slash printer

[aqdental]

Hi, anyone using this printer. Any good for dental in your opinion? Thank you. https://uniz3d.com/

 

[JMN]

Hi, anyone using this printer. Any good for dental in your opinion? Thank you. https://uniz3d.com/

Appears that it is not yet available for normals to try. All I could find for purchase options was an option to pre-order. Specsheets can lie soooooo many ways. Let it get in the wild a bit and see if you are only able to use their 'ABS-Like' zABS liquid which is all they are saying it is useable with at the moment.

Just as a personal quirk, I have a hard time trusting a company whose landing page, where they are trying the hardest to convince me to fork over money, for a machine that is not out in general release, has typos that any word processor from 20 years ago would find.

Also, just not sure how well that's gonna work. He's not exactly a small dude.

 

[zero_zero]

I'd wait at least till the first end user reviews will start to emerge, they just started to ship the first units a few weeks ago. There might be some design/software issues since it's so new and they claim a lot on their spec sheet, which sounds too good to be true. It seems to me that is cheaply made.

 

[JKraver]

It seems to me that is cheaply made.

Which may be fine if you are just doing certain things here and there and not integrating into full on production.

 

[Bryce Hiller]

Well it's Stereolithography, which equates to super slow print speeds most of the time. Also it looks like you have to use their resin, which means they can charge you whatever they want. Regardless of application, you're better of with DLP tech and open materials (in my opinion).

I'd say there are much better options out there (I'm a big advocate for Asiga). I'd probably stay away from any brand that is used mostly as a hobby printer.

 

[cadfan]

Its a lcd display so DLP !!! if i am not wrong and way faster than others and if they make the build platform just halve size less than they have less than 40 my lateral resolution

 

[Bryce Hiller]

Its a lcd display so DLP !!! if i am not wrong and way faster than others and if they make the build platform just halve size less than they have less than 40 my lateral resolution

Their website says that it's an SLA printer

 

[cadfan]

Their website says that it's an SLA printer

Yes thats true but DLP is a subversion of SLA either a wxqga display makes no sense and hes not that fast !! LCD Stereolithograghie which is DLP

 

[zero_zero]

DLP is digital light processing, it is a chip with a bunch of tiltable tiny mirrors...so it's basically reflects the light in a given pattern while an LCD is lit from behind and selectively blocks/colors the light passing through.

 

[cadfan]

but the effect is the same one total illuminated layer ??!! looking a film with beamer or lcd display simple said ok which is better ???

 

[Bryce Hiller]

DLP is digital light processing, it is a chip with a bunch of tiltable tiny mirrors...so it's basically reflects the light in a given pattern while an LCD is lit from behind and selectively blocks/colors the light passing through.

Interesting. So an LCD SLA printer uses a digital mask, essentially?

 

[cadfan]

https://photocentric3d.com/dentistry_features/?v=3a52f3c22ed6 same way 2 bucks

 

[Affinity]

I find it interesting how the onset of digital technology is actually regressing the accuracy.. Everyone is using printers with 40- 60+ micron resolution, when has that ever been acceptable in dentistry? In all seriousness. We went through the cosmetic revolution to go backwards for speed?

 

[Bryce Hiller]

I find it interesting how the onset of digital technology is actually regressing the accuracy.. Everyone is using printers with 40- 60+ micron resolution, when has that ever been acceptable in dentistry? In all seriousness. We went through the cosmetic revolution to go backwards for speed?

Not necessarily the case. If you get a cheap printer, then yes that may be the accuracy you get. But if you spend the extra cash, you can get incredibly high accuracy. Accuracy also really depends on the resin you use.

 

[Affinity]

Exactly my point bryce, Im not saying there arent accurate printers, mine has 16 micron accuracy. Im asking , why is the industry, especially dentists, using printers with accuracy that isnt really comparable to analog impression techniques. I get that its cheaper.. but I thought the digital revolution was supposed to be more accurate in general. Add a scanner that is +-20 micron to a +-60 micron printer.. and...

 

[zero_zero]

Interesting. So an LCD SLA printer uses a digital mask, essentially?

Digital mask it is, SLA can be achieved multiple ways...it is basically a projected image on the bottom of the vat...LCD, DLP, LCoS, laser beam...whatnot

 

[Bryce Hiller]

Exactly my point bryce, Im not saying there arent accurate printers, mine has 16 micron accuracy. Im asking , why is the industry, especially dentists, using printers with accuracy that isnt really comparable to analog impression techniques. I get that its cheaper.. but I thought the digital revolution was supposed to be more accurate in general. Add a scanner that is +-20 micron to a +-60 micron printer.. and...

