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Compression Force Deflection Versus Shore Hardness

Why is the hardness characteristic of PORON® materials reported as Compression Force Deflection (CFD) instead of a Shore measurement? For reasons of usefulness and specification, CFD is better suited to describe PORON products.

CFD is an engineering measurement and is expressed in pounds force per square inch (psi). It is merely the force required to compress a material a fixed percentage. Poron Materials Unit (PMU) has chosen 25% compression to characterize PORON materials. Designers find this very useful in making material selections to meet engineering requirements. If you require CFD data at a level of compression other than 25%. Just ask us. We have that data available too. On the other hand, Shore measurements provide only relative information. A material with a Shore 5 rating is softer than one with Shore 10. We are often asked to convert from one measurement of Shore to another. (Example: A to O or vice versa) In Table 2 you will find a conversion chart which we hope you will find helpful.

Finally, most of the test methods we employ are based on ASTM D3574. This method describes procedures for evaluating "Flexible Cellular Materials-Slab, Bonded and Molded Urethane Foams". In this test method, the hardness of urethane foams is determined by Compression Force Deflection (Test C).

PORON microcellular materials are available in a wide range of CFD and thicknesses. This broad offering is possible with our combination of formulations and densities. PORON products can be arranged into four general categories of CFD: LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, and VERY HIGH. Table 1 shows the formulation-density combinations for each category:

 
FORMULATION - DENSITY
LOW MEDIUM HIGH VERY HIGH
40 - 15 40 - 20 50 - 20 50 - 30
30 - 15 & 20 50 - 15 60 - 20 60 - 20, 25 & 30
  30 - 25    


Table 1
SHORE DUROMETER CONVERSION CHART
A B C D O OO
100 85 77 58    
95 81 70 46    
90 76 59 39    
85 71 52 33    
80 66 47 29 84 98
75 62 42 25 79 97
70 56 37 22 75 95
65 51 32 19 72 94
60 47 28 16 69 93
55 42 24 14 65 91
50 37 20 12 61 90
45 32 17 10 57 88
40 27 14 8 53 86
35 22 12 7 48 83
30 17 9 6 42 80
25 12     35 76
20 6     28 70
15       21 62
10       14 55
5       8 45

Table 2

If you have additional questions, an Applications Engineer, at 860-928-3622 Ext. 8835 or contact a technical representative.

PORON® is a licensed trademark of Rogers Corporation.

Rogers Corporation, High Performance Foams Division
PORON® Urethanes and R/bak® Cushion Mounting Materials
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