A single-station additive manufacturing and thermoforming machine includes a heated bed forming a perforated print surface, a print head pivotable between a stowed position and a range of printing locations relative to the heated bed, and a thermoforming subassembly. The thermoforming subassembly is vertically movable relative to the heated bed to position a thermoforming sheet at a raised location to be heated to a plastic state, and a lowered position for vacuum forming over one or more printed parts upon the heated bed. The disclosure provides a fluid process between additive manufacturing and thermoforming where no interaction is needed from an operator in between additive manufacturing process stopping and thermoforming starting. The device can be easily increased in size to allow for larger parts to be manufactured and formed, while also providing a print bed that allows for air topass through for vacuum thermoforming, while also being heated.

An orthodontic aligner includes a shell defining at least one cavity sized to receive one of a patient's teeth. The cavity includes a lingual portion, a labial portion, and an occlusal portion. A bite structure forms at least a portion of the occlusal portion and is configured to be spaced apart from an occlusal surface of the patient's tooth by a distant sufficient to interfere with full closure of the patient's jaws. The bite structure has a non-planar surface that does not conform to the patient's tooth. The non-planar surface includes at least two spaced-apart projections separated by a boundary. The spaced-apart projections are spherical-like projections or ellipsoidal-like projections. The boundary has a grid-like appearance that spans the bite structure side to side. The spaced-apart projections define a tooth-engaging plane of the bite structure. The bite structure is an integral portion of the shell.

The present disclosure describes an additive manufacturing apparatus. The apparatus includes a chamber (11) having a planar circumferential top edge portion (12) defining a chamber orifice (13); a stage (15) movably positioned in the chamber (11), the two together configured to receive a viscous resin; a dispenser (30) facing the stage (15) and operatively associated therewith, the dispenser (30) configured to apply a planar coating of viscous resin; a primary drive (22) operatively associated with the dispenser (30) and chamber (11), the primary drive (22) configured to move the dispenser (30) across the chamber orifice (13); a light engine (40) facing the stage (15) and operatively associated therewith, the light engine (40) configured to expose a coating of resin on the stage (15) planar top surface (12) to patterned light; and a stage drive (24) operatively associated with the stage (15) and configured to retract the stage (15) into the chamber (11), following exposure of a coating of resin. Methods of making a three-dimensional object by additive manufacturing are also described.

A system for correcting class III malocclusions is disclosed. The system may include a maxilla appliance having tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive teeth of the maxilla and a first coupling for receiving an elastic. The system may also include a mandibular appliance having tooth receiving cavities shaped to receive teeth of the mandible. In some embodiments, the system includes a class III corrective appliance having a first mount shaped to engage with the mandibular arch of the patient and having a second coupling shaped to receive the elastic.

The present invention relates to a method for measuring (100) the thickness of devices (20) obtained by thermoforming a sheet of thermoplastic material on a positive mold (10). In particular, the present invention relates to a method for measuring the thickness of orthodontic dental devices obtained by thermoforming processes, such as orthodontic braces for incremental dental repositioning, bites, occlusal guides and so on, which comprises the steps consisting in acquiring (110) a plurality of images of the device (20) obtained by thermoforming in configuration fitted on the positive mold (10) and deriving therefrom a three-dimensional digital model of the assembly consisting of the positive mold (10) and the device (20) obtained by thermoforming fitted on the same (10); acquiring (120) a plurality of images of the positive mold (10) in the absence of the fitted thermoformed device (20) and deriving therefrom a three-dimensional digital model of the positive mold (10) alone; comparing (130) the two three-dimensional digital models derived and calculating thicknesses of the thermoformed device (20) on the basis of the differences detected by the comparison.

Improved separator film compositions, methods and systems for use in producing thermoformed dental appliances are disclosed.

To provide a method for producing an artificial tooth which is excellent in strength, abrasion resistance, hardness, low water absorption, aesthetic property, functionality, and the like within a short time, especially less than 1 hour, smoothly and simply, without requiring skill using a dental photocurable resin composition. [Solution] Disclosed is a method for producing an artificial tooth, which includes the steps of: (a) accommodating a liquid dental photocurable resin composition containing a radical polymerizable organic compound (A), a filler (B), and a photosensitive radical polymerization initiator (C) in a shaping container having a light permeable bottom face, and irradiating the dental photocurable resin composition in the shaping container with light in a predetermined shape pattern through the light permeable bottom face of the shaping container in accordance with slice data every one layer based on three-dimensional CAD data relating to a tooth to form a cured resin layer having a shape pattern for one layer; (b) lifting up the cured resin layer for one layer formed in the step (a), thereby allowing the liquid dental photocurable resin composition to flow into the space between the lower face of the cured resin layer and the bottom face of the shaping container, and irradiating the dental photocurable resin composition between the lower face of the cured resin layer and the bottom face of the shaping container with light through the light permeable bottom face of the shaping container in accordance with slice data every one layer based on three-dimensional CAD data relating to a tooth to further form a cured resin layer having a shape pattern for one layer; and (c) repeating the operation of the step (b) until the objective artificial tooth is obtained.

Provided herein is a method of recycling additively manufactured articles or recovered coating material that comprises a crosslinked polymer formed from a single-cure resin comprising a reactive blocked prepolymer, into a regenerated resin useful for additive manufacturing. Recyclable light-polymerizable resins, methods of making a recyclable objects from such resins, and methods for sustainable manufacturing are also provided.

A three-dimensional printing system including a feed source of uncured filled resin material, a print head configured to apply discrete layers of a composition including upconversion phosphors, and a radiation source configured to irradiate layers of uncured filled resin material and deposited layers of the composition is provided. A method of three dimensionally printing a dental article is also provided.

The invention relates to a method for producing a shaped body by means of a radiation-induced printing process according to the technique of the one-photon polymerization process, characterized in that the shaped body is produced by solidifying a liquid or viscous material which contains a polysiloxane component produced by hydrolytic condensation of one or more monomeric silanes having exclusively two or three hydrolyzable groups and at least one organically polymerizable radical being bonded to the silicon atom via carbon, and contains an initiator and/or catalyst for the radiation-induced polymerization of the organically polymerizable residue, and the solidification is effected by directing light onto a region of a surface of a substrate, whereby a layer of the material located there is polymerized and thereby solidified, whereupon further layers are successively solidified.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a shaped body based on an organically polymerized silica (hetero)polycondensate, which was produced by organic polymerization of the aforementioned polysiloxane component, with superior mechanical properties.