Challenges for Dental Milling Machines

2024/04/28 17:05

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Since the bite and appearance of teeth greatly affect our daily lives, milling machines are required to have high machining accuracy.

However, the accuracy of the milling machine itself is not enough for precision processing.

Two essential prerequisites for maintaining machining accuracy are accurate "originating the tool/home positioning," and "workpiece positioning".


What is originating or homing the tool?

It refers to determining the starting point of tool machining.

Milling machines use ultra-fine tools with a diameter of 1mm or less to process hard materials, which causes wear. Machining with unexpected wear or chipping on the tool can lead directly to machining defects due to dimensional deviations in the finished product. Especially when machining continuously, it is necessary to check each time.


What is workpiece positioning?

The workpiece must be held firmly so that it will not move during machining.

If a disc is machined with a loose fixture, even with high accuracy of equipment, an error* will occur in the dimensions of the finished product, resulting in defective machining. This becomes especially important in unattended operation with a disc changer not monitored by a person.


*Example of dimensional errors


Drilling holes in the wrong position

Drilling a hole that is larger than the dimension.

Drilling a disc at the wrong angle


To prevent the above risks, the tool or disc must be machined while accurately determining its position using a sensor.