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Canfield Firm Sells 3-D Printers to Dental Suppliers
CANFIELD, Ohio -- Additive manufacturing might seem as if it’s getting everywhere. Now it’s even in people’s teeth.
3-D printers such as the 3Z Lab wax printer made by Solidscape Inc., a New Hampshire manufacturer of high-precision units, are being used in dental labs to make wax-ups for casting and pressing to produce crowns, bridges and copings.
The 3Z Lab is “a wonderful technology enhancement” for the dental laboratory that’s making crowns and bridges, says Kathryn Scheel, president of Silcox Dental Supply, Canfield. “It’s a real time-saver. It saves the manual waxing process that’s been in place for over a hundred years.”
A lab technician would dip wax from a pot and place it onto a die to build a crown, Scheel explains, a process the 3Z completely replaces.
“The technician would design the crown in a piece of software and that is transferred to the printer, and the printer prints the wax,” she says. “It saves time and the technician is able to design using whatever occlusal scheme he wants.”
Scheel purchased Silcox, in business more than 30 years, in early 2008, “right at the beginning of the [Great] Recession – great time to buy a company,” she remarks.
After that initial year, she reports, her company has grown each year since, double-digit growth in some years, she says.
Russell Binder, owner of Russell Binder Dental Labs in Anaheim, Calif., who uses an older-generation Solidscape printer, praises the technology.
The speed of his printer “works fine for a smaller lab” like his and the printing offers greater detail than using traditional milling equipment, which also takes more work and requires greater maintenance. “When the printing came along it was attractive,” he says.
The same technology has been widely used in the jewelry market for several years, Scheel says. “It’s been widely accepted by jewelers who do detailed work. However, the dental side has only been using printing technology for about the last five years,” she says.
“We worked with dental lab owners on developing the 3Z Lab printer. It’s designed to help lab owners hold down rising costs while remaining competitive against offshore pricing,” says Fabio Esposito, Solidscape president.
The printer “offers an effortless, affordable digital workflow that delivers high casting yields, consistent turnarounds and low cost-per-parts economy,” he adds. “Now lab owners have a clear choice that matches their performance needs with an affordable solution.”
Silcox has represented Solidscape for the printer since April 1, Scheel reports. The company’s territory covers the Midwest region from Missouri to central western Pennsylvania and from Michigan to Virginia.
At $26,000 per unit, the target market for the 3Z Lab printer is dental labs that produce bridges and crowns.
“These can be from a one-person lab to a corporate lab. Any size would work,” Scheel says.
There are about 20 dental labs in Mahoning County and another 10 in Trumbull County.
Some larger dental practices might also use the technology. “One lab would need about 20 dentists to support it,” she says.
So far most representatives of labs to whom Scheel has introduced the printer are curious, she says. “They are just entering the digital age in terms of manufacturing,” she says.
“They may be scanning models and sending those models to somebody else to be produced, but this wax printer allows them to do manufacturing within their own facility rather than shipping outside.”
Editor's Note: This story was first published in the MidApril edition of The Business Journal.
To view a video verison of this story, CLICK HERE to watch Wednesday's DailyBUZZ.
Copyright 2014 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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