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3D Printing

Learn about the range of 3D printing technologies available and how to find the right 3D printer for your dental practice or lab.


Introduction

Dental 3D Printing Technologies

How to Evaluate 3D Printing

A 3D Printing Case Study

Invest in 3D Printing today!

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Introduction

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is making digital dentistry a no-nonsense business choice for many, combining high quality and improved patient care with low unit costs and streamlined workflows. The market for 3D printing has been expanding rapidly, bringing this technology within reach for more businesses.

In light of this expansion, which technologies are relevant for dentistry and how can a practice or lab make sure they choose the one that is right for them?


This interactive guide takes a deeper look into dental 3D printing including the different dental 3D printing technologies available, how to evaluate them, what to consider before investing in a 3D printing solution, plus a successful 3D printing case study!

Dental 3D Printing Technologies

Today, three 3D printing technologies are common in dentistry: stereolithography (SLA), digital light processing (DLP) and material jetting. Each technology can deliver the precision and accuracy needed for dental applications, but quality can vary among different machines and systems.


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From left to right: crown and bridge models, surgical guides, splints, and orthodontic models.


“When it comes to 3D printing there are different types of technology available. There are FDM (fused deposition modelling) printers where filament is fed through the machine to create the model, SLA (stereolithography) printers where a laser effectively draws out the model, and DLP (digital light processing) where the image is beamed out in sections or layers and that creates the model.”

Mosin Aboobaker, CADCAM Specialist, Henry Schein Dental


Choose from the options below to explore the 3D printing processes


Stereolithography (SLA)

In stereolithography, a vat of liquid resin is selectively exposed to a laser beam across the print area, solidifying resin in specific areas. Stereolithography is highly accurate and has the best surface finish of the three technologies. SLA printers offer large build volumes and a wide range of materials for various applications. Switching materials is as easy as swapping the build platform and cartridge. The combination of small footprint, simple workflow, and low price make desktop SLA printers well-suited for both dental labs and practices.

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Digital Light Processing (DLP)

Digital Light Processing operates with the same chemical process as SLA but uses a digital projector as a light source to solidify the resin, rather than a laser. DLP printers have a small footprint, simple workflow, and a wide range of material options, but at a substantially higher cost than desktop stereolithography printers. DLP parts also tend to show voxel lines - layers formed by small rectangular bricks due to a digital screen - and tend to have a worse surface finish.

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Material Jetting

Material jetting (PolyJet and MultiJet Modelling) 3D printers work similarly to inkjet printing, but instead of jetting drops of ink onto paper, they jet layers of liquid resin onto a build tray and cure them instantly using light. Material jetting technologies were the most common in the dental industry a few years ago, but expansion was limited by their high cost and the large size of the machines. They require extensive post-processing and the surface finish of parts produced with this technology are generally inferior to SLA or DLP. Material jetting systems have high throughput but can only be used for a limited range of applications due to the costly, proprietary materials.

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A comparison of dental 3D printing technologies

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How to Evaluate 3D Printing Solutions

"A 3D printer can only be judged on its final printed parts"

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Accuracy study of a 3D printed splint (left) and surgical guide (right). Dental 3D printers can produce high-quality custom products and appliances with superior fit and repeatable results.


  • Accuracy & Precision

    Guaranteeing high-quality final parts is the most important concern for a dental practice or lab. The three best measures to take to protect yourself from buying inaccurate equipment are:

    1. Be sceptical - don’t trust what companies say.

    2. Judge accuracy benchmarked on final 3D printed models, not on technical specifications.

    3. Order sample parts and judge accuracy and precision for yourself.

    Manufacturers may try to confuse prospective customers with misleading statements and technical specifications. Most commonly, they masquerade layer height, laser spot size, or pixel size as “accuracy”, even though these specifications do not have a direct impact on the accuracy of final parts.

    While most companies refer to a single number for accuracy (e.g. 50 microns or 75 microns), these are typically marketing gimmicks, and most commonly represent the limit of resolution of the printer. Fundamentally, a printer’s accuracy and precision are defined by how well-calibrated all of its systems are, so a system can only be judged on its final printed parts.

    Desktop optical scanning allows for the comparison of the organic shapes of printed dental prosthetics to the ‘.STL’ that was sent to the machine. Scans of printed models are scored in terms of the percent of points within a given distance from the nominal point on the ‘.STL’ (e.g. 80% of points within ±50 microns).

