Dental crowns are among the modern tools used in dentistry to restore physiological function such as phonation or mastication. They are currently mainly manufactured by machining pre-sintered disk but this technique has some drawbacks such as risks of damage to the part or some geometric limitations. To overcome this drawback some alternative techniques have been studied such as LASER machining, stereolithography (SLA) or selective LASER melting (SLM). But these alternative methods also suffer from defects and are therefore little used.

This work is therefore part of a kind of continuity by exploring a new shaping method for dental crowns. In this project, two different techniques are combined, the first one is polymer stereolithography which is used to produce complex molds and the latter one is gel casting which is a process commonly used for producing parts with complex geometries. It was initially developed to overcome the limitations of other shaping processes such as injection molding or machining. Designed by Janney & Omatete in 1991, this process is very versatile, both in terms of its compatibility with different classes of materials and its compatibility with different molds manufacturing techniques. In practice, gel casting is based on the production of a slurry in an aqueous medium in the presence of a dispersant and a gelling agent. The slurry is poured into a mold where gelation can occur and form a three-dimensional network that ensures shape retention and maintenance of homogeneity within the part. A wide range of gelling agents can be used for gel casting with different families such as synthetic polymers, proteins or polysaccharides. This study is more focused on bio-sourced products and more specifically on the polysaccharide type. Two of them were selected: agarose and sodium alginate they have different gelling mechanisms which means two different gel casting processes. The presentation is more focused on formulations, processes, and whole characterisation of the parts.