METHOD FOR PRODUCING CERAMIC DENTAL PROSTHESIS PARTS CAD/CAM MACHINING STATION, COMPUTER PROGRAM AND BLANK MADE OF FINAL STRENGTH DENTAL CERAMIC

Abstract

The invention relates to a disk-shaped blank made of a final-strength dental ceramic, comprising a casing surrounding a perimeter of the final-strength dental ceramic, the casing made of a material that is softer than the final-strength ceramic, and in particular made of wood or plastic material.

Claims

1. A disk-shaped blank made of a final-strength dental ceramic, comprising a casing surrounding a perimeter of the final-strength dental ceramic, the casing made of a material that is softer than the final strength ceramic.

2. A disk-shaped blank made of a final-strength dental ceramic, comprising at least one recess, which extends through the entire thickness of the blank and/or wherein the blank includes at least one recess on opposite sides of the blank, the depths of the recesses in sum corresponding at least to the thickness of the blank.

3. The disk-shaped blank according to claim 2, wherein the recess is located on the edge of the blank.

4. The disk-shaped blank according to claim 2, wherein the recess is a through-hole through the blank.

5. A disk-shaped blank made of a final-strength dental ceramic, comprising a respective recess of the final-strength dental ceramic that is located on opposing sides of the blank, and the depths of the recesses, in sum, amount at least to the thickness of the blank.

6. The disk-shaped blank according to claim 2, further comprising a marking for a rotatory positioning of the blank.

7. A method for producing one or more ceramic dental prosthesis parts by way of a CAD/CAM machining station, comprising the steps of: providing a disk-shaped ceramic blank in accordance with claim 2; attaching the blank in a mounting device of the CAD/CAM machining station so that the blank is surrounded on the circumference thereof; controlling the CAD/CAM machining station for establishing an initial contact between the blank and the grinding tool in such a way that, due to the rotation of the grinding tool about the longitudinal axis thereof, the entire contact surface between the grinding tool and the blank has relative movement; and machining the blank by way of the rotating grinding tool, proceeding from the initial contact, to produce the ceramic dental prosthesis parts.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the mounting device includes at least one recess, which is open toward the blank, the grinding tool being introduced into the recess for feeding the grinding tool to the blank and being moved to the blank through the opening of the recess for the initial contact and/or wherein the blank is attached in the mounting device by way of an adapter, which includes at least one recess that is open toward the blank, the grinding tool being introduced into the recess for feeding the grinding tool to the blank and being moved to the blank through the opening of the recess for the initial contact and/or wherein the blank is attached in the mounting device by way of an adapter, which is made of a material that is softer than the ceramic blank, the grinding tool being introduced into the adapter, and the grinding tool being moved through the adapter to the blank for the initial contact with the blank.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the blank includes at least one recess, which extends across the entire thickness of the blank, the grinding tool being introduced into the recess for feeding the grinding tool to the blank and then being moved to the blank for the initial contact.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the recess is formed into the blank by pressing during manufacture of the blank and/or wherein the recess is machined by cutting technique during a preprocessing step of the blank.

11. A CAD/CAM machining station comprising: a mounting device for a disk-shaped blank in accordance with claim 1, a grinding tool and a control unit, which is configured to carry out the following steps: (a) controlling the CAD/CAM machining station for establishing a contact between the blank and the grinding tool in such a way that, due to the rotation of the grinding tool about the longitudinal axis thereof, the entire contact surface between the grinding tool and the blank has relative movement; and (b) machining the blank by way of the rotating grinding tool, proceeding from the initial contact, to produce ceramic dental prosthesis parts.

12. The CAD/CAM machining station according to claim 11, wherein the mounting device includes at least one recess, which is open toward the blank, the control unit being configured in such a way that the grinding tool is introduced into the recess for the initial feeding and moved to the blank through the opening of the recess for the initial contact.

13. The CAD/CAM machining station according to claim 11, further comprising a memory in which a position of a recess is stored, the control unit being configured in such a way that the grinding tool enters the blank at the position of the recess.

