October 1, 2009

Sescoi plays a major role in the Prodentic dental prosthesis project

Sescoi is pleased to announce that it is the software partner in the ambitious “Prodentic” dental prosthesis “open manufacturing” project. This 30 month, French government funded project is lead by the French UNPPD (Union Nationale Patronale des Prothesistes Dentaires) and AFNET, an association that promotes common standards in data exchange.

The objectives of Prodentic are to create a digital process for the design and manufacture of dental prostheses that can be economically implemented by the majority of practitioners; agree a common format for CAD data exchange; and achieve full traceability for prosthetic data throughout their entire lifecycle in line with European traceability directives.

Sescoi’s experience and knowledge associated with the development of their own software – the WorkNC®DENTAL automatic dental CAM/CAD and the WorkPLAN Enterpise custom manufacturing ERP systems - will contribute greatly to the success of the project.

Launched last year, WorkNC®DENTAL can import CAD models and scanned data in many different formats, nest and orientate it and automatically add support pins and identification marks. Machining wizards apply 3 or 5-axis toolpaths as appropriate, which have been optimized to suit the difficult to cut materials commonly used in dental implants, such as titanium and zirconium. Sescoi’s objective in the design of WorkNC®DENTAL was to produce a system that is extremely simple to use, on any machine, and operated by dental manufacturers unfamiliar with CNC machining techniques.

Sescoi’s WorkPLAN Enterpise ERP is geared towards project-based manufacturing. The software is able to trace orders and their status throughout the production process. Material batches, quality control procedures and lifecycle performance can all be associated with each project. The system ensures seamless communications by sharing the right information at the right time with all project stakeholders, including customers and suppliers.

The driving force behind the Prodentic project is the need to reduce the cost of dental prostheses in order to counter low cost competition from overseas. Achieving commonality for CAD data exchange between the systems used by dentist, prosthetists and sub-contractors is critical to the success of the project and will ultimately give laboratories greater freedom to choose the solutions that best suit their individual needs.

Improvements in quality and reductions in delivery times of dental prostheses are also anticipated for adopters of the new information technology, as the IT solutions developed will incorporate best practice methodologies. Furthermore, prosthesis traceability, improved business processes and prosthesis lifecycle management will meet the requirements of European directives. Dental implant manufacturers will be able to keep accurate control of production costs and progress.

The proposed high tech solutions will be evaluated by a representative group of dental prosthetists and practitioners.

The existing technology know-how that Sescoi brings to the Prodentic project is the culmination of over 20 years of research and development in automated CAM/CAD and manufacturing ERP. Its links with industry give it a unique insight into the needs of manufacturers, and the company is keen to cooperate with other partner companies to produce the best possible solution for dental manufacturers across Europe and around the world.