Mechanical Conditions for Articulator Interpretability

This manuscript establishes a mechanical framework for interpreting articulators as reactor systems. The work does not evaluate output quality, clinical success, or configurational adequacy. Instead, it defines the minimum mechanical conditions under which an articulator may be considered interpretable through its behavior rather than its settings. The framework introduces a strict distinction between mechanical output and mechanical interpretability, defines functional neutrality as a behavioral state rather than a reference condition, and identifies positional provocation as the sole admissible method for exposing constraint architecture. The work is system-agnostic and outcome-independent. It does not prescribe methods, adjustments, or workflows. Its purpose is to establish a boundary within which articulators may be interpreted as constraint-driven systems. This work functions as a standalone mechanical framework and as a structural component of the Articulators: Mechanical Behaviour and Geometrical Understanding corpus. It defines the minimum mechanical conditions under which an articulator may be interpreted as a reactor, independent of system type, configuration, or clinical outcome, and establishes positional provocation as the sole admissible criterion for mechanical interpretability.