Description of New Technological Operations

1. Material Calibration

Calibration is the process of forming zones across the entire surface of the plastic sheet with local thickening by 20–40% through thinning of adjacent areas.
This increase in material thickness is achieved via localized heating in zones corresponding to future mountain formations.
The higher the mountain (up to 110 mm), the greater the concentration of plastic mass in that zone.
The local zones and processing speeds are determined based on a temperature field map.

Purpose: to ensure uniform plastic thickness across the entire surface area after the formation of high relief.

The calibration operation takes approximately 45% of the total production time.

2. Image Focusing

The trajectories of 2D markers are calculated for subsequent 3D plastic deformation.
The number of projection markers ranges from 85,000 to 120,000 for a final color field size of 1120 × 800 mm (44.0” × 31.5”) and a relief height of 85 mm (3.35”).
These trajectories account for the non-uniform temperature field and plastic surface tension after deformation (“spring stretching effect”).

Image focusing is the most complex and critical stage of the process and requires about 40% of total production time.

3. Ribbing

Ribbing is applied vertically (on mountain slopes) and horizontally (along riverbeds).
It involves heating the fully formed relief image—with the printed image on the inner side—using a network of 1,324 fine nozzles and channels.
After heating, these areas are rapidly cooled, which hardens the surface.
This sudden change in temperature fixes the surface tension of the relief panorama and prevents sagging when mounted on a wall.

The ribbing process accounts for up to 15% of total production time.

4. Full-Color Image Application (TESTPLAY Technology)

The image is applied to the formed 3D surface according to a specially developed program that integrates the calibration, focusing, and ribbing data.

• Color format: CMYK
• Resolution: up to 300 DPI

Use of 3D Maps with Panoramic Effect in Education

Following an official state expert review, and considering the didactic efficiency, clarity, and quality of the product, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine granted TESTPLAY panoramas the status of educational aids, recommending them for use in schools, colleges, and universities.