14. The CAD/CAM machining station according to claim 11, further comprising an optical sensor for sensing the position of the blank and/or a recess relative to the mounting device, the control unit being configured in such a way that the grinding tool enters the blank at the position of the recess.

15. The CAD/CAM machining station according to claim 11, further comprising an adapter for attaching the blank in the mounting device, the adapter being made of a material that is softer than the ceramic blank, the control unit being configured in such a way that the grinding tool enters into the adapter for establishing the contact between the blank and the grinding tool.

16. The disk-shaped blank made of a final-strength dental ceramic of claim 1, wherein the material is selected from the group consisting of a wood material and a plastic material.

17. The method of claim 8, wherein the material is selected from the group consisting of a wood material and a plastic material.

18. The CAD/CAM machining station according to claim 15, wherein the material is selected from the group consisting of a wood material and a plastic material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0047] Embodiments of the invention will be described in more detail hereafter with reference to the drawings. In the drawings:

[0048] FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a CAD/CAM machining system comprising a CAD/CAM machining station and multiple CAD devices;

[0049] FIG. 2 shows the CAD/CAM machining system in the embodiment according to FIG. 1 after the grinding tool has been introduced;

[0050] FIG. 3 shows the CAD/CAM machining system in the embodiments according to FIGS. 1 and 2 after the initial contact between the blank and the grinding tool;

[0051] FIG. 4a shows a block diagram of a CAD/CAM machining system comprising edge-side feeding of the grinding tool;

[0052] FIG. 4b shows an embodiment of possible geometry of the mounting device, of an adapter or a casing of the blank;

[0053] FIG. 4c shows another embodiment of a possible geometry of the mounting device, of an adapter or a casing of the blank;

[0054] FIG. 4d shows another embodiment of a possible geometry of the mounting device, of an adapter or a casing of the blank;

[0055] FIG. 5a shows a schematic diagram of an end-face or lateral-side initial contact;

[0056] FIG. 5b shows a another schematic diagram of an end-face or lateral-side initial contact;

[0057] FIG. 6 shows a block diagram one embodiment of a CAD/CAM machining system including recesses of the blank on both sides;

[0058] FIG. 7 shows a top view onto one embodiment of a blank including a through-hole or a cavity;

[0059] FIG. 8 shows a top view onto one embodiment of a blank including a recess on the lateral surface or casing side thereof;

[0060] FIG. 9 shows a block diagram of a CAD/CAM machining system including a blank, which has an eccentric through-hole;

[0061] FIG. 10 shows a top view onto a blank having an eccentric through-hole and a marking;

[0062] FIG. 11 shows an embodiment including a conical grinding tool;

[0063] FIG. 12 shows an embodiment including a spherical grinding tool;

[0064] FIG. 13 shows another embodiment including a spherical grinding tool;

[0065] FIG. 14 shows another embodiment including a spherical grinding tool;

[0066] FIG. 15 shows another embodiment including a spherical grinding tool;

[0067] FIG. 16 shows another embodiment including a spherical grinding tool; and

[0068] FIG. 17 shows another embodiment including a spherical grinding tool.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0069] Elements of the following embodiments that correspond to or are identical to each other are each denoted by the same reference numerals.

[0070] FIG. 1 shows a CAD/CAM machining system 1 comprising a CAD/CAM machining station 2 for producing ceramic dental prosthesis parts. The CAD/CAM machining system 1 comprises at least one CAD device 3.1 for generating a CAD file 4.1, which specifies the final dimensions of one or more of the dental prosthesis parts to be produced.

[0071] For example, the CAD device 3.1 includes a scanner for acquiring 3D measurement data from the patient; as an alternative, the 3D measurement data can be received in digital form from the dentist. The CAD device 3.1 is used to execute CAD software so as to generate the CAD file 4.1 for specifying the dental prosthesis part to be produced. Appropriate scanners are commercially available, such as inEos X5 from Dentsply Sirona.

[0072] The CAD file 4.1 can be transmitted to the machining station 2 via a communication network 5, such as the Internet. Further CAD devices 3.2, 3.3 etc., which essentially have the same design, can transmit the corresponding CAD files to the machining station 2 via the communication network 5 for the generation of further CAD files 4.2, 4.3 etc., for specifying the final dimensions of further dental prosthesis parts.

