What is the CAD/CAM Dental Milling Machine?

CAD/CAM dentistry is a field of dentistry and prosthodontics using CAD/CAM (computer-aided-design and computer-aided-manufacturing) to improve the design and creation of dental restorations, especially dental prostheses, including crowns, crown lays, veneers, inlays and onlays, implant bars, dentures, custom abutments and more. Dental milling machines can create these dental restorations using zirconia, wax, PMMA, glass ceramics, Ti pre-milled blanks, metals, polyurethane etc.

Whether it is dry, wet milling, or a combined all-in-one machine, 4 axis, 5 axis, we have a specific product model for each case. Advantages of Global Dentex milling machines compared to standard machines are that we have advanced robotics technology experience and our machines are based on AC Servo motors (Standard machines are based on stepping motors). The servo motor is a closed-loop mechanism that incorporates positional feedback to control the rotational or linear speed and position. These motors can be positioned to high accuracy, meaning that they can be controlled.

Dry type (Dry method)

This is a method that does not use water or coolant during processing.
Small-diameter tools in the 0.5mm range can be used to cut mainly soft materials (zirconia, resin, PMMA, etc.), enabling fine modeling and processing.  On the other hand, when cutting hard materials, small-diameter tools are not often used due to disadvantages such as breakage and longer machining time.

Wet type (Wet method)

This is a method in which water or coolant is applied during processing to suppress frictional heat while polishing.
It is mainly applied to process hard materials (e.g., glass-ceramic and titanium). Harder materials are increasingly in demand by patients due to their strength and aesthetic appearance.

Combination Dry/Wet method

This is a dual-use model that is compatible with both dry and wet methods.
While it has the advantage of being able to process a variety of materials with a single machine, it has the disadvantage of incurring non-productive time when switching from wet processing to dry processing, such as when cleaning and drying the machine.
Other common disadvantages generally mentioned for having both functions are inadequate processing capabilities and high initial investment.

In some cases, production efficiency is higher with dedicated machines that specialize in dry or wet processing respectively, so it cannot be generalized to say that a dual-use model is better.
It is important to use the three methods according to the purpose, such as material characteristics and frequency of use.