EOS, the technology and market leader for design-driven, integrated solutions for additive manufacturing (AM), is exhibiting at 35th International Dental Show (IDS), the world’s leading fair for the dental industry. During March 12 to 16 EOS is showcasing in Cologne in Hall 4.1/booth FO50 its digital technology, which already has become established in several fields of dentistry. Martin Bullemer, Business Development Manager Medical at EOS, adds: “With the EOS technology we can serve metal as well as plastic dental applications. The EOS process chain offers great flexibility since it has open system interfaces. The user can select the module of his or her choice and exchange data with this.”
The EOS systems work with STL (Surface Tessellation Language) data which is a standard file format for 3D data. The dental technician can use a wide variety of computer-assisted design programs. The digital CAD/CAM process can be adapted to the economic, indication-specific and dental technology requirements of practices or laboratories.
A certified metal process: EOSINT M 270 for two dental applications
The system is established on the market and manufactures crowns and bridges as well as RPDs via Direct Metal Laser-Sintering (DMLS). Thanks to the controlled material fusion with the fibre laser, the dental prosthesis is homogenous, of a consistent high quality and of a higher quality than cast parts. The materials that can be processed on this system are EOS CobaltChrome SP2 and EOS CobaltChrome RPD which leads to two optimised dental manufacturing processes that can be run on just one system. Data processing is carried out with the customised software functions of the new CAMbridge 2012 RPD module from 3Shape.
The special cobalt-chrome-molybdenum-based super-alloy EOS CobaltChrome SP2 is used to manufacture crowns and bridges. It is certified for use in the dental industry (CE 0537) and very inexpensive compared to precious metal alloys. The cobalt-chrome-molybdenum-based super-alloy EOS CobaltChrome RPD is used for the manufacture of removable dental prostheses, so-called removable partial dentals (RPD).
The material is free from nickel, beryllium and cadmium and its mechanical properties satisfy the requirements of the standard EN ISO 22674:2006 Type 5.
FORMIGA P 110: economic production of dental models
The system produces a number of different dental models in only a few hours with an overall building volume of 200 mm x 250 mm x 330 mm and in several consecutive layers. At relatively low investment costs, the system can be ideally integrated into the workflows of a dental laboratory. The productivity of the system is high and has a positive effect on the costs per part. The quality of the final products is reliably high.
The pigment-filled polyamide-12-powder PA 2105 can be processed on this system. It is a familiar plastic material for the manufacturing of dental models and has a colour similar to that of plaster. The familiar colour contrast to a dental restoration and the high mechanical and thermal resistance permit an optimum check of the fit as well as veneering of the dental prosthesis.
Established production technology for a number of dental applications
Laser sintering is an additive manufacturing (AM) process to build up parts layer by layer and differs greatly from conventional manufacturing techniques. It uses 3D data on the oral situation of the patient as a basis for the building process. This is generated using intraoral scanners or by impression or model scans. The data set is processed directly with no loss of accuracy, such as is experienced with conventional impression methods, to produce the dental prosthesis or model and then ‘sliced’ into layers. The laser-sintering system generates the desired geometry layer by layer based on layers of metal or plastic powders. A focussed laser beam then fuses the powder material on the basis of the digital data provided. Once one layer has been completed, the powder bed is lowered by a few hundredths of a millimetre and the process begins again.
The final product is characterised by a consistently high quality. It meets the needs of precision and aesthetics and satisfies budgetary requirements. In a software-supported manner, the manufacturing process and respective parameters are being documented and part production is monitored. The dental technician can concentrate on the key process stages of value creation such as the aesthetic and functional ceramic veneer. For this, he can rely on an exact margin fit and finishing of the dental prostheses, at the same time being flexible in choice of the veneering ceramic.
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