Processing Hybrid Abutments

For milling Hybrid Abutments or Screw-Retained Crowns / Bridges, we strongly suggest starting by watching the video located: HERE

Shortcut Keys are very helpful when processing Hybrid Abutment cases, we recommend familiarizing yourself with these shortcuts to aid in reducing the time spend processing cases.

You can find an updated Shortcut / Key Combination list for MillBox HERE

Recognizing Hybrid Abutments

Unless an abutment has an internal or external Hexed or Tri-Lobed interface, they should be imported as a Screw Retained Crown or Hybrid Abutment. Hybrid abutments, typically pair up with a Titanium Base (Ti-Base).

Here are examples of Hybrid Abutment / Screw-Retained Crown / Screw-Retained Bridge:

These are examples of Hexed or Tri-Lobe Abutments:

Importing an object with the wrong object type can prevent the software from detecting the proper abutment base curves and will also affect the operations imported by the strategy to mill with. Some operations may not be executed or can be skipped all together. This can lead to unpredictable milling results on the machine.

There are three steps that should always be verified when importing a Hybrid Abutment.

1. Ensuring Red Caps are present and placed properly

   (Capping off only the top and bottom of the screw-access hole/channel)

   • The red caps are created to prevent the tool from entering the screw access hole during roughing and finishing operations. These caps are automatically turned off for the drilling operation only. These caps should exist at the top and bottom of the access hole only

     

2. Pink Curve is present at the base of the abutment (2019 maintenance or newer users)

   • For 2018 maintenance (or earlier) users, you will want to verify that the Gray Cap at the Margin / Abutment Base (Bottom) is present and in the correct location
     

3. The Drilling Axis / Curve is present and properly designated:

   (This curve is colored green for 2019 or current users)

   • This curve determines where the drilling operation starts and stops. It should always be at the very top of the access channel and extend to the bottom of the hole.

     

To check / edit these surfaces, you can start by clicking on the Tools menu on the left side of the screen and clicking on the Visual Layers option.

You should see the following window pop-up:

Once open, you can choose the option for:

Show holes

This will toggle the view of the red caps.

Show Cavity

Will show you where the margin or “base” of the abutment has been detected.

~ If these gray surfaces are not present or are incorrect, we will need to use the Detect Margin Tool to create the necessary surfaces.

In some cases, you may not be able to clearly see the base of the abutment with the gray cap turned on. You can either delete it using the “delete curves and surfaces” tool, or just hide it from view as you detect the margin / base using the Tools > Show/Hide menu.

Drilling Axis Curve

To see the drilling axis curve, you can toggle translucency of the part by using the “9” hotkey – “10” hotkey will return the part view to normal.

• For 2019 or newer maintenance, this curve will be green in color:

  

• For 2018 (or earlier) users the curve may display as purple or magenta:
  

These three components are essential to a successful mill result. If you are unsure about your curve or surface placement, check the Kinematic Simulation after the calculation is complete to see if the milling behavior is correct.

Tools to use:

Delete Curves and Cylinder Caps:

1. Click on tools
2. Click on Delete Curves and Cylinder Caps
3. Click on the Cap / Curve you want to delete.

Margin Line Detection / Manually Draw Margin Lines:

This tool is used to designate the base of the abutment and aids in the detection of the insertion direction for the relative tooth number.

1. Click on Tools > Curves and Surfaces

2. Select Margin Line Detection and click where the margin should be

   

3. To Manually Draw Margin Lines, click around the edge of where the margin should be.

   

Cylinder Detection:

This tool is for detecting the Drilling Axis Curve

1. Click on Tools > Curves and Surfaces

2. Choose the option for Cylinder Detection

3. Find the cylinder on the restoration and click within the cylinder

   

   

Add Caps to Cylinder:

This tool is used to create the red caps that are used to close off the screw-access channel

1. Click on Tools > Curves and Surfaces

2. Choose the option for Add Caps to Cylinder

3. Click within the cylinder to apply the red caps

   

   

Change Cylinder Size:

This tool allows you to adjust the diameter, length and position of your drilling axis curve. With this tool you can fully customize the screw channel.

1. Click on Tools > Curves and Surfaces

2. Choose the option for "Change Cylinder Size"

3. Choose the Drilling Axis line and you will be presented with several options on how to change the cylinder size.