Looking for a new Printer

[Bzydo23]

Hello,

I am looking to add a new printer to my lab. I currently have a Form 3B+ but its just not giving me the detail that I am looking for. Looking for a printer to do model work for clear aligners along with more detailed C&B and Implant work. I have done a good amount of research and it looks like Asiga, Sprintray and Desktop Health are the three that are standing out. Any thoughts or experiences with these would be very helpful and much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[KingGhidorah]

I’ve only got experience with asiga, carbon, and that straumann 3d printer. The straumann 3d printer was horrible quality, I scanned in a bunch of model work and compared to the original stls and the inaccuracies were way higher than they should be. Carbon was obviously amazing, no complaints there, great software, and great quality printing, and it was quick with a huge tray, but too pricey for most (apparently they have a new pricing system though, so don’t immediately discount them)
As far as the asigas go, they say the printing is as accurate as carbon, I don’t know if I buy it, I’ve compared a bunch of models to the stls, and while it’s good, I don’t quite buy that it’s as accurate as carbon. That being said though, I still think the asigas are great. They are easily scaleable with your lab if you buy the smaller ones and buy more as needed. My only complaint would be the software is not quite as good as I’d like it to be, and also the trays are really small.

If it was me though I’d get a carbon. My personal opinion is to get the highest quality stuff you can, and it’ll pay itself off when you aren’t doing reprints because of inaccuracies, or doctors are sending you stuff back because something just isn’t fitting right, and then you spent the next couple months trying to figure out what’s going on, when in reality it’s just because your printer isn’t as accurate as you’d like it to be. That’s my personal opinion, though many labs make cheaper printers work for them.

 

[rkm rdt]

You only need an accurate printer if you suck at cad.

 

[KingGhidorah]

You only need an accurate printer if you suck at cad.

What’s your reasoning behind this? Are you referring to doing a completely modelless workflow, not checking contacts, not checking occlusion, nothing? Even if that’s what you’re referring to, which I’m not against that idea, since it eliminates a step which adds in more potential for inaccuracies, there’s still certain things you want a good printer for. When I was printing surgical guides on the straumann printer, I could print the exact same file 5 times, and the sleeve would range from super snug to super loose on each different print, and the fit on the model would range from acceptable to completely off. It had nothing to do with anybody’s skill at cad, it was just a sucky printer, and it burned through a bunch of time and material everytime a surgical guide was printed. And it didn’t have anything to do with the processing afterwards, because I was checking behind my coworker that they were processing it correctly after it was taken off the printer. The same issue happened everytime a nightguard was printed, the fits were all over the place and it wasted a bunch of time.

 

[Bzydo23]

You only need an accurate printer if you suck at cad.

I need an accurate printer for doing pull downs for ortho. Not sure it has anything to do with Cad. Also I looked into (CadCrowns.ca) and most of the pictures on the website show cases on models ...... smh..

 

[rkm rdt]

I need an accurate printer for doing pull downs for ortho. Not sure it has anything to do with Cad. Also I looked into (CadCrowns.ca) and most of the pictures on the website show cases on models ...... smh..

lol I forgot I had a website. Probably around 2010 or 2014 .
Actually I use the Renfert Simplex for my ortho cases . Essix and soft guards.
You need cad for implants.

 

[doug]

We have 2 Asiga printers and are very happy with the results. We had a Formlab but it was too slow and not as accurate.

 

[rkm rdt]

What’s your reasoning behind this? Are you referring to doing a completely modelless workflow, not checking contacts, not checking occlusion, nothing? Even if that’s what you’re referring to, which I’m not against that idea, since it eliminates a step which adds in more potential for inaccuracies, there’s still certain things you want a good printer for. When I was printing surgical guides on the straumann printer, I could print the exact same file 5 times, and the sleeve would range from super snug to super loose on each different print, and the fit on the model would range from acceptable to completely off. It had nothing to do with anybody’s skill at cad, it was just a sucky printer, and it burned through a bunch of time and material everytime a surgical guide was printed. And it didn’t have anything to do with the processing afterwards, because I was checking behind my coworker that they were processing it correctly after it was taken off the printer. The same issue happened everytime a nightguard was printed, the fits were all over the place and it wasted a bunch of time.

You don’t really need a super accurate printer for c and b. 50 microns will allow you to verify your contacts and occlusion. Your margins are dependent upon your marking and your milling.
No need to verify them or finish them on a die.
Abutment heads can be printed as part of the model without the tissue section therefore eliminating the need for a removable analog.

 

[LuthorCorp]

We currently use Stratasys, Origin, FormLabs, Rapidshape and Asiga printers. For ortho models you have a big range to choose from, origin has a good price per model but the printer itself is pretty pricey. I would second Asiga as a great machine (We have the 4k max) its fast and give good quality.

The J3 and J5 from stratasys are really good for high volume overnight printing, the material is fairly cheap and gives consistent results also.

 

[a3dl]

You don’t really need a super accurate printer for c and b. 50 microns will allow you to verify your contacts and occlusion. Your margins are dependent upon your marking and your milling.
No need to verify them or finish them on a die.
Abutment heads can be printed as part of the model without the tissue section therefore eliminating the need for a removable analog.

With regard to printing abutment replicas on model instead of a removable analog and component on the model. how do you bond your screw retained crowns? off the model?

 

[JonnyLathe]

Asiga Max UV. Great reliable workhorse of a printer. Open system for resins.

If you just want to print models I'd be looking at something like a Phrozen 8k.

 

[rkm rdt]

With regard to printing abutment replicas on model instead of a removable analog and component on the model. how do you bond your screw retained crowns? off the model?

I cement the crown to the custom abutment by using an analog as a handle. Designing an abutment with an anti rotational surface assures accuracy.

 

[Labslip]

If you just want to print models I'd be looking at something like a Phrozen 8k.

If you are only printing models, wouldn't a Phrozen 4k have all the detail you need for half the price?