At the University of Maryland, a test bed for machining tooth crowns is being constructed.
The goal of this project is to create a machine that can rapidly manufacture false teeth while the person waits at the dentist office. Unfortunately, there is great debate as to the type of material that is best for crowns. In addition, there is considerable concern as to the speed at which the drilling should be done. The need to control the speed comes from the fact that small microscopic cracks may form in the material during high speed drilling. However, if the drill is too slow, it will take too long to produce a finished product. In order to study the effect of the force, our team is designing a device to measure the force during the drilling process. To accomplish this goal, we must first decide exactly how we are going to measure the force. Then we must design how the team is going to translate the measured force into an output. Finally, we must decide how we are going to record the force into the computer.
