Patent ID: 8374714

Claim:
A computer program product comprising computer executable code that, when executing on one or more computing devices, performs the steps of: aligning a first digital dental model of at least a portion of an upper arch with a second digital dental model of at least a portion of a lower arch using a digital bite registration to obtain an occluded model; providing a digital three-dimensional model of a dental articulator having two mounting surfaces, each of the two mounting surfaces including a raised surface with a reference grid formed of a repeating geometry that enforces local accuracy of an object fabricated according to the reference grid when the object is mated to a physical model of one of the two mounting surfaces including an accurate reproduction of the reference grid, each of the two mounting surfaces further including a positioning key that provides gross tactical feedback on proper alignment of an item including a complementary shape to the positioning key when inserted into the raised surface; extending the occluded model to meet the digital three-dimensional model of the dental articulator at each of the two mounting surfaces thereof to provide a mechanically registered digital dental model; and converting the digital dental model into a form suitable for fabrication.