I see your point now, my apologies. Well I think its just the nature of technology as a general trend. Something new comes out, people get excited and jump in, even though the new tech isn't yet perfected.

Dentists and labs realize that the entire industry is trending towards automation and advanced technology. It's always better to beat the curve, as long as you're willing to cough up the dough for it. But it gives you a marketing advantage over others in the same field. As time goes on, digital dentistry will follow in the footsteps of other fields: It will get cheaper and better quality. Three years ago, a 50" 4K tv would run you thousands. Now, you can get them at Walmart for 400 bucks. Same concept will apply to 3D printers. Just give it time

 

[JMN]

I see your point now, my apologies. Well I think its just the nature of technology as a general trend. Something new comes out, people get excited and jump in, even though the new tech isn't yet perfected.

Dentists and labs realize that the entire industry is trending towards automation and advanced technology. It's always better to beat the curve, as long as you're willing to cough up the dough for it. But it gives you a marketing advantage over others in the same field. As time goes on, digital dentistry will follow in the footsteps of other fields: It will get cheaper and better quality. Three years ago, a 50" 4K tv would run you thousands. Now, you can get them at Walmart for 400 bucks. Same concept will apply to 3D printers. Just give it time

Hopefully they'll last longer than that $400 TV

 

[JohnWilson]

I have been shopping and more or less pulling my hair out looking for the sweetspot for printers.

There is a diminishing return from entry level to super high end. The problem is when you start thinking about how fast technology is evolving and the thought of investing a large sum of money and it makes you pump the brakes. At least for me it has.

I know a bunch of people with Form 2 some having great success some well struggling.

I am outsourcing all my models now and its adding up to a big bill so we are now calculating Cap cost + Tech time/salary + Consumable cost and it still seems more profitable to outsource even at the volume we are at now.

I want a machine I can do guides and night guards on, prints a nice accurate model and has the ability to easily change out resin, I do not want to do multiple prints a day, so build plate has to be big enough not to have to have a ton of tech time, love to be able to guides and guards in the day and load up the models for the night.

Such a decision of a disposable printer at an entry point of $3500 and a REAL machine at 50k+

 

[Labwa]

I have been shopping and more or less pulling my hair out looking for the sweetspot for printers.

There is a diminishing return from entry level to super high end. The problem is when you start thinking about how fast technology is evolving and the thought of investing a large sum of money and it makes you pump the brakes. At least for me it has.

I know a bunch of people with Form 2 some having great success some well struggling.

I am outsourcing all my models now and its adding up to a big bill so we are now calculating Cap cost + Tech time/salary + Consumable cost and it still seems more profitable to outsource even at the volume we are at now.

I want a machine I can do guides and night guards on, prints a nice accurate model and has the ability to easily change out resin, I do not want to do multiple prints a day, so build plate has to be big enough not to have to have a ton of tech time, love to be able to guides and guards in the day and load up the models for the night.

Such a decision of a disposable printer at an entry point of $3500 and a REAL machine at 50k+

The unicorn does not exist yet....
Printing is expensive in equipment, consumables but more so time. This is the important factor you don't realise fully until you're doing it. Perfect example, i had two simple smile design models to put on overnight. Takes 15 minutes to load and start printing. Ortho Analyser does not output models on perfect flat planes so you have to finely level it bit by bit. Then came in this morning and 1 arch failed.. Lost resin over the side of the tray. Lost resin that had cured and come off the platform. Spent another 20 minutes cleaning up and putting the arch on again. Then it will take 10-20 minutes to post process. add it up. It costs about 40+ dollars a model without including printer costs and fixed costs. Explaining this to techs is one things. Explaining this to the dentist paying for models is another. They have been told digital is cheaper by their reps selling them the scanner.

In my experience the cheaper printers are cheap for a reason. The tech is not the same regardless of what people will say. I would say it is mostly the print firmware, resin used (spot curing thickness/expansion) and separation technique from the build tray membrane. They all have a different techniques and some are better than others. We have had maybe 3 failed prints in 12 months on the Envisiontec, and i would put that down to user error. We had a print head go on the Objet but no fails aside from that in the last 12 months. The expensive printers in our lab i can go home and not worry about it.

The Formlabs we would get a fail once a fortnight i would say. For no obvious reason. As labs we are looking to be more efficient with human time and at the moment i have not seen a cheaper printer that helps that cause.

The new LCD masking printers are going to be a positive way forward. when they can fit a 600-800 dpi screen in a 10 inch platform (or around triple what the slash is) we should be on point for a reasonably cheap and predictable printer. give it 6 months i would say.

Hope this helps someone out there!