MODULATING LASER FOCAL LENGTH TO OPTIMIZE SURFACE TEXTURING ON MULTIPLE SURFACES
A system and method for applying a uniform micro-textured surface treatment to a deep-thread dental implant by rapidly modulating the focal point of a laser to laser etch surfaces of both the thread peaks and the thread valleys in a single pass.
1 . A system for treating the surface of an object comprising at least first and second surface segments with a varying depth between the first and second surface segments, the system comprising:
a laser for applying a uniform surface treatment to both the first and second surface segments of the object;
an optics system for directing the laser with respect to the object; and
a focus control mechanism for modulating the focal point of the laser with respect to the object surface.
2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the object is a deep-thread dental implant, the first surface segment comprising a thread crest of the implant and the second surface segment comprising a thread valley.
3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the depth variation between the first and second surface segments is at least 0.015″.
4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the uniform surface treatment comprises a laser-etched micro-texture pattern.
5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the laser-etched micro-texture pattern comprises a width between about 4 and 20 mircons and a depth between about 4 and 20 microns.
6 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a rotationally-driven carrier to rotate the object.
7 . The system of claim 6 , wherein the focus control mechanism modulates the focal point of the laser in coordination with the movement of the rotationally driven carrier.
8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the focus control mechanism comprises a motorized platform that modulates the laser focal length with respect to the object.
9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the focus control mechanism comprises an optical focus that modulates the laser focal length with respect to the object.
10 . A method of treating a surface of an object comprising at least first and second surface segments with a varying depth between the first and second surface segments, the method comprising:
applying a uniform surface treatment to both the first and second surface segments in a single operation;
modulating the focal length of the uniform surface treatment with a focus control mechanism.
11 . The method of claim 10 , further comprising rotating the object with respect to the focus control mechanism in timed coordination with the rotation of the object.
12 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the focus control mechanism is a motorized platform.
13 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the focus control mechanism is an optical focus.
14 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the focus control mechanism modulates the focal length of the uniform surface treatment to correspond with the depth of the object first and second surface segments.
15 . A deep-thread dental implant formed by the method of claim 10 .
16 . A system for treating the surface of an object comprising an irregular surface, the system comprising:
a sensor for mapping the object irregular surface to obtain control data;
a laser for applying a surface treatment defined by the control data;
an optics system for directing the laser with respect to the object; and
a focus control mechanism for modulating the focal point of the laser with respect to the object surface.
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the sensor comprises a laser for determining the control data.
18 . The system of claim 16 , further comprising a mandrel for supporting the object, wherein the mandrel comprises a longitudinal axis.
19 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the control data comprises the angular position of the object with respect to the mandrel longitudinal axis.
20 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the surface treatment comprises a laser-etched micro-texture pattern comprising a width between about 4 and 20 microns and a depth between about 4 and 20 microns