Insiders and analysts have made their predictions on the 3D printing trends to watch out for. Find out more in our series focused on the future of 3D printing.
Industrial 3D printer manufacturer Desktop Metal’s healthcare business unit Desktop Health has announced the launch of its first proprietary Digital Light Processing (DLP)-powered machine.
Available in entry-level, ‘Pro’ and ‘Pro XL’ iterations, Desktop Health’s ‘Einstein‘ 3D printer features the same DLP architecture as the systems of fellow Desktop Metal firm EnvisionTEC, but its performance is also boosted by a new technology called ‘HyperPrint,’ that effectively provides it with a build speed boost of up to 50%.
Alongside Einstein, the firm has released another FDA-cleared resin too, in the shape of Flexcera Smile Ultra+, which it claims is “one of the strongest ever to receive clearance for permanent use.” When deployed together, these products are designed to enable dentists to more rapidly 3D print realistic, patient-specific prosthetics, ranging from crowns, veneers and bridges, to inlays and onlays.
“Combining advanced resin science with 3D printing technology delivers superior strength, aesthetics and durability,” said Michael Jafar, CEO of Desktop Health. “Beautiful, functional, same-day dental prosthetics with ceramic-like strength are now possible – with the added bonus of cutting patient waiting times from weeks to mere hours.”
“The Einstein 3D printer, coupled with our next-generation Flexcera Smile Ultra+ resin, is a major breakthrough for the dental community.”
Desktop Metal’s clinical business unit
Since its foundation less than a year ago, in March 2021, Desktop Health has rapidly expanded its activities, with the aim of establishing a portfolio of 3D printing technologies that “drive the advancement of personal healthcare.”
Desktop Health has already built up a strong 3D bioprinting offering, first by inheriting EnvisionTEC’s Bioplotter platform following its $300 million acquisition by Desktop Metal, then by buying the rights to ‘PhonoGraft,’ a technology that with further R&D, could be used to regenerate the human eardrum, as well as cardiovascular and neuronal tissues.
Through the Shop System of its parent firm, Desktop Health has also begun offering chrome cobalt binder jetting to dental clientele, enabling them to produce custom bridges, crowns, partial dentures and guides without having to engage in CNC machining, at a throughput of 32 partial dentures per four-hour production cycle.
Similarly, the business’ ability to address the lucrative dental 3D printing market has been boosted by Desktop Metal’s purchase of EnvisionTEC as well. Based around its patented Continuous Digital Light Manufacturing (CDLM) process, EnvisionTEC’s systems have already gained a strong orthodontic foothold, thus with its Einstein launch, Desktop Health now appears to be putting this know-how to good use.
Desktop Health’s Einstein Series
Designed to address the varying accuracy, speed and versatility needs of dental 3D printing users, ranging from those of clinicians to lab scientists, the Einstein is available in three configurations. The first of these, effectively an