Bruker Alicona/Zfx
German-Italian dental product manufacturer Zfx has announced that it has seen a boost in quality assurance with the addition of a µCMM from Bruker Alicona. Zfx develops and produces prosthetic components for dentists and dental technicians, as well as offering specially developed equipment, such as scanners and milling machines, as well as the corresponding materials for the production of crowns and bridges in the laboratory.
Zfx has used a Bruker Alicona measuring device for quality assurance of prototypes and product inputs for many years according to the company. Zfx says that up until August 2023, it used an InfiniteFocus G5.
“The infiniteFocus G5 has met our quality assurance requirements right from the start. We can neither complain about defects nor about inadequate measurements,” said Werner Weithaler, Senior Engineering Manager at Zfx. “Because we were already so satisfied with the G5, it was clear that Bruker Alicona would be our first point of contact again.”
Bruker Alicona says that the CMM is ideally suited to the dentistry company’s measurement requirements, as the accuracy in the 3D space is higher and local optical probing can significantly reduce the duration of a complete measurement plan.
A few months after commissioning the µCMM, Zfx took the next step in terms of quality management by adding a pick and place function to the coordinate measuring machine. Explaining the advantages of this, Weithaler added: “This means that the machine can also measure overnight and at weekends when no employee is on site. Because the pick and place loads the components automatically, the workflow is never interrupted.”
Due to the comprehensive measurement of all geometric parameters, the device is also well utilised according to Zfx, with implants, titanium bases, prefabricated abutments, standard abutments, and screws among the measuring tasks.
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External and internal diameters, and shape and position tolerances are measured. These components are smaller than ten millimetres in length, with an internal diameter of fewer than two millimetres. With components this size, the tolerances are correspondingly tight at plus/minus 2 µm according to Bruker Alicona.
Through this quality control, Zfx can also provide feedback on where there are defects in the production process. The data obtained allows conclusions to be drawn about tool wear or other deficits in production.
Zfx says that stricter quality control requirements were imposed by the Medical Device Regulation in 2017, but the company is relaxed about this due to its internal standards.
Lukas Breitenberger, General Manager of Zfx explains: “Quality has always played the biggest role at Zfx and its parent company Zimvle. Our motto is ‘Quality begins with me!’ So, every single employee is committed. We didn’t need stricter rules for this, its always been done that way. However, the need for control has increased as a result, and the bureaucratic effort has multiplied.
“This is also associated with high costs. Of course, the patient ultimately benefits from the stricter requirements. The MDR provides more security. But, it will be difficult or even impossible for start-ups to overcome the financial hurdles of the regulation.”