore it reproduces surface texture faithfully including roughness down to 0.1 µm with a precision of 2%.

Components of the replica kit

The kit includes:
 a bottle of Silflo (silicone gum).
 a small bottle of thinner. Use only if the Silflo is too thick. The Silflo must be fluid enough to pick up the exact shape of the details of the surface to copy.
 a small bottle of catalyst. A few drops of catalyst for one spoonful of Silflo (according to the desired drying speed, do a few tests before - the speed also depends on the room temperature).

Crowsfeet wrinkle characterization

The Silfo is very adapted to crowsfeet wrinkle characterization in dermatological testing because of its high compatibility with human tissues.
Using the nanoMap software, mean and max wrinkle depths can be measured, as well as their complexity and volume.

From left to right : Picture of the imprint - 3D view of the wrinkle - Results of the nanoMap analysis

Measurement of the geometry inside a metallic mould

From left to right : Picture of the imprint - 3D view of the replica - 3D view of the metallic mould