Virtual Articulation SOP

  1. Follow steps 1-6 in Blender - SOP Model Designer
  2. Navigate to the right side menu and go to the ‘Articulator’ tab
  3. With the upper model selected, select ‘Name Upper’ from the menu, then select the lower model and select ‘Name Lower’
  4. Next, select ‘Import Mounting Table’ from the menu
    1. This will hide the lower model. Note that at this stage the upper and lower models are linked together, so any adjustments made to the upper model will be mirrored by the lower model. DO NOT move the lower model separately from the upper model
    2. Select ‘Front’ from the menu to view the model and mounting table from the front. Adjust the upper model so that the midline of the anterior teeth are aligned with the stopper at the front of the mounting table
    3. Select ‘Bottom’ to view the model and mounting table from the bottom. Adjust and rotate the upper model so that it is positioned as close to the stopper as possible, and that the majority of each tooth lies within one of the marked circles shown.
    4. Select ‘Right’ to view the model and the mounting table from the right. Make adjustments to the model’s positioning in relation to the stopper.
    5. When done, you may unhide the lower model and delete the mounting table.
  5. Next, select ‘Import Condyles’ from the right side menu.
    1. Select ‘Side Profile’ to view from the side and adjust the position of the condyles. When satisfied, select ‘Accept Location’.
    2. Now you may set the inclination of the condyles. Select ‘Right Inclination’ to adjust the angle, then select ‘Copy to Condyle’. Repeat for ‘Left Inclination’.
  6. Once your condyles are imported with the inclinations set, you will now have to adjust the constraints of the bite to get an animation of the bite.
    1. Scroll to the ‘Articulator Constraints’ section of the menu. Here you will see four options: ‘Set OPEN Centric’, ‘Set PROTRUSIVE’, ‘Set EXCURSIVE Right’ and ‘Set EXCURSIVE Left’.
    2. Go through each of them and adjust the constraints with the help of the tooltips in the bottom left corner of the screen, remembering to select ‘Apply Keyframe’ in between adjustment of each constraint.
      1. Note that you can see the articulation pin on the screen, and that 1° of rotation is equivalent to 2 mm of movement.
    3. You may go back and edit each constraint by selecting the ‘EDIT’ button next to the desired constraint, or you may delete all animations by selecting ‘Delete All Animation’ at the bottom of the constraints menu.
  7. You’ve finished your articulation! To view the animations, scroll down to the ‘Articulator Navigation’ section of the menu. There you may view/play each of the animations set in the previous step.