Denture Base Fabrication with Rod Members and Cutting Machine

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current methods for fabricating denture bases are either labor-intensive and costly due to manual processing or inefficient with excessive material waste and long processing times when using disc-shaped materials, particularly challenging for undercut portions.

Innovation Solution

A method involving a cutting target mold with attached rod members that allows for the injection and polymerization of denture base material, followed by precise cutting with a machine, reducing material waste and processing time while enabling easier handling of undercut areas.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If manual fabrication by dental technician is used, then material cost is low, but workload on dental technician increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvematerial costVSAvoidworkload on dental technician
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The fabrication process is divided into distinct phases: automated cutting of the blank material, injection molding of the denture base material, and final finishing. This segmentation allows different tasks to be performed by different systems (automated cutting machine, injection molding machine, dental technician), reducing overall workload while maintaining cost efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The injection molding process automatically forms the denture base material into the desired shape, eliminating the need for manual shaping and reducing the dental technician's workload. The material self-configures to the correct geometry through the molding process.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

2Ease of manufacture

If disc-shaped material is used, then material availability is good, but material waste increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvematerial availabilityVSAvoidmaterial waste
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSLoss of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The cutting machine pre-processes the disc-shaped blank material into a precisely fitted form before injection molding. This preliminary cutting action ensures that only the necessary amount of material is used, minimizing waste while maintaining the availability of standard disc-shaped starting materials.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The invention changes the state of the material from a rigid disc-shaped blank to an injected denture base material that can be precisely formed. This parameter change allows for more efficient material utilization by adapting the material form to the final product geometry.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Ease of manufacture

If disc-shaped material is used, then material availability is good, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvematerial availabilityVSAvoidprocessing time
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of manufactureVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The cutting machine performs preliminary processing of the disc-shaped blank material, pre-shaping it to fit the denture base geometry. This preliminary action reduces the subsequent injection molding time and eliminates the need for lengthy manual shaping processes.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The invention replaces manual mechanical shaping with automated cutting machine processing and injection molding. This substitution significantly reduces processing time while maintaining the availability of standard disc-shaped materials as starting points.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

4Adaptability or versatility

If manual cutting is used, then flexibility is good, but processing time for undercut portions increases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveflexibilityVSAvoidprocessing time for undercut portions
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The invention replaces manual cutting with an automated cutting machine that can efficiently process undercut portions and complex geometries. The automated system maintains the flexibility to handle various denture base shapes while dramatically reducing processing time compared to manual methods.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This approach reduces the workload on dental technicians, minimizes material costs, and efficiently processes denture bases with reduced material waste and faster cutting times, especially for complex shapes like anterior tooth portions.

Implementation Method 1

a molding step of polymerizing the denture base material and molding a cutting target including the polymerized denture base material

Methodology Applied
Scientific EffectPolymerization: Photopolymerisation

Data Source

PatentEP3517074B1Method for fabricating denture base and denture base fabricating kit
Publication Date: 2020.02.19 DGSHAPE CORP
  • EP3517074B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2
  • EP3517074B1 patent drawingFigure 3
  • EP3517074B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

A denture base is fabricated with a reduced workload on a dental technician. A method for fabricating a denture base 20 includes: preparing a cutting target mold 40 including molding space 48; attaching a first rod member 17 and a second rod member 18 to a cutting target mold 40; injecting a denture base material 8 into the molding space 48; disposing a plate member 58 in a cutting target mold 40 in such a manner that the plate member 58 is located above the first rod member 17 and the second rod member 18 and covers a portion of an opening 46 of the cutting target mold 40; polymerizing the denture base material 8 to mold a cutting target 5 including a polymerized denture base material 8A, the first rod member 17, and the second rod member 18; cutting a portion of the polymerized denture base material 8A of the cutting target 5 with a cutting machine 60 to fabricate a rod member-including denture base 20A; and removing the first rod member 17 and the second rod member 18 from the rod member-including denture base 20A to fabricate a denture base 20.