When Italian biomedical services company 3Diemme went searching for a more accurate method to fabricate surgical guides, they got improved reliability, quality, and safety as well.
Founded in 2006 and based in Figino Serenza, Italy, 3Diemme supports doctors and dental technicians around the world in clinical case management using digital and minimally invasive technologies.
Engineers at 3Diemme, an Italian biomedical services and consulting company serving dentists and maxillofacial surgeons around the world, were among the earliest adopters of additive manufacturing technology.
“For us, 3D printing has always been one of the keys to our success because it allows us to transform everything we do in the virtual environment into the real world. This allows our customers have reliable and repeatable devices over time and to achieve excellent results,” says 3Diemme CEO Alessandro Motroni.
Starting with its proprietary RealGUIDE Software, 3Diemme creates a virtual model of a patient’s anatomy from digital images or from STL files from intraoral or desktop scanners, then proceeds with the surgical guide design based on the implant planning performed by the dentist. The process is completed by printing an anatomically accurate physical 3D model and surgical guide.
When the 3Diemme team realized that their increasingly efficient digital workflow was being hindered by the 3D printing technology they were using to produce surgical guides, they went searching for a new solution. Their technicians were spending a great deal of time generating support structures for each surgical guide and manually nesting them on the print plate to achieve the accuracy required by their customers. In addition to the time-consuming pre-processing stage, removing the support bars during post processing often resulted in damage to the guide itself.
3Diemme prides itself on quickly delivering high quality, accurate surgical guides, models, gingiva masks and more to their global customer base. Therefore, the company needed a 3D printing solution that would enable them to address the limitations of their existing technology while ensuring precision, accuracy, speed, and reliability.
Enter the J5 DentaJet 3D printing solution, powered by Stratasys PolyJet technology.
By adding the J5 DentaJet to their production center, 3Diemme found a multi-material additive manufacturing production process managed by an advanced software platform. PolyJet jetting technology generates a gel-like support structure that fully encapsulate each part and is cured during the printing process. The support scaffolding is easily removed with a waterjet without damaging the surface of the finished piece – and without any further post processing.
“Thanks to J5 DentaJet printers from Stratasys, we can produce different devices using different materials at the same time. This includes biocompatible surgical guides, dental models, prosthetic models, and flexible gingiva masks for anatomical models all produced on the same print plate,” explains Luca Scotti, Associate Manager at 3Diemme. This multimaterial capability also meant that there was no longer any need to change materials between runs or replace printing trays throughout the week.
Furthermore, Stratasys’ GrabCAD software offers automatic nesting and support generation, as well as other features such as fleet management and remote printing. This solution allowed 3Diemme to go from producing 8 surgical guides per day to nearly 50 per day, while ensuring complete accuracy and repeatability, without increasing their staffing levels.
The J5 DentaJet ensures seamless production of accurate surgical guides, even complex ones. “This technology is very reliable, especially for making models with holes for implant analogs and surgical guides with sleeve holes, where we have to be sure that the dimensions of the holes are reproducible over time and absolutely accurate with respect to the source files,” explains Motroni.
Because of the volume 3Diemme produces on a daily basis, as well as the logistics involved in serving global customer base, any production bottlenecks can quickly become a big issue. In addition, many of their international customers rely on external partners for implementation, so speed of delivery and reliability are both extremely important.
The team at 3Diemme points out that with Stratasys technology they achieve high fidelity between design and print, even for complex geometries, in a simpler digital workflow. Without the need to manually generate support structures, both printing and post-processing are fast, and the accuracy of all the outer surfaces of the applications is certain, every time.
“We have one goal in mind, to guarantee our customers a quality product in less time, while guaranteeing a quality surface finish that is repeatable,” says Scotti.
As implantology, dentistry and restorative surgery techniques continue to advance and pose increasingly complex challenges, the supporting digital workflows continue to be an even more fundamental part of the clinical process. By harnessing 3D printing technology, dental and maxillofacial surgeons can achieve results that have an immensely positive impact on patients' quality of life. Tools such as Stratasys' DentaJet 3D printers, which combine exceptional precision with multi-material printing capabilities, are already becoming an indispensable aid to surgery at all stages.
The future for 3Diemme includes a continued focus on software development and the introduction of new technologies, including those that leverage AI, which will enable them and their customers to work faster and prepare prosthetic and surgical models even more reliably than ever before. Stratasys, its PolyJet technology, and DentaJet 3D printers will no doubt continue to be a big part of that future.
