Characterization of Micro-Machining of Dental Screws and Abutments

Abstract

In today’s society, dental implants are a growing solution for dental care. However, most dental components are very expensive when imported, and are purchased at premium costs solely from a few international companies. It is estimated that the current market price of dental implants is as much as one thousand times the material cost. To be cost effective in a growing competitive market, a local company is looking into producing their own components, and requires knowledge of manufacturing and quality assurance or expertise in order to validate the effectiveness of their fabricated components. These fabricated components need to be tested against currently in use market components in order to assure that prototype components are not inferior to the current market supply. The present study focuses on the analysis of the fabrication process of dental implants, specifically the abutments and screws. The objective is to compare material properties of prototype and market components to determine if the prototype components have adequate quality. Furthermore, simulated models are developed for predicting material property changes due to the manufacturing process. The material properties are determined through hardness testing and microstructure analysis. Visual inspection is then used to investigate and characterize the components. The simulations use different machining parameters, such as the feed rate and the cutting speed to determine residual stress patterns. Dental implant abutments and screws were successfully tested and compared. The prototypes show a good hardness and microstructure properties similar to market components, indicating a high level of prototype quality. The simulated models were successfully created and provided an adequate level of customization to be usable in place of future mechanical testing and showed results that complimented experimental findings. The standard cutting speed of 2000 rpm (100%) in the prototypes produced the optimal hardness and surface roughness. Prototypes were found to have an acceptable level of both hardness and surface finish for the investigated 50%, 100% and 150% of the standard 2000 rpm feed rate.