ANCA has designed a special loading kit machining dental drills, including customized RoboMate pallets for FX tool-grinding machines using a Fanuc 200iD robot loader.
The global dental drills and burrs market is forecast to grow at an annual rate of approximately 6.5%, and while the market is fragmented experts say that oral disease is increasing and is affecting half of the world’s population. A growing number of dental schools and dentists in developed countries is an important driver for accelerating growth in this segment.
A dental drill – or a dentist’s drill – is used to perform common dental procedures, like removing decay, and usually are fitted to a hand-held mechanical instrument. The hand-held device works at high speeds using dental drills or burrs.
International Standards are defined for all dental rotary instruments, and each instrument is assigned an ISO number code. Most common are HP Shank (ISO104) and RA Shank (ISO204 & 209) with a shank size of Ø 2.35mm.
Due to an increasing demand to grind Ø2.35-mm shank medical drills, ANCA created a special tool-loading solution for FX Linear machines to address this need. Many medical drills have a short shank length with a head larger than 2.35 mm.
The ANCA dental drill loading kit includes customized RoboMate pallets for FX machines using a Fanuc 200iD robot loader. The pallet top allows a reduction of the insertion depth of the shank with an 8-mm pocket depth, so that drills with only 10 mm of available shank length can be loaded.
The robot grippers also have been modified for the reduced thickness of medical tools. The medical gripper can accommodate Ø2-10 X 100 mm with a maximum head diameter of 14 mm.
Medical instruments are typically manufactured from stainless medical grade alloy, so handling can be sensitive. The small medical drill kit also includes adjustable pressure setting from 1.5 to 5 bar for tool clamping to prevent damage from tool loading, with the pressure adjustable via the RoboMate program.
The medical drill package for FX Linear machines is growing in popularity with orders steadily increasing since 2018.
ANCA CNC tool grinders are suitable for grinding an array of medical instruments. ToolRoom software includes tool design applications for a diverse range of round tools and burrs. Available technologies like white-sticking, in-machine wheel balancing and micro adjustable tool steadies, add to ANCA’s solutions for supporting diverse applications.
Learn more at machines.anca.com
