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charles007
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As new LD blocks are released, there will also be cheaper ingots coming out, and I bet my last dollar the ingots will come out long before any blocks are released.
Jim, I do hope LD pucks will come out, but I'm not holding my breath for that. It wouldn't surprise me if a newer material comes out in puck form before any LD pucks are released, if ever. Should LD pucks come out, this could be a game changer..
Designing on a scanner and milling or printing wax patterns to press will always be the cheapest form of using LD. I don't for see any company selling LD pucks cheaper/per unit cost, than the cost in ingot form to press. Plus the extra inventory cost of LD pucks, all the shades, LT,HT, ect would be to high, even for larger labs to stock, much less smaller labs. Hope I'm wrong in my so called vision of LD puck costs.
My crystal ball shows/hopes/ as more and more labs close their doors, older techs die off and retire, prices will level off from the shortage of labs...The race to the bottom in prices is no different than other industries, so consistency, good relationships, business skills etc etc , will be the difference in staying in business and failing.
The 1-2 man show lab will need the high tech toys to save on labor and accept the high cost of equipment and materials to achieve higher production levels to stay in business. I for one priced my cad/cam restorations to low and seeing less profit.. Other labs doing the same at even lower prices will surely fail and end up closing their doors. I'm not worried about low lab prices at this point.
Sorry to drift off topic ! .
I see milling LD as a very viable alternative once prices of blocks drop for smaller labs, and I don't see this as a good idea for larger labs. My prospective on milling vs pressing comes down to the amount of hands in your lab and what equipment you already have. If a lab already has a pressing oven and 4 to 6 anteriors ready to wax or design, pressing it the way to go. If you have 4 to 6 posteriors and mostly different shades, why not mill. I see the use of milling and pressing as being the new generation lab to meet or exceed the demand of our accounts. We must be able to meet the demands of doctors interring the digital world, and also to keep more of our accounts into leaping into buying a cerec or e4d by offering faster turnaround times. Owning a mill is the only way I see we as the smaller lab can stay in business and compete with the big box labs..Makes no difference if you press or mill, its the skill, talent and business savvy that separates us from the big box labs.
Jim, I do hope LD pucks will come out, but I'm not holding my breath for that. It wouldn't surprise me if a newer material comes out in puck form before any LD pucks are released, if ever. Should LD pucks come out, this could be a game changer..
Designing on a scanner and milling or printing wax patterns to press will always be the cheapest form of using LD. I don't for see any company selling LD pucks cheaper/per unit cost, than the cost in ingot form to press. Plus the extra inventory cost of LD pucks, all the shades, LT,HT, ect would be to high, even for larger labs to stock, much less smaller labs. Hope I'm wrong in my so called vision of LD puck costs.
My crystal ball shows/hopes/ as more and more labs close their doors, older techs die off and retire, prices will level off from the shortage of labs...The race to the bottom in prices is no different than other industries, so consistency, good relationships, business skills etc etc , will be the difference in staying in business and failing.
The 1-2 man show lab will need the high tech toys to save on labor and accept the high cost of equipment and materials to achieve higher production levels to stay in business. I for one priced my cad/cam restorations to low and seeing less profit.. Other labs doing the same at even lower prices will surely fail and end up closing their doors. I'm not worried about low lab prices at this point.
Sorry to drift off topic ! .
I see milling LD as a very viable alternative once prices of blocks drop for smaller labs, and I don't see this as a good idea for larger labs. My prospective on milling vs pressing comes down to the amount of hands in your lab and what equipment you already have. If a lab already has a pressing oven and 4 to 6 anteriors ready to wax or design, pressing it the way to go. If you have 4 to 6 posteriors and mostly different shades, why not mill. I see the use of milling and pressing as being the new generation lab to meet or exceed the demand of our accounts. We must be able to meet the demands of doctors interring the digital world, and also to keep more of our accounts into leaping into buying a cerec or e4d by offering faster turnaround times. Owning a mill is the only way I see we as the smaller lab can stay in business and compete with the big box labs..Makes no difference if you press or mill, its the skill, talent and business savvy that separates us from the big box labs.