The department’s Instron testing equipment allows staff to measure the strength, durability and quality of the dental materials used in restorations. Shown here is a standard three-point bending test for flexural strength.

The Scanning Electron Microscope with a resolution of 50,000X magnification is used for critical failure analysis and cast metal evaluation, and to verify the bonding interface of ceramics for long-term durability.

Glidewell and Wolfgang Freibauer, director of R&D and education, take a closer look at the grain structure of a metal casting.

Glidewell (standing, center) meets with the R&D staff to discuss a current project. The lab’s R&D department occupies about 2,500 square feet in three separate areas of the laboratory and has a staff of 14.