[0073] The machining station 2 comprises a mounting device 6 for attaching a blank 7 in the machining station 2. For example, the mounting device 6 is designed in such a way that the blank 7 is clamped on the circumference thereof into the mounting device 6. The mounting device 6 is held rotatable about the Y axis by bearings 8, 9. The rotation about the Y axis is effectuated by a drive unit 10 of the mounting device 6, which can be controlled by a control unit 11. In addition to the rotatory alignment of the mounting device 6 about the Y axis, the drive unit 10 can be designed to carry out a positioning within the XY plane, for which purpose the drive unit 10 can be accordingly controlled by the control unit 11.

[0074] The machining station 2 furthermore comprises a spindle motor 16 for receiving a grinding tool 12, which has a pin shape in the embodiment described here. The spindle motor 16 is used to rotate the grinding tool 12 about the longitudinal axis 13. In the embodiment described here, the spindle motor 16 can be positioned relative to the mounting device 6 by a further drive unit 14, for which purpose the drive unit 14 can be controlled by the control unit 11. For example, the spindle motor 16 can position the drive unit 14 in all three spatial directions X, Y and Z.

[0075] The control unit 11 of the machining station 2 comprises at least one electronic memory 15 for storing the CAD files 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 etc. received from the CAD devices 3.1, 3.2, 3.3 etc.

[0076] The control unit 11 furthermore comprises at least one microprocessor 17 for executing a computer program, which includes the program components 18 and 19, for example.

[0077] The program component 18 is used to calculate a trajectory from the CAD files 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 etc., along which the grinding tool 12 has to machine the blank 7 to produce the specified dental prosthesis parts.

[0078] The program component 19 generates control commands for the drive units 10 and 14, and also for the spindle motor 16, so as to machine the blank 7 in keeping with the trajectory calculated by the program component 18.

[0079] In the embodiment described here, the blank 7 has a through-hole 20, which is designed in such a way that the grinding tool 12 can be introduced entirely into the through-hole 20 in the axial direction, which is to say along the Z axis here, without making contact with the blank 7. For example, the through-hole 20 has a circular cylindrical shape having a diameter that is larger than the diameter of the grinding tool 12. Other geometries are also possible.

[0080] For example, the through-hole 20 can have a shape that is not large enough to receive the grinding tool 12 such that abrasive grinding action occurs when the grinding tool is introduced into the through-hole.

[0081] FIG. 2 shows the CAD/CAM machining system 1 after the trajectory and control commands have been calculated by the computer program, and after the grinding tool 12 has been fed to the blank 7, in that the blank 7 and the grinding tool 12 have been displaced relative to one another by the drive units 10 and/or 14 in such a way that the grinding tool 12 has been entirely introduced into the through-hole 12 without making contact therewith. It is irrelevant whether the spindle motor 16 is already switched on to rotate the grinding tool 12 about the longitudinal axis 13.

[0082] FIG. 3 shows the CAD/CAM machining system 1 after another relative movement has been carried out, starting with the relative position of the blank 7 and the grinding tool 12 shown in FIG. 2, and more particularly by control of the drive units 10 and/or 14 so as to establish initial contact between the blank 7 and the grinding tool 12. For this purpose, the grinding tool 12 is displaced in the y direction perpendicular to the axial edge 23 of the through-hole 20 until the grinding tool makes contact with the through-hole 20 on a contact surface 21. The grinding tool 12 is then rotated about the longitudinal axis 13 thereof by the spindle motor 16. The grinding tool 12 has a lateral surface 22, which includes abrasive elements, such as diamonds having a certain grain size, whereby the material on the contact surface 21 is removed. No load is applied to the end face 26 of the grinding tool 12.

[0083] The initial contact between the blank 7 and the grinding tool 12 here thus occurs in that the lateral surface 22 of the grinding tool 12 is displaced perpendicularly, which is to say in the y direction, for example, with respect to an edge 23 of the through-hole 12 extending axially, which is to say in the Z direction, so that the lateral surface 22 makes contact with the edge 23 along the entire thickness extension in the Z direction when this initial contact is established, thereby resulting in the contact surface 21.