    Always demand accuracy studies with real scan data of printed parts. Even better, ask for a free sample part or a custom sample of your own design that you can measure yourself against the original design, and judge the quality using free comparison software.


  • Ease of Use and Reliability

    "Consider day-to-day maintenance and costs when choosing your 3D printer"

    "Users of the Formlabs, Form 2 3D printer reported a success rate of over 95% on millions of prints across tens of thousands of machines."

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    How easy a 3D printer is to use, and how reliable it will be in production are also important considerations. After all, your team is going to have to learn how to use the equipment and maintain it on a daily basis.

    1. Try to get a sense of the learning curve that will come with a new 3D printer by watching videos online, visiting a trade show, contacting sales, or asking colleagues about their experience.

    2. Think carefully about the equipment’s setup requirements. Some newer printers are designed intuitively enough to start printing straight out of the box. Other more complicated machines require a service technician to be present during setup.

    3. Pay close attention to the types of everyday interactions and maintenance the printer will need once it is up and running. Automatic resin dispensing, available on select SLA machines and material jetting printers, can make a big difference in keeping a clean, low-maintenance production environment, and also allows for quick switching between materials.

    4. Dig deep into published reliability information, and make sure that a manufacturer has appropriate warranties and service offerings to ensure you’ll be taken care of if a service is needed.

    Early 3D printers had an infamous reputation for spending half of their life in service, with many failed prints even when they were online. Fortunately, the latest generation of printers are pushing beyond this. For example, users of the Form 2 3D printer reported a success rate of over 95% on millions of prints across tens of thousands of machines.


  • Cost and Return on Investment

    Adopting new technology needs to simply make sense for your business. Remember to consider:

    1. Upfront costs, including not just the machine cost, but also training and set-up for larger-format machines, as well as potential software licences.

    2. Running costs, which are best estimated with per-unit material costs.

    3. Servicing and maintenance costs, which can sometimes include compulsory service contracts and cost as much as 20% of the upfront cost of the printer annually.

    All of these factors directly impact on how fast you can make a return on investing in 3D printing technology. The good news is that with smaller-format, low-cost machines that offer high-output quality, it’s now possible for dental labs and practices to achieve positive ROI within months.

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  • Materials and Applications

    "Some versatile 3D printers can produce crown and bridge models, surgical guides, castable/pressable restorations, splints, retainers, dentures, and more..."

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    Crown and bridge models 3D-printed on a Formlabs Form 2 desktop SLA printer.


    Professional 3D printers are some of the most versatile tools found today in dental labs and practices, and the key to their versatility is dedicated materials.

    The material selection varies by printer model. Some basic 3D printers can only produce orthodontic models, while more advanced models can manufacture highly accurate crown and bridge models, surgical guides, castable/pressable restorations, and long-term and biocompatible dental products like splints, retainers, or dentures.

    Some 3D printers work only with proprietary materials, which means your options are limited to the offerings of the printer manufacturer. Others have an open system, meaning that they can use materials made by third-party manufacturers. In the case of these third-party materials, it’s important to make sure that the results achieve clinically-acceptable quality and accuracy.

    Manufacturers release new materials on a regular basis, so there’s a good chance that the printer you buy today will become capable of creating an increasing variety of dental products in the near future.


  • Throughput and Scalability

    "If one machine in a print cell needs servicing, production can be balanced across the rest of the print cell"

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    Multi-machine print cells allow 3D printing for multiple different applications in parallel, balancing production needs and lowering risk through redundancy.


    Transitioning to digital dentistry should be a gradual process, starting with a single application, and scaling up to multiple applications and workflows step by step. The number of dental products a 3D printer can produce depends highly on the specific model and the application. For example, a DLP printer’s projector exposes layers to light all at once, whereas in SLA printers, the laser has to draw out each part. This leads to an increase in speed for large, fully dense prints. However, the resolution of the projector limits the build volume, so the overall throughput is similar. Enquire with the manufacturer for specific data on multiple applications and scenarios.

    Production with multi-machine print cells often reduces upfront costs compared to larger-format machines. By buying one low-cost machine at first, businesses can test out production methods before ultimately scaling up production with demand. This provides the opportunity to pay for production only when it is needed, rather than making large long-term investments in a rapidly evolving market.

