Formlabs, the Massachusetts 3D printing company, has announced two new resin products to advance the use of 3D printing in the dental industry. Furthermore, the SLA 3D printer manufacturer has announced a new partnership with 3D scanning and software company 3Shape.
Through these two announcements, Formlabs will expand the use of 3D printing in the dental industry. The materials are to be used with their Form 2 SLA printer. The new resins will be showcased for the first time at the International Dental Show (IDS) in Cologne next week.
The two materials are ‘Dental Model’ and ‘Dental LT Clear’. The Dental Model is a gypsum colored resin which is intended for creating bridges and crowns by dental laboratories. The resin can produce 3D models with removable dies to allow dental technicians to work on individual teeth.
These new materials come after Formlabs released the Dental SG resin last year for surgical planning, which is now optimized by 3Shape software.
The company recently announced that Zahn Dental, of Henry Schein, will begin selling Formlabs’ SLA printers. Zahn Dental is the largest U.S distributor to dental laboratories.
The Dental LT Clear is a biocompatible resin which can be used to 3D print orthodontic retainers or splints. With the ability to rapidly produce custom models, 3D printing has obvious application in dentistry and Formlabs see the industry as a particular area of interest. As Max Lobovsky, co-founder and CEO of Formlabs explains,
Sales in dental 3D printing have been one of our fastest growing areas, and Formlabs products are increasingly the go-to 3D printing technologies for dental professionals.
However, there are other companies making similar movements into this area. Fellow U.S company, 3D Systems recently acquired their own dental company in Vertex-Global Holding B.V. The company explaining the deal will, “provide a strategic foothold in the multi-billion dollar digital dentistry opportunity.”
While on the other side, dental company Straumann is looking for a 3D printing partner.
3Shape partnership
Formlabs has partnered with 3Shape in order to integrate their 3D printing offerings with digital solutions. By this, the company aim to simplify the dental 3D printing process. The partnership will also further enhance use of the Dental SG resin to 3D print surgical guides by using a specific 3Shape surgical software.
Gideon Balloch, Dental Product Manager at Formlabs, explains
The integration between the Form 2 and industry leading products from 3Shape enables dental CAD/CAM workflows so streamlined that even chairside 3D printing becomes possible,
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Featured image shows the Formlabs Dental SG used in surgery. Photo via Formlabs.
