For Dental CAD/CAM Workflows, Here's Why the Envision One cDLM Reigns Supreme.

Today, there are numerous 3D printing options with advertised prices under $10k in the dental market. These may seem like a good option, especially as entry models, for a low-cost investment into 3D printing for your office, but is that truly the case when your professional reputation is associated with the quality of appliances your office is producing? Besides, cost is only one factor. Build accuracy, speed, capacity, printer durability / reliability, as well as variety and quality of available materials are additional factors that should be considered by any office looking to incorporate a 3D printer into their digital workflow. 

In order of importance, here are some of the critical areas where these low cost machines fall short:

• Geometry limitation: the ability to build big, flat surfaces without failures due to peeling forces
• The ability to build in minutes not hours, especially chair-side, in under 15 minutes
• The ability to print accurate parts, especially parts with removable dies and dentures with teeth
• Reliability and consistency over time

At a price of under $20k (as of Feb 2020), the EnvisionOne is one of the most advanced 3D printers on the market with a model specifically designed for dental applications, and several benefits in all aforementioned areas vs. dental SLA/DLP printers.

 

Before we breakdown the specific advantages the Envision One cDLM printer boasts over its competitors, it is important to discuss the key technology that gives Envision One its competitive edge: cDLM (Continuous Digital Light Manufacturing). This technology is exclusively available from EnvisionTEC and introduces many advantages to 3D printing:

• cDLM is the only 3D printer systems that deploys two linear slides on each Z-axis to eliminate
  any rocking of the platform from side to side. That rocking translates to bad layering effects in
  the Z direction.
• The accuracy in Z is ONE micron
• The Z assembly is machined to high precision with closed feedback rather than the standard
  casted ball screw.
• The cDLM uses a 385nm, LED-based engine with UV glass optics instead of plastic optics. This
  reduces inaccuracies associated with aging (yellowing) of the plastic optics over time.
• The basement deployed in cDLM technology eliminates the issues associated with inaccuracies
  from center to edges (Carbon has an error rate in Z of 0.4 mm). EnvisionTEC delivers a
  domeless basement with an average life of 300 jobs.
• The machine automatically self-calibrates the light so the operator doesn’t need to calibrate.
• Remote diagnostics to the machine help to predict any potential failure before it happens.

DLP (Digital Light Processing) and SLA (Stereolithography) 3D printers struggle to build objects with big, flat surfaces due to separation forces. To combat this, manufacturers of these printers recommend hollowing the components in CAD software and angling them on the build platform to reduce surface area and the effect of separation forces that lead to parts collapsing and falling into the resin tank. There are a couple of issues with this solution:

• By angling parts, the accuracy is no longer acceptable 
• By angling parts, build time increases due to an increase in the number of layers

EnvisionTEC's EnvisionOne handles this challenge a bit differently:

• By using cDLM technology, solid parts can be built because the technology eliminates any
  separation forces
• You can also have a large build envelope and build multiple parts horizontally with flat surfaces
  at 4x faster than standard DLP printers and 10x faster than desktop SLA systems
• The largest upside-down cDLM technology build platform at the fastest speed available in the
  industry at a very affordable price

EnvisionOne makes 3D Printing a truly one-visit, chair side solution for the first time ever. Let's see how it compares in speed to a couple of other well known 3D printing options:

Average time to build 6 orthodontic models

• Envision One cDLM – 15 minutes
• Average DLP – 1 hour
• Average SLA (Formlabs) – 5 hours

​When 3D printing everything flat, cDLM technology allows you to service a customer in under 15 minutes.

Because cDLM technology allows for building big, flat surfaces with zero separation forces, the accuracy is much better than any other system on the market today, allowing for:

• Better fitting models with removable dies
• Better fitting teeth in dentures
• More accurate drill holes on drill guides

What causes this? Unlike many low cost systems in the field, EnvisionTEC uses the 385nm wavelength for our industrial projectors. This delivers very high accuracy when compared to low cost lasers and projectors running 405nm LED light sources.

 

Thanks for reading! For more information on the EnvisionOne cDLM printer or other aspects of dental imaging and CAD/CAM technology for your office, request a free consultation with our team today.