Jan 30, 2015 | By Simon
Although recent breakthroughs in the medical industry might lead some to believe that 3D printing and medicine are a relatively new combination, some sectors in the medical industry have actually adopted 3D printing and other digital fabrication methods a long time ago...particularly, the dental industry.
Similar to how users today are creating their own customized solutions for everything ranging from iPhone cases to dishwasher parts and even their own prosthetic devices, dental implants are a custom-made product that have required custom manufacturing processes since the implant procedure was conceived.
One example of a company that has been focusing on manufacturing custom dental solutions is Spain-based Fresdental, whose focus is on working with dentists to create and manufacture implants, bridges and crowns for dental patients. Founded in 1999, Fresdental is a well-known Spanish brand that works with hundreds of dental professionals to create custom-tailored dentures quickly and efficiently in their 840 square-meter facility. Although the company still makes use of older manufacturing technologies including 3-axis CNC milling to fabricate the dental solutions, they are also among the first to introduce new technologies. Among the new technologies includes LaserCUSING. The term is made of using the letter C from Concept Laser and the word Fusing to describe the technology. It is also referred to as “laser melting”.
The process for LaserCUSING involves generating components layer-by-layer using 3D CAD data that is either modeled or gathered via a 3D scan or a combination of both. Once the data is sent to the machine, lasers fuse/melt material together until the desired shape is physically produced.
Among other benefits for the dental industry that LaserCUSING provides include affordable up-front operational pricing, multiple material types, the ability to produce multiple dentures in a single building job on a single building board and the high rate of production speed that delivers finished products to patients in a timely manner.
Additionally, benefits that the technology offers for manufacturers like Fresdental includ using very low power consumption, the ability to reuse material and help eliminate wasted materials, reduced costs for additional tools and reduced staff costs using an automated manufacturing process.
“We can actually produce more dental products with fewer people,” added Perez Carrio, founder of Fresdental.
The process for creating a product using LaserCUSION is relatively simple. Once a denture or other product has been completely produced using the supplied CAD data, is is removed from its support structures and blasted with aluminum oxide to finish the surfaces. In less than 3 minutes, the finished product is ready to be shipped or veneered and delivered to a patient at their dental office in less than 48 hours.
Currently, the average cost of producing a denture is around 20 euros. When LaserCUSING, that cost drops down to under 10 euros in addition to being faster to deliver and of higher quality.
“Basically, we’re talking at least half the price,” added Carrio.
“As an industrial manufacturing center, we see ourselves as a service provider of choice as well as an extension of the dental laboratory. Laser melting of metals is a logical expression of digitization in production, which allows us to achieve the highest quality standards. Laser melting is the future – there’s no escaping it.”
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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