Thermoformed Dental Component Packaging Without Adhesive Contamination
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional packaging systems for dental components, such as artificial teeth, suffer from contamination, adhesion issues, exposure to environmental influences, mechanical damage, and inefficient recycling, which hinder time and cost efficiency, automation, and sustainability.
Innovation Solution
A packaging method using thermoforming to encase dental components on a three-dimensional carrier element with a plastic structure, allowing for secure, accessible, and reversible storage without adhesive substances, using biobased or biodegradable materials.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adhesive substances are used to fix dental components on plastic strips, then the dental components are securely fixed and easy to handle, but the contact surfaces become contaminated and require cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes adhesive substances entirely from the packaging system. Instead of using adhesive tapes or wax to fix artificial teeth on plastic strips, the invention uses a molded plastic packaging structure with recesses that physically hold the teeth through form closure, eliminating contamination of the dental components' contact surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a molded plastic packaging structure as an intermediary between the dental components and the carrier. This structure provides secure fixation through its geometry and form closure mechanisms without requiring adhesive substances that would contaminate the dental components.
2Ease of operation
If adhesive substances are used for fixation, then the dental components can be easily accessed and removed, but long storage causes permanent contamination and material discoloration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates adhesive substances from the system, replacing them with a molded plastic structure that provides secure yet reversible fixation. This prevents the permanent contamination and material discoloration that occur with long-term storage on adhesive carriers while maintaining easy accessibility for removal and reinsertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fixation mechanism from chemical adhesion to mechanical form closure. The molded plastic structure uses geometric parameters and physical interlocking rather than adhesive bonding, preventing the chemical contamination and aging effects that plague adhesive-based systems during long-term storage.
3Ease of operation
If dental components are exposed on plastic strips for easy handling, then accessibility is improved, but protection against environmental influences and mechanical loads is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a molded plastic packaging structure that partially encloses the dental components. This thin-walled plastic structure provides protection against environmental influences and mechanical loads while leaving the necessary surfaces exposed for handling and identification, achieving both protection and accessibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent embeds the dental components within recesses of the molded plastic packaging structure. This nesting arrangement provides mechanical protection and environmental shielding while maintaining accessibility, as the components can be easily removed and reinserted through the structured openings.
4Quantity of substance
If conventional packaging systems are used with plastic strips and adhesive substances, then dental components can be packaged, but material requirements are high and recycling is difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the carrier and packaging into a single integrated molded plastic structure. This eliminates the need for separate plastic strips, adhesive substances, and additional packaging materials, reducing overall material requirements and enabling straightforward recycling of the unified structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The molded plastic packaging structure serves multiple functions simultaneously: it acts as the carrier, provides fixation through form closure, offers protection against environmental influences, and enables easy handling. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for multiple separate components and adhesive substances, reducing material requirements and improving recyclability.
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
The method provides secure, contamination-free, and easily accessible packaging that protects dental components from mechanical stress and environmental influences, is resource-efficient, and supports easy recycling.
Implementation Method 1
forming of the sheet-like plastic semi-finished product in a thermoforming process for form closure of the dental component in a plastic structure
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a method for packaging dental components, comprising the method steps: producing or providing a dental component; arranging the dental component with a support side on a support surface of a three-dimensional carrier element, the dental component projecting beyond the edge of the support surface on at least one side, forming a peripheral area; providing a sheet-like semi-finished plastic product comprising a thermoplastic resin; forming the sheet-like plastic semi-finished product in a thermoforming process for form closure of the dental component in a plastic structure, such that the dental component is positively surrounded by the plastic structure in the peripheral area on the support side of the dental component; and separating the dental component partially surrounded by the plastic structure from the carrier element to obtain a packaging system comprising the dental component packaged in the plastic structure.