Diamond coated dental bur machining of natural and synthetic dental materials

Diamond coatings are attractive for cutting processes due to their high hardness, low friction coefficient, excellent wear resistance and chemical inertness. The application of diamond coatings on cemented tungsten carbide (WC-Co) burs has been the subject of much attention in recent years in order to improve cutting performance and tool life. WC-Co burs containing 6% Co and 94% WC with an average grain size 1-3 micron were used in this study. In order to improve the adhesion between diamond and the bur it is necessary to etch away the surface Co to prepare it for subsequent diamond growth. Hot filament chemical vapour deposition (H.F.C.V.D.) with a modified vertical filament arrangement has been employed for the deposition of diamond films. Diamond film quality and purity has been characterised using scanning electron microscopy (S.E.M.) and micro-Raman spectroscopy. The performance of diamond coated WC-Co burs, uncoated WC-Co burs, and diamond embedded (sintered) burs have been compared by drilling a series of holes into various materials such as human teeth, and model tooth materials such as borosilicate glass and acrylic. Flank wear has been used to assess the wear rates of the burs when machining natural and synthetic dental materials such as those described above. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.