Cured at 60 degrees, it takes its shape at 60 degrees. Coefficient of expansion would reduce the size when measured at 20 degrees. Marco Marc Reinig Phone: (831) 459-4362 Laboratory for Adaptive Optics Fax: (831) 459-2298 UCO/Lick Email: mreinig@ucolick.org University of California, Santa Cruz 1156 High Street Santa Cruz, CA 95064 > -----Original Message----- > From: mems-talk-bounces+mreinig=ucolick.org@memsnet.org [mailto:mems- > talk-bounces+mreinig=ucolick.org@memsnet.org] On Behalf Of Maria > Matschuk > Sent: Tuesday, April 05, 2011 5:30 AM > To: General MEMS discussion > Subject: [mems-talk] Is it possible to make PDMS mold in room temperature? > > Hi, > > It sounds fairly strange to me that PDMS should shrink less if cured at room > temperature compared to curing in an oven if precaution is taken to remove > entrapped air (as described before). If I don't mix up something, shrinkage > occurs only due to evaporation of solvent and increased of cross-linking. So > why should PDMS shrink less if cured at room temperature (if the final > "hardness" of the cured PDMS) is the same ?! Of course it is very likely that > the internal stress is higher for fast cured PDMS (oven) than compared to slow > curing (room temperature).