After introducing the first of their line of Perfactory (a portmanteau of Personal & Factory) 3D printers in 2002, EnvisionTEC has since established over 100 patents in 3D printing and associated technologies. Their expertise in delivering cutting-edge solutions in specific sectors like jewelry, medical, and dental is unique for the depth and length to which they have gone to customize 3D printing for these sectors. They have developed several proprietary materials for specialized applications, three distinct 3D printing platforms (DLP, 3SP, 3D-Biolplotter), and a host of software solutions designed to not just stand alone, but integrate well into existing processes and practices in each industry. For instance, in the hearing aid industry alone, EnvisionTEC has captured more than 60% of the world market.
Their latest announcement is for the release of the new Perfactory Vida 3D printer in their Micro Family line of machines. Targeted at the orthodontic market, the Vida is a professional grade desktop DLP printer focused on providing the most efficient and customized solutions in dental and orthodontics. It has all the advantages of the Micro Family – low cost open architecture, easy maintenance, user-friendly 3D printing, ability to run independent of the preprocessing computer via USB or Ethernet, and high resolution projector delivering a 1920 X 1080 pixel resolution with custom UV optics. It has a build envelope of 140 X 79 X 100mm and weights just 34 kilograms.
The Vida gives dental practitioners the ability to 3D print multiple types of orthodontic models, bite splints and retainers, surgical guides, and partial dentures in dramatically reduced time-frames.
Due to the way it 3D prints in voxels (with a voxel resolution ranging from 25 micron to 150 micron), and not layer by layer, the surfaces of the printed models show no signs of stair-stepping, thus reducing post-processing and improving quality. The Vida can also easily use a variety of different materials, which you can quickly swap in and out with no wastage, each suited for a specific application. The E-Appliance M material can be used for the production of orthodontic appliances using a special salt-and-pepper technique, the E-Denstone Peach M to build highly accurate models for indirect bonding, E-Partial M for wax-like partial dentures that can be cast directly in semi-precious material, E-Guide M for highly accurate and transparent dental surgical drill guides, and E-Guard M for the production of accurate bite splints and night guards.
The Perfactory Vida was introduced at the American Association of Orthodontics 2015 Annual Session at booth #3121, Moscone Center, San Francisco, California. And, soon, we may see it in orthodontic labs around the world.
