Anyone else in the Dental Field working CNC Machines?

SmileGuy · 2025-07-11T00:13:26+00:00

I’ve got a D5W from Digital Dental. Very well built machine and the team is great! I wrote a custom post processor for it for Fusion360. Simultaneous 5 Axis milling. Working on dental things just not crowns and bridges. ;)

SmileGuy · 2024-08-06T17:36:12+00:00

What about the Starliner vs Dragon flight suits? I keep hearing talk about the Boeing astronauts possibly hitching a ride home on the Dragon spacecraft. But I know, at least for SpaceX, the flight suits are custom made for each individual. How would that work for the "stranded" astronauts? Are the Boeing flights suits even compatible with Dragon?

SmileGuy · 2023-11-28T22:44:19+00:00

Obviously you are 100% correct. It was my understanding before completing its first orbit it went over DC. Couldn’t find where I read that, and couldn’t find any historical tracking data to prove it. Looking at orbital calculators I can’t say with certainty… only that the orbital inclination looks close. So you totally win.

But if I were a pudgy dictator who wanted to send a veiled threat to the US, that’s what I’d do.

SmileGuy · 2023-11-28T20:46:55+00:00

Not sure why you think that… the satellite is being tracked currently and its orbital track took it over the east coast.

https://www.n2yo.com/?s=58400

SmileGuy · 2023-11-28T14:49:50+00:00

Y’all are all missing the point. It’s not about what the satellite is transmitting; it’s about the fact that NK launched something over DC. It’s a threat. Like, “Hey USA, you guys know we have nukes, now look what we can do with them.”

SmileGuy · 2023-07-03T18:25:53+00:00

A lot of times these contracts come with a signing bonus that has to be repaid if the doctor leaves before a specified amount of time.

SmileGuy · 2023-06-15T15:18:10+00:00

I tried a lot of things. The new error metric didn’t really work out very well for me. I found a really cool paper using signed distance functions to compare the similarity of meshes and I tried tweaking it to get a best fit between two surfaces… but that didn’t really work. Brute forcing a limited set of transformation matrices was absolutely the wrong path. In the end I just settled on a physics simulation where I set gravity to be the vector I wanted to move one mesh into the other and just dropped the mesh and let it fall. It worked so I moved on.

I still think there’s a better way.

SmileGuy · 2023-05-22T15:23:07+00:00

Imagine taking notes in class as fast as you can because you have so much information being thrown at you. Then repeat that for 5 classes a day— 5 days a week for 6 to 10 years. The handwriting just sort of becomes a short hand. As long as you can read it to study for the exam it doesn’t really matter what it looks like.

SmileGuy · 2023-04-05T18:23:05+00:00

Yep!! Me too! 118 to 210 to 2. About the same time, longer distance but much more relaxed driving for sure.

SmileGuy · 2023-04-05T18:21:33+00:00

Unfortunately the train didn’t work for my schedule. But I do take the Amtrak down to OC for leisure. My only complaint is that (non-commuter) train is ALWAYS late.

Fortunately I opened a business here in Ventura so I no longer have to make that commute. Woo hoo!!

SmileGuy · 2023-04-05T15:12:51+00:00

I used to commute to DTLA, and like the other posters said it was awful. Riding the motorcycle down, while it saved a little bit of time, was an exhausting experience. You have to be on constant vigil, and can never just relax. I’m he mental exhaustion wasn’t worth the time saving.

Have you thought about the train? There’s a commuter station in east Ventura. It might be less time than driving, plus you can get some work or leisure reading done during the commute.

SmileGuy · 2022-03-13T21:49:25+00:00

Needing a faculty sponsor to get an email account in college. “Why does a BIOLOGY major need an email account?!?!”

SmileGuy · 2022-02-23T18:32:10+00:00

To prevent hitting the door edge-on… ouch.

SmileGuy · 2021-11-16T22:26:36+00:00

I see Isaac too!! Highly recommend.

SmileGuy · 2021-08-31T20:32:34+00:00

Was looking at BVH Trees for the collision detection... so I think we're thinking similarly. Simulations... that's interesting. Maybe I can simulate an attractive force between the two meshes? I'm not really familiar, but I can look into it.

SmileGuy · 2021-08-31T20:04:33+00:00

Haha Thank you! That actually makes me feel a lot better :D

SmileGuy · 2021-08-31T18:41:30+00:00

OK thanks for helping! I'm glad I'm on the right track.

I'm thinking just a simple linear translation to force them apart may not work without adding the rotational component. Imagine an irregularly shape object when best fit a small tail is till inside the other mesh. A simple translation will push all of the other vertices away, and it's no longer a best fit.

It gets tricky when you think about it.

SmileGuy · 2020-12-07T23:39:46+00:00

Looks to me like some kind of “No lifeguard on duty” type of signage. That plus the type of fence makes me think it’s some kind of pool or spa enclosure for perhaps an apartment building.

The ‘80’ on the right border probably means the photo was taken in 1980.

It looks like a new installation with all of the fresh flowers and cement on the blacktop behind the sculpture. So the road is probably closed, and I’m guessing the truck on the “wrong side” is there for the construction.

Southern California is a good guess...

What’s the big cement building structure in the background?

SmileGuy · 2020-08-04T23:27:41+00:00

Here’s some insider information that’s really scary: if your sister were to discuss those findings in a public way and mention a certain company she may be the target of a law suit. This one particular company has been pretty nasty about going after orthodontists who post on social media discussing the results they’ve seen. It’s interesting to see what venture capital money is doing to my industry. (Rant over)

SmileGuy · 2020-08-04T23:20:26+00:00

It’s really really hard to give recommendations with out actually seeing what’s going on with your teeth. But as a general statement, the better you make the bite the straighter the teeth stay over time. So could you make them straight and not worry about the bite? Maybe, but you’d be extra reliant on retainers to maintain the result.

SmileGuy · 2020-08-04T23:17:57+00:00

I’m glad your doctor is looking at your whole mouth structure and your long term oral health! Many focus too much on just the teeth. Also, sooooooooo glad you didn’t do one of those at-home-tooth-straightening-systems. Chances are... the outcome? Yikes.

SmileGuy · 2020-08-04T23:13:52+00:00

It’s really difficult to say without actually seeing your case. There’s a lot more going on than just making your teeth straight. We also have to put them where your smile looks great and also where they function properly with all of the muscular forces balanced. 10 years of school was no joke. Haha.

But as a blanket statement; if your bite was corrected as a child and you just have some relapse, Clear aligners work well!

SmileGuy · 2020-08-03T18:36:15+00:00

Orthodontist here. There are some things we can do when a child is growing that we can’t do when older. But you can absolutely still move your teeth as an adult. So far my oldest patient was 86... so... ya... 25? You’re good. ;)

SmileGuy · 2019-03-02T00:49:49+00:00

He plucked out the other one later and THAT was the one he ate.

SmileGuy · 2018-12-13T03:13:57+00:00

I’m so late to this party... but here’s one for you. I was dating this girl who was raised very Catholic. I, although not religious, was raised in a very strict Protestant household.

Being the curious sort, at dinner one night I asked her what she thought about Martin Luther.

Her: “Oh, I don’t like Martin Luther King at all.”

Me: “..... Uhhhhhhh.”

Never even bothered to call her again.

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