Process and device for manufacturing a structural part, especially of a ceramic tooth restoration, and a process of making sonotrode crowns
AssigneeThera Patent GmbH & Co. KG Gesellschaft fur Industrielle Schutzrechte
InventorsRainer Hahn, Bernd Burger
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a process and apparatus for the overall machining of a ceramic tooth restoration and producing of appropriate sonotrode crowns, these sonotrode crowns act on a workpiece one after the other, however from the same direction in space and are activated by the same ultrasonic transmitter. For the production of said sonotrode crowns, a geometrical model corresponding to the ultrasonic machining apparatus is used.
Claims17
Process of machining a workpiece by means of an ultrasonic machining apparatus, in which a receiver for a profiled sonotrode crown is positioned on each side of the workpiece to be worked, the receiver being in opposing relation to one another, comprising
- (a) in a first machining step, holding said workpiece by a workpiece holder activating a first sonotrode crown through its receiver and machining one of the workpiece halves to the desired shape, said sonotrode crown thereby being brought into form-fitting engagement with said workpiece;
- and
- (b) in a second machining step, holding said workpiece by said first, now passive, sonotrode crown by means of said form-fitting engagement, activating a second sonotrode crown and machining the remaining half of the workpiece to the desired shape, characterised in that
- (c) between said two machining steps
- (c1) said first sonotrode crown is exchanged with said second sonotrode crown and attached to the opposing receiver;
- (c2) both sonotrode crowns are aligned with respect to one another for continuing the machining of said workpiece;
- (c3) wherein said workpiece is held in said form-fitting engagement or is again brought into said form-fitting engagement with said first sonotrode crown.
An ultrasonic machining apparatus for machining a workpiece having a first side and a second side, the apparatus having a machining axis and including:
- (a) an oscillating means for generating ultrasonic oscillations;
- (b) an attaching means opposing said oscillating means and aligned with said oscillating means with respect to said machining axis;
- (c) a first sonotrode crown;
- (d) a second sonotrode crown;
- (e) a first holding means for holding said first sonotrode crown and being adapted for attachment to said oscillating means for transferring ultrasonic oscillations to said workpiece during machining of said first side thereof and for attachment to said attaching means during machining of said second side of the workpiece;
- (f) a second holding means for holding said second sonotrode crown and being adapted for attachment to said oscillating means for transferring ultrasonic oscillations to said workpiece during machining of said second side thereof and for attachment to said attaching means during machining of said first side of the workpiece;
- and
- (g) means for advancing an active one of said first and said second sonotrode crowns along said machining axis for machining.
An apparatus for machining a workpiece along a machining axis comprising:
- (a) an ultrasonic generator;
- (b) a first sonotrode crown contacting a first side of said workpiece;
- (c) a first sonotrode holding said first sonotrode crown and transferring ultrasonic oscillations from said generator to said workpiece during machining of the first side thereof;
- (d) a second sonotrode crown contacting a second side of said workpiece;
- (e) a second sonotrode holding said second sonotrode crown and transferring ultrasonic oscillations from said generator to said workpiece during machining of the second side thereof.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.