Cobalt-chrome RPDs & Titanium dental bars

For Dentistry

THE COMPANY

Archimedes is a reference center in innovation for the digital integration of dental treatments, located at La Seu d’Urgell (Lleida, Spain) with more than 30 years of experience in the sector. The company has established itself as a benchmark in the production of high-quality dental pieces and digital workflow solutions for dental market. Its range of products and services include digital workflows for dental clinics and dental labs with multi-brand digital solutions for dental prosthesis, always using the latest technologies and high-quality materials to meet customer needs, paying particular attention to details and the patients’ well-being

THE PROBLEM

Before contacting GPAINNOVA, Archimedes used a traditional manual polishing method to treat RPDs and dental bars. It consisted in a multi-step process, which included abrasive polishing, and electrolytic bath, a second polishing to eliminate micro-roughness and standardize hooks or protruding parts and a final buffing for brightness.

As it is well known, manual polishing of CoCr and titanium dental parts poses several challenges and problems that can impact the quality of the results and the well-being of dental lab technicians. Among them, it is worth it to highlight inconsistent results; achieving consistent and uniform polishing results by hand is difficult, leading to variations in the final appearance and surface finish of the dental parts. Inconsistencies in polishing techniques, pressure, and angles can result in uneven surfaces, compromising the aesthetics and functionality of the prosthetic restorations.

By recognizing these problems associated with manual polishing, GPAINNOVA’s dental lab started to seek alternative methods to overcome these challenges and improve the overall quality, efficiency, and safety of their processes.

THE GOAL

Considering the above-mentioned drawbacks, Archimedes was searching for an alternative polishing process that allowed the company to enhance the quality of the results while ensuring precision, consistency, and predictability in every batch. Besides this, the dental laboratory was also looking for a solution that would also enable it to reduce production and delivery times, save labor costs and gain in efficiency. Obviously, Archimedes was also interested in prioritizing the safety of its technicians by minimizing their exposure to hazardous materials.

THE SOLUTION

Archimedes agreed with GPAINNOVA the installation in its facilities a DLyte 10D, a compact machine with high output, specially designed for medium or high outputs (later on, the number of machines would be increased to boost productivity, as orders grew). With this equipment, the company gets 4 CoCr RPDs polished in less than 50 minutes. Anyhow, recent improvements allow dental labs to significantly shorten production times.

TECHNICAL BENEFITS

01. Geometry and tolerance preservation & homogeneous results
02. Best-in-class concerning surface roughness
03. Stable results among different batches within the electrolyte media lifespan
04. Longer lifespan for treated parts
05. Low material removal in comparison to other polishing processes

OPERATIONAL BENEFITS

01. Reduced footprint
02. Time and cost reduction
03. Exposure of workers during process and maintenance
04. Handling and storage of media
05. No need for multistep processes
06. Easy waste management