Systems, methods, and devices for producing appliances for expansion of the arch of a patient are provided. An arch expanding appliance comprises a force generating portion to apply an arch expansion force and a retention portion to hold the force generating portion on the teeth. The retention portion comprises a flexible portion and a stiff portion. The force generating portion applies a force to move teeth associated with the flexible portion, while the stiff portion resists movement of its associated teeth. The orthodontic appliances can be designed according to the specifications provided herein and manufactured using direct fabrication methods.

The present invention is directed to methods for inhibiting growth of bacteria and to nanometer scale surfaces having antibacterial properties.

A method for producing pigments having a specified contour, comprises the steps of creating a pigment layer on a starting substrate; detaching from the starting substrate; and structuring the pigment layer into a plurality of the pigments; characterized by bringing into contact the pigment layer with an intermediate substrate, wherein the pigment layer adheres at least in sections to the intermediate substrate; and separating intermediate substrate and starting substrate.

A dental appliance having an integrally formed reservoir and/or an ornamental design integrated thereon. The ornamental design can be selected or customized by a patient. The design can be created by directing energy to the dental appliance to alter a material property of at least a portion of the appliance to create the design. Alternatively, a groove or recess can be formed on a surface of the appliance to either mechanically retain an ornamental design or the groove or recess can be filled with ink to form the design. The appliance, including the integrally formed reservoir, can be formed using direct fabrication techniques.

A method of manufacturing a floor board comprises the steps of supplying a panel, printing a curable substance or surface removing substance onto the panel in a predefined pattern for creating an elevation on the panel at the pattern or removing a portion of the surface of the panel at the pattern, respectively, and curing the curable substance or removing any reaction products of the surface removing substance and the panel.

The present invention discloses a greeting card having at least two surfaces and at least three edges, the greeting card comprising an intrinsically valuable base material comprising titanium or a titanium alloy and one or more gemstones embedded on one or more of the surfaces or edges; wherein the greeting card has a thickness of between about 1.0 mm and about 1.5 mm, a first dimension between about 70 mm and about 90 mm, and a second dimension between about 50 mm and about 60 mm; and further wherein the greeting card depicts one or more of a letter, number, symbol, artistic design, image, or message.

A method may produce a ceramic part with a mother-of-pearl effect, in particular for watchmaking. Such methods may include: forming a ceramic body; depositing a layer of an oxy-nitride component of the OxNy type on at least a portion of the ceramic body; and oxidizing at least a portion of the oxy-nitride layer, preferably by heating.

A transparent keycap manufacturing method includes adhering an opaque base to a fixing film, performing a laser engraving process or an etching process on a bottom surface of the opaque base to generate a continuous hollow pattern region and a pattern component surrounded by the continuous hollow pattern region, coating transparent glue on the bottom surface of the opaque base to fill the continuous hollow pattern region with the transparent glue, adhering a transparent base to the bottom surface of the opaque base, and removing the fixing film from the opaque base.

The present disclosure relates to a method for manufacturing a film for a decoration element, the method including depositing two or more islands on one surface of a film; and forming a pattern portion by dry etching the film using the island as a mask.

A greeting card having a housing of metal or a metal alloy that defines an interior void and an electronic ink display screen, a Bluetooth adapter or dongle comprising Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology within the interior void and operatively configured to communicate with the display screen, a non-transitory memory storage device, and another electronic component within the interior void. The Bluetooth adapter or dongle is configured to receive from an external electronic device a first communication of information describing an initial message to be displayed, and to receive, subsequent in time to receipt of the initial message, a second real time communication of information describing a second message. The non-transitory memory storage device has pre-loaded executable instructions to display the first communication on the display screen, to change or modify the initial message based on the second real-time communication, and to display the second message on the display screen.