Mechanical & Materials Engineering, Department of

 

First Advisor

Carl A. Nelson

Date of this Version

8-2018

Citation

Delimulati, A. 2018, ‘Design of Parallel Robot for Dental Articulation and Its Optimization’, M.Sc. Thesis, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA

Comments

A THESIS Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Master of Science, Major: Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Under the Supervision of Professor Carl A. Nelson. Lincoln, Nebraska: August 2018.

Copyright (c) 2018 Abulimiti Delimulati

Abstract

A dental articulator is a mechanical device used to simulate the relative position and motion between the upper and lower jaw when constructing and testing dental prostheses. Typically, it can be adjusted to approximate patient-specific jaw kinematics in order to analogue the static relationship and specific motions of a patient’s mandible to maxilla. However, the use of dental articulators is essentially a trial-and-error method in order to fine-tune fit and function of a dental prosthesis. Some of the most advanced current dental articulators can reproduce the position and the motion passively; furthermore, dentists need special training for measuring patients’ maxillofacial dimensions. Moreover, masticatory robots developed for training purposes cannot mimic individual patients’ jaw motions.

The thesis presents the design and optimization of parallel robot for dental articulation. In this design we propose a robotic articulator suitable for reproducing tracked movements of an individual patient’s jaw. Based on an asymmetric-leg parallel structure, dimensional synthesis is performed to optimize performance over the range of motion typical of the human jaw. The resulting robotic device is expected to improve workflow in the restoration of dental implants.

Advisor: Carl A. Nelson

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