Materialise and Structo have announced that they are releasing Structo Printworks Pro, aimed at the digital dentistry market. The software builds upon Materialise’s existing Magics Print software, which allows a user to prepare and build process digital files for 3D printing. The new software is optimised for 3D printing on Liquid Crystal Dynamic Mask Stereolithography (MSLA) printers.
Structo’s MSLA technology
The MSLA technology pioneered by Singapore-based Structo is a form of stereolithographic (SLA) printing, inspired in part by the processes used in integrated circuit manufacturing.
A light source of the appropriate wavelength emits uniform and collimated light toward the liquid crystal film mask layer. This layer controls which parts of the resin in the printer is exposed to light. The resin along the exposed section of the XY axis is cured. This process can, on average, print complex models more quickly than standard laser Stereolithography.
Improving 3D printing workflow
The Structo Printworks Pro software has features from previous software packages “Structo Build Processor” and Structo’s PrintWorks, both of which were the result of a collaboration with Materialise. The Printworks Pro software will aim to streamline the process from the raw input data obtained from dental scanners, to make it suitable for printing. It will achieve this by improving slicing speed and accuracy, reducing the build failure risk semi-automatic support generation, reducing support removal time and having material specific print profiles.
Stefaan Motte, vice president of Materialise Software, explained that “by streamlining the 3D printing workflow for dental professionals with a customized version of Materialise Magics Print, the learning curve for adoption of the technology is reduced, making digital dentistry more accessible to a wider audience.”
Structo founder Huub van Esbroek echoed this, stating that the company’s aim was “to provide an integrated workflow to simplify the adoption of digital dentistry in the industry. “By further strengthening our partnership with Materialise with the launch of PrintWorks Pro, we are confident that we can provide a seamless customer experience from file preparation to printing on our systems,” he added.
Structo worldwide
In the past year, Structo has announced distribution partnerships with 4Qube Solutions and Dental Axess, extending its influence to United States and Australia.
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Featured image shows the Structo Printworks Interface. Photo via Structo.
