Singapore-headquartered 3D printer manufacturer Structo has become known for its dental 3D printers, introducing its first, the OrthoForm, two years ago and its second, the DentaForm, a year after that. Both were industrial 3D printers, utilizing Structo’s proprietary Liquid Crystal Dynamic Mask Stereolithography (MSLA) technology, but this week the company has unveiled something different – a desktop dental 3D printer with novel capabilities.
The Structo Velox is something new – a desktop dental 3D printer with fully autonomous post-processing features. While automated post-processing capabilities do exist in the dental 3D printing world already, they’re typically larger sized machines available to large dental labs, with a commensurate price tag.
“While we do provide custom automated manufacturing solutions to labs that operate at this scale, we saw a clear need to develop a solution that brings that level of automation into dental practices,” said Huub van Esbroeck, Founder at Structo.
Velox’s patented fully automated post-processing system includes three stages: Print, Wash and Cure, on a rotating turntable that allows for multiple functionalities in a small package. It also features a pre-processing service called AutoPrint, a cloud service that allows users to upload an STL file, after which the nesting, support generation and slicing are taken care of. The 3D printer starts at that point without need for any user intervention.
“This revolutionary new 3D printer will allow dental professionals to seamlessly go from intra oral scan to final printed part, making this a true industry game changer,” said Dhruv Sahgal, Head of Business Development at Structo.
Materials management is made easy as well through a single-use cartridge-based materials system that holds up to three different materials at once. The Velox has a wide range of materials available, allowing it to be used for a wide range of functions including models and surgical guides, denture bases, and temporaries. It is suitable for almost all dental applications, including orthodontics and prosthetics as well as temporary restorations and fully guided implant cases.
Specifications include:
- Dimensions: 374 x 396 x 582 mm
- Build volume: 75 x 45 x 75 mm
- Print Accuracy: 50 micrometers
- Z layer thickness: 25-100 micrometers
3D printing is becoming more widely used in the dental industry, but less so in practices than in large labs. There’s a lot about it that is still inconvenient for smaller facilities – the multiple pre- and post-processing steps are complicated and time-consuming for many clinicians to handle, and post-curing devices take up a lot of space and are time-consuming to run. Velox combines all necessary steps for the entire 3D printing process into one small machine that can be operated at the push of a button, requiring no special knowledge or skill from clinicians.
The Structo Velox 3D printer will be introduced to the public this week at the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting, which is taking place February 22-24 in Chicago. Structo is currently also looking for distribution partners in the United States. If you’re interested, you can email sales@structo3d.com.
You can learn more about the Structo Velox 3D printer or sign up to be a beta tester here.
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