Development of sealed cup yoke type dental magnetic attachment

The purpose of this study was to develop a small cup type yoke magnetic attachment sealed from oral fluid. The magnetic device forms a closed circuit between the magnet, yokes, and keeper. A 3.2 mm phi x 1.4 mm SmCO5 magnet was put into a cup yoke of 447J1 stainless steel and covered by 447J1 stainless steel disk yoke with a 316L stainless steel ring. To protect the magnet from corrosion, the connection was sealed by laser welding. The optimum dimensions were figured out by a finite element method. The performance of the magnetic attachment was investigated. As a result, a magnet device 4.4 mm in diameter and 2.1 mm in height was developed. The breakaway retention when the keeper touched it was 341 gf on average.