Dental Prostheses Support Device Resists Side Milling Loads
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for producing dental prostheses from preformed elements are limited by the inability to apply side loads during processing, leading to screw breakage due to the reliance on small-diameter screws with poor mechanical resistance, especially when dealing with small implant diameters and the need for undercuts.
Innovation Solution
A supporting device with a metallic body featuring a shank, flange, and threaded stems that converts side forces into axial forces, allowing for the assembly and processing of preformed elements with small-diameter screws, enabling the production of undercuts and personalized joint shapes without preforming the joint on the element.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If small-diameter screws are used for fixing preformed elements to the supporting device, then the device can accommodate small implant diameters, but the mechanical resistance of the screw is poor and it cannot withstand side processing loads
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting device acts as an intermediary between the preformed element and the implant. It provides a larger base area that distributes processing loads away from the small fixing screw, allowing the screw to maintain adequate mechanical resistance while accommodating small implant diameters.
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting device introduces an additional dimensional aspect by providing a broad base area perpendicular to the screw axis. This allows side processing loads to be distributed across the base area rather than concentrated on the small-diameter screw, effectively converting lateral forces into distributed contact forces.
2Reliability
If axial loads are used during processing, then the fixing screw can sustain the loads, but side processing loads cannot be applied which are necessary for processing superstructures according to axes different from the axial axis
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting device's broad base area enables processing operations in multiple dimensions. While the screw provides axial stability, the base area supports lateral and rotational forces, allowing milling operations along different axes including production of undercuts and complex joint geometries.
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting device separates the functions of load-bearing (performed by the broad base) and positioning (performed by the screw). This segmentation allows the system to simultaneously maintain screw reliability for axial loads while enabling versatile multi-axis processing through the base's load-distributing capability.
3Device complexity
If the same type and size of screw is used for both anchoring the superstructure to the implant and fixing the preformed element to the supporting device, then the system is simple, but it limits the ability to process undercuts and apply side loads
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the fixing functions into two distinct components: the small-diameter screw for anchoring to the implant and the broad-based supporting device for securing the preformed element. This segmentation enables the supporting device to handle side processing loads while maintaining simple assembly through the standardized screw interface.
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting device serves as an intermediary component that decouples the implant-screw interface from the preformed element-fixing interface. This allows the screw to remain simple and standardized while the supporting device provides the additional structural capability needed for complex processing operations.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3
AI summary
A supporting device (10) of preformed elements for producing single superstructures of dental prostheses, of the type consisting of a supporting body comprising an interface (8) for supporting a preformed element (2) with respect to the same device. According to the invention, said supporting body has a stem (17, 24) provided with an element (20, 26) housed in correspondence with said stem and which has a surface (22, 27) for supporting the preformed element (2) with respect to the same supporting body, wherein said supporting surface (22, 27) has larger dimensions than those of the above-mentioned interface (8). With respect to the known embodiments in the field, the device of the invention offers the advantage of also resisting side milling loads of the preformed element, which can therefore also withstand the side loads necessary for producing undercuts and processings below the emergency profile. Thanks to the device of the invention, in fact, the loads generated by side-oriented processings with respect to the preformed element are converted to axial or vertical forces, which even small-dimensioned screws are able to resist.