Surface profile analysis of laminated transfemoral prosthetic socket fabricated with different ratios of epoxy resin and acrylic resin

Acrylic and epoxy are common types of resin used in fabricating sockets. Different types of resin will affect the internal surface of a laminated socket. This paper is to determine the best combination of ratio for epoxy and acrylic resin for a laminated prosthesis socket and to evaluate the surface profile analysis of different combinations of laminated prosthetic sockets for surface roughness. Transfemoral sockets were created using various resin-to-hardener ratios of 2:1, 3:1, 3:2, 2:3, and 1:3 for epoxy resin and 100:1, 100:2, 100:3, 100:4, and 100:5 for acrylic resin. Eight layers of stockinette consisting of four elastic stockinette and four Perlon stockinette were used. A sample with a size of 4 cm × 6 cm was cut out from the socket on the lateral side below the Greater Trochanter area. The Mitutoyo Sj-210 Surface Tester stylus was run through the sample and gave the Average Surface Roughness value (Ra), Root Mean Square Roughness value (Rq), and Ten-Point Mean Roughness value (Rz). Epoxy resin shows a smoother surface compared to acrylic resin with Ra values of is 0.766 µm, 0.9716 µm, 0.9847 µm and 1.5461 µm with 3:2, 3:1, 2:1 and 2:3 ratio respectively. However, for epoxy resin with ratio 1:3, the resin does not cure with the hardener. As for acrylic resin the Ra values are 1.0086 µm, 2.362 µm, 3.372 µm, 4.762 µm and 6.074 µm with 100: 1, 100:2, 100:5, 100:4 and 100:3 ratios, respectively. Epoxy resin is a better choice in fabricating a laminated socket considering the surface produced is smoother.