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COPY SARI MYLLYRINNE IMAGES PLANMECA OY'S ARCHIVE
1971 - 2011
or removed for maintenance. The launch
of the unit brought success in the highly
competitive import market. The success of
the first unit helped to win investment for
product development and contributed to
the purchase of the first industrial premises.
Microprocessor control
enabled adjustability
Planmeca was one of the first to launch
several new concepts. Planmeca’s concepts
differed from its competitors' products and
others started to copy them. Planmeca's
product development led to the world's
first microprocessor controlled dental chair
in 1983, together with a dental unit and
panoramic X-ray unit in 1986.
The use of microprocessor technology
and integrated control at an early stage was
a sound strategic decision. Microprocessor
control was the pivotal factor in the sale of
10,000 patient chairs to the United States in
1984.
The microprocessor control equipped
the dental units with all the necessary func­
tionality. For the first time dentists were able uncon­ven­tional products.
to program the exit and working positions,
for example, in a smarter and more versatile
way than with analog technology. Thanks
to software control, these patient chairs
had fewer mechanical parts and were
more reliable and less expensive than older
products. They were also smaller in size.
The mechanics of these chairs were
designed from scratch, aiming for more
advanced manufacturing techniques. One
outcome was that the aluminum frame was
designed as both a supporting and a visible
surface. The chair was firm with a thin
backr­ est making the treatment considerably
more ergonomic. The chair, with its rotating
armrests, was also more elegant than other
contemporary chairs.
The PM 2002 CC dental unit was
launched in 1986, and was ahead of its
time in many ways. It was the first entirely
microprocessor controlled dental unit and
it also introduced features that competitors'
units did not have, including an automated
suction tube cleaning system. At the time, the
PM 2002 CC was the most advanced dental
unit using cassette technology, but it was not
problem-free. Thus, the unit was replaced by
the PM 2002 EC which was partly a stripped-
down version of the original control system.
In 1995, Planmeca launched yet another
innovation, a dental unit with an integrated
patient chair. It was a solution to improving
hygiene as it used a new instrument console
principle: no seams between the instrument
cassettes. The unit's functions were controlled
by only four printed circuit boards, which
enabled the creation of a small and simple,
but intelligent device.
Panoramic X-ray unit with
a new principle
One factor behind Planmeca's fruitful and
pioneering product development has been
the fact that it has not been hidebound by
tradition. The small, young product develop­
ment team deliberately set out to question
the principles of older equipment and utilise
modern technologies. This approach has
become Planmeca's own tradition and the
company is renowned as a developer of
The successful patient chair project in
the 1980s was followed by a further triumph
for Planmeca – the development of the
panoramic X-ray unit. Planmeca's approach
and microprocessor control challenged the
mechanical model of traditional film-based
narrow beam volumetric tomography.
Planmeca realised that the movement of
a beam and film cassette should be separated
with the aid of microprocessor control.
The programming was independent of
the mechanics, which led to new exposure
programmes and significantly affected the
appearance of the unit. With its aluminum
frame, the unit was the smallest and lightest
on the market. The new structure and
exp­ o­sure procedure made it easier to position single biggest product development project,
the patient making the procedure also more
pleasant. Unlike competitors' products, a
patient could be positioned in Planmeca's
unit even while sitting in a wheelchair. The
structure soon became the norm in the field.
These elements created the world's most
widely sold panoramic X-ray unit and the 23
concept has been extensively copied. The
success of this device confirmed the view that
Planmeca product development had backed
the right technologies.
The age of digital imaging
and software
The time was ripe for digital imaging in the
mid-1990s. Planmeca's product development
team was prepared to introduce digital
imaging to dentists even earlier, but it was
not considered commercially profitable back
then.
Digital imaging improved radiation
hygiene. At the same time, darkrooms,
film development chemicals and archiving
become redundant. Planmeca saw digital
imaging as something more than just the
digital form of an image. The real benefits
would not be achieved, however, until the
digital reconstruction could be processed
with a programme after capturing the image.
Planmeca was one of the first companies to
introduce digital imaging in a panoramic
X-ray unit. The Planmeca Dimaxis imaging
software was launched in 1997.
Planmeca's product range offered
equipment for both the treatment of patients
and imaging. The challenge for product
development was to create software that
would marry together all these aspects so
that those working with patients by the
patient chair had access to all the necessary
information via one user interface. In 1999,
this idea was turned into an all-in-one entity.
The new dimension of imaging
Planmeca continues to challenge traditional
views and find new solutions – even with its
own product development.
One pivotal moment was the launch of
the Planmeca ProMax, in 2001. It remains
the most versatile imaging unit in the market.
Based on the strong market-orientation
towards digital imaging and the innovative
minds of the product development team, the
company developed a robot arm (SCARA)
for the Planmeca ProMax. The robot arm