Smart Composites for Additive Technology

ended

Goal of the SCAT feasibility study proposal is to complete the technical, commercial and financial assessment of a new additive manufacturing technology which has demonstrated to have the potential to disrupt dentistry. In the common practice there are a lot of materials that can be used to manufacture denture superstructures: Zirconium oxide, Titanium, Chrome-cobalt. An alternative to metal supported and or ceramic restorations in removable and fixed dentures is provided by Fiber Reinforced Components, which represent a low-cost alternative to metal-alloy, metal–ceramic, all-ceramic restorations, and providing a superior resistance to fractures. Today, all the commercial 3D printers for dental applications do not make use of Fiber Reinforced Composite (FRC), all of them are using metallic materials, ceramic and resin materials. Thus, the current practice to fabricate FRC dentures suffer of serious drawbacks due to the specific manufacturing methods: either loss of the mechanical proprieties and production of a lot of waste materials, or when hand-made the result is imprecise and dependent by the operator. The SCAT project aims at overcoming the today fabrication limits by additive manufacturing using FRC materials.