Stratasys_objet_260_dental_3D_printerStratasys, Minneapolis, recently unveiled a number of 3D printing innovations aimed at expanding the range of dental laboratories.

The company announced the release of the Stratasys Objet260 Dental 3D Printer, which uses award-winning PolyJet triple-jetting technology. The printer provides 3D printing using three different materials on a single tray, allowing for the versatility needed to build surgical guides, models, and appliances. When the printer is operated using the single-material mode, operators can improve production efficiency with shorter change-over and reduced material waste.

The printer is ideal for mid-sized labs, and can be upgraded to “Dental Selection,” which, as the company says, allows users to broaden “adoption of next-generation digitally mixed materials.”

Stratasys also unveiled its first flexible biocompatible material, MEDFLX625, which allows dental and orthodontic laboratories with PolyJet multi-material 3D printers to custom mix both flexible and rigid biocompatible materials for short-term patient contact direct print applications, such as indirect bonding trays. In addition, MEDFLX625 can be used by laboratories to 3D print both surgical guides and soft-tissue implant models during a single print run.

The company is also rolling out its new Pop-Out Part (PoP) technology that is designed to provide simplified and efficient workflows of dental part support removal, specifically for clear aligner arches. PoP, which was demonstrated at the LMT Lab Day 2018, held in Chicago, speeds manual peel-off support removal of up to 500 parts per hour, per operator. The solution is designed to ease use of additive manufacturing for high-volume 3D printing applications, allowing users to clean thousands of arches with minimal investment in equipment or labor, according to the company.