Fabrication and cost optimization of 3D printed mandible for applications in dentistry

Abstract

During investment casting, a wax or suitable polymer pattern is coated by dipping into slurry of the refractory material. Once the refractory material coating is hardened, this dipping process is repeated several times to increase the coating thickness and its strength. After the final coating is hardened, the wax is melted out and the molten metal is poured into the cavity created by the wax pattern. When the metal solidifies within the mould, metal casting is removed by breaking the refractory mould. This technique has been one of the oldest and most widely techniques so far. However, in the present era, with the advent of three-dimensional (3D) technology, fabrication of a customized 3D object from a digital image has become a reality. An abstract idea can be transformed into a physical object. It involves construction of physical objects directly from 3D computer-aided design layer by layer and hence is also known as additive manufacturing technology. It is based on the principle of stacking two-dimensional (2D) layers to form 3D objects. It has varied applications in the fields of engineering, medicine, pharmaceuticals, architecture, biotechnology, robotics, aerospace industries and research. The present research was limited to the fabrication of mandible with 3D printing. Its comparative cost estimation was made and analysed with quality function deployment.