Back to results
US 8,738,340 B2Granted
Local enforcement of accuracy in fabricated models
Assignee3M Innovative Properties Company
InventorsPatrick Colm Dunne, Eric B. Paley, Micah J. Rosenbloom, Michael Patrick Girard
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The systems and methods disclosed herein employ a combination of digital three-dimensional modeling and rapid fabrication technologies to provide pre-indexed, pre-registered, and/or precut components for articulated dental models. Dental articulators and components of dental models as described herein use a positioning key to encode positional information for components of the dental model, and/or a reference grid on mounting surfaces to enforce local accuracy of fabricated parts against a fixed reference array.
Claims11
A method comprising:
- acquiring a digital surface representation of one or more intraoral structures;
- processing the digital surface representation to obtain a three-dimensional digital model including a plurality of separate components for at least one arch of the one or more intraoral structures, each one of the plurality of separate components including a mechanical registration feature to orient the component in a dental articulator having a predetermined alignment geometry and at least one of the plurality of separate components including a die for a dental restoration to be placed on a tooth in the one or more intraoral structures prepared for the dental restoration, wherein the plurality of separate components have a correct orientation within the dental articulator according to the predetermined alignment geometry to physically reproduce the one or more intraoral structures;
- and
- fabricating the three-dimensional digital model as a dental model including the plurality of separate components;
- and
- assembling the plurality of separate components onto the dental articulator according to the predetermined alignment geometry.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.