3D Printing 20 Ortho Models in 30 Minutes
Key Dental Delivers More than 2,100 Orthodontic Models per Month with NXD 200
Key Dental Technologies is a full digital laboratory supplying orthodontic clear aligners to MyOrthodontist, the largest network of family orthodontic practices in North Carolina with 13 brick and mortar locations and a mobile clear aligner van. KDT also supplies orthodontic clear aligners to numerous general dentists throughout North Carolina.
In addition to offering a full range of braces and retainers to adults and teens alike, MyOrthodontist offers clear aligners, most notably the FDA approved and patent pending clear aligner system, MyClearALIGN!, that was made possible by the NXD 200.
Customer
Key Dental Technologies LLC
Industry
Dental
Products
NXD 200
Application
Orthodontic Aligner Production
Advantages
- Producing 20 models every 30 minutes
- Extreme accuracy and fine feature detail
- Large build plate enables high throughput
- Edge-to-edge uniformity and accuracy
Challenge
“We receive patient scans from our client offices so we can design an optimal treatment plan for them” explains Cristina Montiel, laboratory technician at Key Dental. “I need to print 20 models per patient” she said, noting that as the business continues to grow quickly, there can be tremendous demands on the practice’s various 3D printers. Speed, throughput and precision are vital.
Previous 3D printing solutions, like ETEC (Formerly EnvisionTEC) and Formlabs, offered the accuracy and definition needed for aligner models but lacked the speed and capability of high volume capacity that Key Dental Technologies needed in order to achieve higher throughput critical to their aligner manufacturing.
Solution
Key Dental Technologies uses the xModel 2505 resin from BASF for its dental model material and leverages Nexa3D’s Lubricant Sublayer Photo-curing (LSPc®) photopolymer printing technology on a Nexa3D NXD 200 dental 3D printer.
“For me,” says Montiel, “the NXD 200 has higher definition and is faster [than the other 3D printers we have]. So, that’s the only printer we use to manufacture aligners because we need them to be as perfect as possible. Accuracy on 3D printed models is key for proper aligner fitting on the patient.” Key Dental has four different brands of 3D printers in its lab, but Montiel says, “It can be faster for me to send everything to the NXD 200, even if I have to wait in a queue [for the machine to be available],” thanks to its ultrafast print speeds.
“I will always choose the NXD 200 because of the high definition, plus it’s faster, has a greater capacity, and it’s cost effective.”
Cristina Montiel, Laboratory Technician at Key Dental
Montiel is able to reduce her print time from hours to minutes, regularly running up to 12 print jobs per day and producing over 120 models in an eight-hour shift. This increase in speed and throughput has been critical to meeting the rapidly growing demand for MyClearALIGN!. Key Dental Technologies is able to maximize its output with the NXD 200, delivering more than 2,100 orthodontic models each month from one printer.
The NXD 200 also offers “an incredible level of detail compared to other printers” she said. “I will always choose the NXD 200 because of the high definition, plus it’s faster, has a greater capacity, and it’s cost effective.”
To achieve desired patient outcomes it is necessary to have a reliable and highly-accurate 3D printed model source such as NXD 200. Dr. Larry Moray, President and Founder of MyOrthodontist (https://MyOrthodontistUS.com) adds; “We exclusively utilize KDT’s Clear ALigner product MyClearALIGN! (https://my-clear.com/) for all of our clear aligner cases and have found this product to be excellent in achieving our goals and love the personal and professional touch and quick turn around that KDT is able to offer in great part as a result of their NEXA NXD 200 3D printer!”