[0084] The rotation of the lateral surface 22 about the longitudinal axis 13 results in a relative movement of the abrasive elements of the grinding tool 12 along the entire contact surface, whereby material is removed from the blank 7 along the entire contact surface 21 at essentially the same relative speed.

[0085] Proceeding from this initial contact, the control unit 11 then controls the drive units 10 and/or 14 by way of the control commands in such a way that the dental prosthesis parts specified in the CAD files 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, etc. are machined from the blank 7. It is particularly advantageous here that this takes place with particularly high precision and, due to machining by grinding, with a, particularly high surface quality, and without necessitating a tool change or subsequent sintering. The dental prosthesis parts thus produced can be used directly by a dentist on a patient, without a further processing step.

[0086] FIG. 4A shows an embodiment of the CAD/CAM machining system 1 in which the mounting device 6 comprises recesses 24. These recesses 24 make the edge 25 of the blank 7 accessible to the grinding tool 12, analogously to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Instead of being introduced into a through-hole 20 of the blank 7, which in the embodiment described here does not need to be present, the grinding tool 12 is thus introduced into one of the recesses 24 of the mounting device 6, so as to then be moved with the lateral surface 22 against the edge 25 of the blank 7 to form the contact surface there, analogously to the contact surface 21.

[0087] This embodiment has the advantage that standard blanks having no through-hole 20 can be used.

[0088] FIG. 4B shows the geometry of an annular mounting device 6 having no recess 24, such as they may be used in the embodiments according to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, for example.

[0089] FIG. 4C shows the geometry of a mounting device 6 including multiple recesses 24, which are uniformly distributed on the circumference of the mounting device and each provide a radial access to the edge 25 of a blank 7 clamped in the mounting device 6.

[0090] FIG. 4D shows an alternative embodiment of the mounting device 6 according to FIG. 4C, in which the four recesses 24 are not uniformly arranged, but have a curve shape.

[0091] Instead of the mounting device 6, the adapter or a casing of the blank 7 can have a geometry according to FIG. 4A, 4B, 4C or 4D.

[0092] FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the advantage of an initial contact between the blank and the lateral surface 22 once again. If the initial contact is not established with the lateral surface 22, but with the end face 26 of the grinding tool 12, as is shown in FIG. 5A, no relative movement takes place at the center of rotation about the longitudinal axis 13 at the contact point between the grinding tool 12 and the blank 7, so that material can hardly be removed from the blank 7 by the grinding tool 12 or only with high wear.

[0093] If, in contrast, the initial contact takes place between the blank 7 and the lateral surface 22 of the grinding tool 12, as is the case in the embodiments according to FIGS. 1 to 4, a contact surface 21 is formed, on which the abrasive elements carry out a relative movement with respect to the blank 7, whereby material removal that is gentle on the tool is made possible with a high surface quality and high precision.

[0094] FIG. 6 shows a further embodiment of the CAD/CAM machining system 1 for an embodiment of the blank 7 that includes two recesses 24.1 and 24.2.

[0095] The recesses 24.1 and 24.2 can each be designed as blind holes. The depths of these blind holes, in sum, amount to at least the thickness of the blank 7.

[0096] In this way, machining as follows is made possible:

1. First, the grinding tool 12 is introduced into the recess 24.1 and then forms an initial contact surface 21.1 on an edge of the recess 24.1.
2. By displacing the grinding tool 12 in the direction toward the recess 24.2, which is the Y direction here, the through-hole 20 is created, having the stepped geometry shown in FIG. 6.
3. As soon as the recesses 24.1 and 24.2 have been connected to one another in this manner, the grinding tool 12 can be introduced into the resulting through-hole 20, and further machining can take place analogously to the embodiment according to FIGS. 1, 2, 3.