    Print cells reduce risk through redundancy. If one machine needs servicing, production can be balanced across the rest of the print cell.


    Throughput and cost of dental products

    For 3D printing on a Formlabs Form 2 desktop SLA 3D printer

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Introducing the Form 3

Flawless Prints, Every Time

A 3D Printing Case Study: Form 2 3D printers – completing the digital workflow with Stephen Green Dental Laboratory

Stephen Green Dental Studio is one of the UK’s leading dental laboratories dedicated to the digital design and manufacture of a wide variety of dental appliances. With a team of 20 employees, the lab offers the highest level of technical dentistry with a particular focus on crown and bridgework and implant restoration as well as digital smile design and a private denture service.


Stephen Green began his career as a dental technician in 1975 and has owned Stephen Green Dental Studio since 1988. Stephen’s vision has not changed over all this time; still striving for excellence in all aspects of technical work and always searching for the latest technology that can make his laboratory streamlined and efficient and at the forefront of digital dentistry.

As an early adopter of CAD/CAM systems, Stephen and his team have been involved with digital dentistry for over 15 years and during this time have witnessed first-hand, how both clinicians and technicians have adjusted their practices to integrate a digital workflow.

“We began looking at 3D printers several years ago as I wanted to complete our digital offering to our clients. At that time we were outsourcing model production to a centralised 3D printing facility, however this not only added to our costs but was also a lengthy process, taking up to two weeks for models to be returned. These two factors made me realise that to make the digital workflow truly integrated and efficient we would need to have an in-house capability to print 3D models.”


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Bringing 3D printing in-house

Stephen was aware that bringing 3D printing in-house would help to reduce costs and speed up production, and so began his search for the most reliable, affordable and accurate 3D printer. He found it in the shape of the Form 2.

“The Form 2 offered a very simple, straightforward and cost-effective way to bring 3D printing into the lab. Almost everything we do now is digitally produced - we’ve removed our old casting machine and now have three 3D printers in operation almost 24-hours a day.”

“We produce a lot of complex implant work and receive multiple cases every day, so our models have to be accurate. The Form 2 gives us that accuracy, producing models from intra oral scanning files across a range of implant systems. As soon as a case is received we can start working on it straight away and while the models are being printed we can design the framework and order the Ti-bases to fit, saving us time and creating a much more efficient operation.”

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“The Form 2 has given us a really good introduction into the 3D printing market at a really keen entry price. Our three machines run pretty much non-stop - they are real workhorses. We can print three times the volume that could be produced in the traditional way with no compromise on quality.”


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3D printing brings growth

Stephen and his team of technicians moved into their current premises in Nuthall, Nottingham nearly five years ago and the team has since doubled in size, growth which Stephen attributes to the consistency and accuracy of their manufacturing processes that are a result of the digital workflow. During this time Stephen Green Dental Studio has won numerous awards in recognition of its work, including being the winner of ‘Most Innovative Laboratory’ category in the 2016 and 2018 Laboratory Awards and Best Team in 2017.

“Our clients have recognised the quality of our work and thanks to now having a full digital workflow we can tackle extremely complex cases. We’ve become increasingly busy thanks to the consistency of our restorative work and accuracy we can achieve for our clients.”


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“For any laboratory wanting to complete the digital dentistry workflow, I cannot recommend the Form 2 highly enough. It is probably one of the best value-for-money printers on the market and ideal for labs wanting to take full control of manufacturing and production processes."


Digital Technology corner with Mosin Aboobaker

CADCAM Specialist, Henry Schein Dental


Invest in 3D Printing today!


With thousands of dental practices and dental labs already adopting digital dentistry, there’s never been a better time to start exploring how to take advantage of new technology in your business. While a few years ago 3D printers were only affordable to the largest dental labs, now they are a common sight in labs and practices of any size.

Digital dentistry is developing rapidly, and new desktop solutions can produce dental products with similar or even better quality and accuracy than traditional large-format 3D printers.

Consider the factors discussed above and the needs of your lab or practice - different solutions might suit some businesses better than others. Make sure to do your research, evaluate actual parts, and find a printer which is easy and economical to run and maintain. Start small and watch your digital business grow!

Want to find out more about how 3D printing can help you? Send our 3D printing product specialists a message today!