Surface Hardness and Dimensional Accuracy of Stone
Dies Impregnated with Acrylic Resin
J. R. ESHLEMAN
Department of Restorative Dentistry, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Den-
tistry, Richmond, Virginia 23219, USA
The purpose of this study was to determine the
effect of acrylic resin on the physical properties
of stone dies treated as described by Mason
(J Prosth Dent 23:96, 1970). Toreskog, Phil-
lips, and Schnell (J Prosth Dent 16:124, 1966)
reported that stone dies immersed in polystyrene
solution were not altered significantly in surface
hardness. This may be explained by the fact
that the polystyrene solution does not polymer-
ize. They did find a pronounced beneficial effect
on the resistance to surface abrasion. They did
not report the influence of the dies produced by
polystyrene treatment on dimensional accuracy.
Four cylindrical stone dies (half inch diam-
eter by one inch) were formed by vibrating
Vel-Mix* stone into split brass molds. A one
to four water/powder ratio was used, and the
stone was hand mixed for one minute. After
24 hours, the dies were recovered. One end of
each die was marked at five numbered points,
four equally spaced marks around the periphery
and one mark in the center. Using a Model 262
Ames dial gauge (1/1000 inch graduations,
3 mm round point) the length of the die adja-
cent to each mark was measured. The dies were
placed in a Ney Thermo-Cure Processing Unit,
preheated to 215 F, and held at that tempera-
ture for six minutes. The warm dies were re-
moved from the oven and the marked end of
each die was coated lightly with a previously
prepared acrylic slurry. The dies were returned
to the oven for two minutes to complete poly-
merization of the resin. Preparation of the
slurry, heating, and coating of the dies were
in accordance with Mason's technique with the
exception that an oven was used to heat the
Additional information available on request to author.
Received for publication July 14, 1970.
* Kerr Manufacturing Co., Detroit, Mich.
I Dent Res March-April 1971, Vol 50 No. 2
Downloaded from jdr.sagepub.com at The University of Iowa Libraries on June 13, 2015 For personal use only. No other uses without permission.
dies instead of a light bulb under a screen.
Viscosity measurements made on the acrylic
slurry with a Brookfield-We'lls MicroViscometer
Model LVT-SCP indicated that the liquid was
essentially Newtonian with a value of 37.3
centipoises at 0 C. This viscosity is approx-
imately that of table syrup. The dies were
cooled to room temperature and measured with
the Ames dial gauge. There was an average
increase in length of the dies of 11.7 microm-
eters (km) for the 20 reference dimensions
with a range from 0 to 25 km. With the excep-
tion of two measurements, all of the readings
fell within the range of 2.5 to 20 gm. This
increase in length can be attributed to failure
of the stone to completely absorb the acrylic.
A Tukon tester was used to determine surface
hardness of the resin-impregnated stone. Using
a 100 gm load, the test samples registered a
mean Knoop hardness of 60.5. Control samples
of untreated stone had a mean Knoop hardness
of 26.5. A copper-plated Vel-Mix die had a
Knoop hardness of 132. As with the copper-
plated dies, the improved hardness of acrylic
treated stone is a surface phenomenon. A sec-
ond series of tests using the Tukon tester and
a 500 gm load gave mean Knoop hardness of
29.7, 31.1, and 34.6 for untreated stone, resin-
impregnated stone, and copper-plated stone,
respectively.
Although the results of this study indicate
that there is some loss of die accuracy, the
improved hardness of the treated die stone
makes the technique a useful one. Any restora-
tive procedure that subjects dies to unusually
rough handling, such as construction of por-
celain jackets and Hollenback crowns, could be
accomplished with greater safety on a resin-
impregnated die than on an untreated die.
507