[0097] FIG. 7 shows a top view onto a blank 7, which is located in a mounting device 6. The blank 7 can have a through-hole 20, which is formed during the production of the blank 7, for example by being pressed into the blank 7. As an alternative, the blank 7 can also be produced without the through-hole 20. The through-hole 20 is then provided subsequently, after the blank 7 has been produced, by way of milling, and in particular drilling.

[0098] As an alternative to the through-hole 20, cavities that are open at the top can be formed on or milled into opposing sides of the blank 7, which is to say recesses 24.1 and 24.2 (see FIG. 6).

[0099] FIG. 8 shows a further embodiment of a blank 7 in the mounting device 6, wherein the blank 7 on the edge 27 thereof has a recess 28, which forms a space between the blank 7 and the mounting device 8. In this embodiment, the edge 27 of the blank 7 is accessible in the axial direction via this space, via which the grinding tool 12 can be moved to the blank 7 for the initial contact.

[0100] FIG. 9 shows a further embodiment of a CAD-CAM machining system 1 including a blank 7, which has an eccentric through-hole 20. A marking 29 can be provided on or in the blank 7, and a corresponding marking 30 can be provided on or in the mounting device 6, so as to define the position of the through-hole 20 relative to the mounting device 6. When the blank 7 is clamped in the mounting device 6, a user aligns the markings 29 and 30 with one another, so that the through-hole assumes a predetermined position P, which can then be used for the movement by the control unit 11.

[0101] As an alternative or in addition, the control unit 11 can automatically detect the position P of the through-hole 20 relative to the mounting device 6. For this purpose, the machining station 2 comprises a sensor 31, such as an optical sensor, which detects the position P of the through-hole 20. Appropriate data 32 indicating this position P is then stored in the memory 15. The position P can be ascertained and the data 32 can be stored in that the microprocessor 17 executes a program component 33. The program components 18 and/or 19 then calculate the trajectory and generate the control commands by taking this position P into consideration, which specifies the starting point of the trajectory. As an alternative or in addition, the sensor can ascertain the position of the marking 29, and thus, indirectly, also the position of the through-hole.

[0102] FIG. 10 shows the blank 7 in the embodiment according to FIG. 9 in a top view.

[0103] According to a further embodiment, the through-hole 20 can also extend axially through the center of a cylindrical disk-shaped blank 7, so that the markings 29, 30 can then be dispensed with. This is illustrated in FIG. 10 by dotted lines.

[0104] According to a further embodiment, the mechanical interface between the edge of the blank 7 and the mounting device 6 can be designed in such a way that the blank 7 can only be clamped in the mounting device 6 in a predefined position. For this purpose, a guide groove for rotational locking, which is to say for preventing turning, can be provided on the mounting device 6, for example.

[0105] FIG. 11 shows another embodiment of the invention in which a grinding tool 12 having a cone 34 is used, instead of a cylindrical grinding tool 12. In this embodiment, no recesses, such as a through-hole 20, are necessary, since the desired contact surface, which is also shown in FIG. 11, can be created based on the conical shape.

[0106] For this purpose, the blank 7 and the conical surface 34 of the grinding tool 12 are positioned by the control unit 11 relative to one another at an angle setting in such a way that the initial contact with the conical surface 34 is formed on the surface of the blank 7, so that the contact surface 21 results there. The angle setting is made relative to the center of rotation of the grinding tool. By a relative feed of the blank 7 and the grinding tool 12 in the z direction, a through-hole 20 through the blank 7 can thus be created, proceeding from which further machining along the trajectory then takes place. In addition to the feed in the z direction, optionally an feed component may exist in the x and/or y directions, which preferably are each smaller than the feed in the z direction.

[0107] According to a further embodiment, a grinding tool having a truncated cone is used instead of a conical grinding tool, wherein the initial contact surface 21 is not formed with the top surface, but the lateral surface of the truncated cone, so that again a relative movement of the abrasive particles takes place on the entire contact surface.

[0108] FIGS. 12 to 17 show a further embodiment in which a grinding tool 12 having a spherical working surface is used. FIGS. 12 to 17 show the creation of a through-hole 20 in the blank 7.

