Methods for shaping green bodies and articles made by such methods
AssigneeOrmco Corporation
InventorsNorbert Abels, Claus-H. Backes
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of shaping a green body provides a shaped green body comprised of a plurality of sinterable particles and an organic binder. Such a method includes: (1) molding a mixture of sinterable particles and organic binder into the shape of an initial green body or intermediate, wherein the sinterable particles include at least one of metal particles or ceramic particles; and (2) shaping the green body intermediate with at least one of a stream of energy or a stream of matter, wherein the shaping yields a green body having a desired shape. The shaped green body can be sintered in order to provide a hardened body having substantially the shape of the shaped green body.
Claims19
A method of manufacturing an orthodontic bracket comprising:
- forming an initial green body by molding a mixture of sinterable particles and organic binder into a desired shape corresponding to at least a portion of an orthodontic bracket, wherein the sinterable particles include at least one of metal particles or ceramic particles;
- and
- roughening a surface portion of the initial green body by removing sinterable particles from the initial green body using at least one of a stream of energy or a stream of matter to yield a plurality of macro-protrusions, macro-recesses, and macro-undercuts and that further includes a plurality of micro-protrusions, micro-recesses, or micro-undercuts superimposed on the macro-protrusions, macro-recesses, or macro-undercuts, wherein the macro-protrusions, macro-recesses, or macro-undercuts define an irregular and uneven surface on the initial green body.
A method of manufacturing an orthodontic bracket comprising:
- providing a green body including a plurality of sinterable particles and a binder in the configuration of at least a portion of the orthodontic bracket;
- and
- roughening a surface portion of the green body by removing a portion of the sinterable particles from the green body using a stream of energy or a stream of matter to yield a stream-cut surface having a topology including a plurality of macro-protrusions, macro-recesses, and macro-undercuts and that further includes a plurality of micro-protrusions, micro-recesses, or micro-undercuts superimposed on the macro-protrusions, macro-recesses, or macro-undercuts.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.