The manufacture of dental implants is a complex process involving numerous work and production steps. Manufacturing and handling errors can lead to defects such as cracks, breakages, chipping or so-called pimples. If these defects remain undetected during quality inspection, there is a high health risk for patients. In the worst case, an implant must be replaced in a second operation.
In the project ‘Automated quality monitoring for rare earth-stabilised zirconium dioxide dental implants with high strength and fracture toughness’ (AQ-ZirkonDent-HFB), Moje Keramik-Implantate GmbH & Co. KG, the Institute for Ceramic Materials and Technologies (IKMT) in Stuttgart and the IFW are researching new ceramics and automated quality inspection processes to further improve implant quality.
To this end, IFW is developing a test bench that will transform the quality inspection process, which has been carried out manually up to now, into an automated process. It consists of a handling unit that grips the implants and positions them in front of a camera system with adjustable lighting. This is followed by a 100-percent-inspection, during which any defects are reliably detected. This not only ensures the high quality of the end product, but also optimises the manufacturing process.
The project is funded as part of the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs (ZIM) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWE). It started on 1 August 2025 and will end on 29 February 2028.
For further information, please contact Paul Krombach, Institute for Production Engineering and Machine Tools at Leibniz University Hanover, by telephone on +49 511 762 18311 or by email (krombach@ifw.uni-hannover.de).