[0109] The initial contact is established here in that the grinding tool is not placed at a right angle, but at an incline to the surface normal of the blank 7 onto the surface thereof. This ensures that each point of the contact surface 21 carries out a relative movement with respect to the abrasive particles on the spherical working surface of the grinding tool 12.

[0110] The grinding tool 12 is then moved back and forth in a rocking motion within the contour of the through-hole to be created, wherein the grinding tool 12 is raised when it reaches a position, during this back and forth movement, at which it is situated perpendicularly to the blank, as is shown in FIGS. 12 to 17. By raising the grinding tool 12 in the aforementioned position, it is avoided that a contact surface is briefly formed, at the center of rotation of which no relative movement exists. The formation of such a contact surface is avoided in that the control unit 11 slightly raises the grinding tool 12 during the back and forth movement, by appropriate control of the drive units 10 and/or 14.

[0111] Embodiments may comprise one or more of the following combinations of features:

A. A method for producing ceramic dental prosthesis parts by way of a CAD/CAM machining station (2), comprising the following steps: [0112] providing a disk-shaped ceramic blank (7); [0113] attaching the blank in a mounting device (6) of the CAD/CAM machining station so that the blank is surrounded on the circumference thereof; [0114] controlling the CAD/CAM machining station for establishing an initial contact between the blank and the grinding tool in such a way that, due to the rotation of the grinding tool about the longitudinal axis (13) thereof, the entire contact surface (21) between the grinding tool and the blank has relative movement; and [0115] machining the blank by way of the rotating grinding tool, proceeding from the initial contact, to produce the ceramic dental prosthesis parts
B. The method according to item 1, wherein the initial contact between the grinding tool and the blank moves out of the center of rotation of the grinding tool as a result of an angle setting of the disk-shaped blank.
C. The method according to item 1 or 2, wherein a through-hole is created by displacing the grinding tool in the direction of the height of the disk-shaped blank.
D. The method according to item 1, 2 or 3, wherein a through-hole is created by displacing the grinding tool in a gyroscopic motion within the disk-shaped blank.
E. The method according to any one of the preceding items, wherein the grinding tool is moved with a rocking motion relative to the blank, the grinding tool being raised relative to the blank when passing through the center of rotation.
F. The method according to any one of the preceding items, wherein the CAD/CAM machining station receives a CAD file for the dental prosthesis parts to be produced which specifies the final dimensions of the respective dental prosthesis part, and the blank is machined in each case to the final dimensions specified in the CAD files.
G. The method according to any one of the preceding items, wherein the blank is feldspathic, feldspar-like, glass ceramic, in particular made of lithium disilicate glass ceramic, crystal ceramic, in particular made of aluminum oxide and/or zirconium oxide.
H. The method according to any one of the preceding items, wherein the blank is made of a fully-sintered, and in particular a hipped, ceramic.
I. A CAD/CAM machining system comprising a CAD/CAM machining station and a device (3) for generating a CAD file that specifies the final dimensions of the ceramic dental prosthesis parts to be produced.
J. A computer program comprising executable program instructions for execution by the control unit of a CAD/CAM machining station.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0116] 1 CAD/CAM machining system [0117] 2 CAD/CAM machining station [0118] 3.1 CAD device [0119] 3.2 CAD device [0120] 3.3 CAD device [0121] 4.1 CAD file [0122] 4.2 CAD file [0123] 4.3 CAD file [0124] 5 communication network [0125] 6 mounting device [0126] 7 blank [0127] 8 bearing [0128] 9 bearing [0129] 10 drive unit [0130] 11 control unit [0131] 12 grinding tool [0132] 13 longitudinal axis [0133] 14 drive unit [0134] 15 memory [0135] 16 spindle motor [0136] 17 microprocessor [0137] 18 program component [0138] 19 program component [0139] 20 through-hole [0140] 21 contact surface [0141] 22 lateral surface [0142] 23 edge [0143] 24 recess [0144] 25 edge [0145] 26 end face [0146] 24.1 recess [0147] 24.2 recess [0148] 27 edge [0149] 28 recess [0150] 29 marking [0151] 30 marking [0152] 31 sensor [0153] 32 data [0154] 33 program component [0155] 34 conical surface