To determine the minimum mold opening time required of molded IMC parts in a more quantitative way, at each molding temperature, the surface quality of molded parts was evaluated by using a Wyko NT9100 optical
profilometer (Bruker AXS Inc.).
Mean surface roughness (Ra) of the specimens were analyzed by a tactile
profilometer (Taylor Hobson Surtronic 25, Leicester, UK) initially and after polishing with a 0,25 mm cut-off value.
Surface roughness results were measured using a contact
profilometer. There was a significant improvement in surface smoothness from the three-screen 44 GFN silica to the four-screen 67 GFN silica.
Preparations were blotted dry and initial measurements taken with a surface
profilometer (Mitutoyo Surftest SJ-210) to determine baseline surface roughness.
Surface roughness measurement with the help of surface
profilometer revealed that samples treated with blasting with alumina (50[micro]) blasting followed by acid etching with 2% hydrofluoric acid showed the highest mean roughness value.
The surface roughness of porcelain was measured with a noncontact optical
profilometer. For each porcelain sample, two readings were taken across the sample, before porcelain surface treatment (T1) and after porcelain surface treatment (T2).