Curt Morgese Patrick is there any real data on your finding. I will cut ingots and am not so sure about the reuse of a pellet. The companies could make these ingots half the size at no real cost difference to them. Problem is that everyone wants to sell to big labs.
Apr 4, 2014 at 6:43pm
Pat Coon Definitely weighing your patterns is the best way to ensure maximum use of an ingot.
However, I would recommend against re-pressing ingots. Every time you take an ingot to the point that it will flow you change its physical properties. This will make the material more brittle, lower its strength, and shift the CTE. I've heard people say, "Well, I only put them behind a new ingot and use them...[More] as a 'pusher' ingot so I can maximize my new ingot." The problem with this is that due to the friction of the ingot moving against the investment, part of the used ingot will actually be pushed through the center of the new ingot and end up in your pressing. Now you have a pattern made up of the new and used ingot. This pattern will have areas with differing strengths and CTEs, making it difficult to stack on if needed.
Jan 31, 2014 at 12:20pm
Martin Martinez I agree with Patrick, you can weigh your wax ups and fit a lot of inlays in a single casting, some labs even recycle the casted buttons and re-press them.
How do the big labs produce Emax inlays for 69 dollars, if the ingots alone already cost 20 dollars?
Answered By
Pat Coon
Senior Field Digital Consultant at Ivoclar Vivadent Inc. · Perkinston, MS
Pat has worked in the dental field sinc 1985. Starting off in the US Air Force as a dental assistant in Jan 1985, he completed the U.S. Air Force’s dental laboratory training course at Shepherd Air Force Base (AFB) in Wichita Falls,...
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The only way I know to accurately finish an emax inlay is to:
1) Wax up inlay over a lubricated die with die spacer, make a sharpened sprue connected to the inside of your wax up
2) Invest with a ratio allowing for a slightly looser fit than your crowns
3)...[More] Carefully devest and fit using a fit marker
4)...



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