Stratasys
Stratasys announced on December 13 a new automated 3D printing colour workflow using 3Shape’s Dental System software and the Stratasys J5 DentaJet 3D printer.
Through the use of an intraoral scanner and 3Shape’s software, dental labs can now capture both colour and geometric information of a patient’s mouth. With a Stratasys printer, users can then import this data and print personalised, full-colour dental models, according to the company.
“In dentistry, detailed attention to aesthetics is critical, but accurately matching tooth colour in particular is tricky and time-consuming,” said Rune Fisker, 3Shape Senior Vice President for Product Strategy. “For the first time, we’re automating that entire workflow for customers using 3Shape and the J5 DentaJet printer. Dental labs will be able to easily harness the full capabilities of the only dental printer able to create highly realistic replicas of the patient’s mouth from a TRIOS scan.”
The J5 DentaJet 3D printer enables dental professionals to scale production, as it is capable of printing large mixed batches of dental parts, such as implant models, surgical guides and gingiva masks, at the same time on the same tray. According to Stratasys, PolyJet technology ensures geometric accuracy and precision.
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According to Stratasys, the new digital workflow offered through 3Shape enables users to fully leverage these combined capabilities. According to 3Shape, its dental system delivers a ‘seamless’ connection between dental practices and labs. The latest software version 2022.1 includes support for the open 3MF file standard capturing both geometry and colour information from the intraoral scans.
“The darker colour of a tooth stump and the translucency of a crown make colour matching with the rest of a patient’s teeth a real challenge,” said Ron Ellenbogen, Stratasys Director of Dental Products. “Adding 3MF support into 3Shape Dental System lets our customer harness the colour capabilities of Stratasys PolyJet 3D printers to easily match a restoration’s true colour. This new turnkey colour workflow is an important step in expanding the colour applications available on the J5 Denta Jet platform.”
3MF is an increasingly popular open-source file format published by the 3MF Consortium, of which Stratasys is a member. Stratasys says that the format improves workflow because it includes all model information in one package, down to a voxel level control of the interior and metadata of the model.
