The Accuracy of 3D Printing Technology: A Comparison of Additive Manufacturing Processes

Abstract

Introduction- Digital technology has been transforming the field of dentistry since the early 1970's. Computer Aided Design/ Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) has vastly improved since that time, and can often allow a completely digital workflow in the treatment of dental patients. Three- dimensional (3D) printing is an additive manufacturing technology that minimizes the amount of material waste and improves the ability to better capture the internal anatomy of an object when compared to subtractive manufacturing (milling). As 3D printing technology improves and becomes more cost effective, it will become more prevalent in the field of dentistry. Objective- To compare the accuracy and precision of full arch dental models fabricated by different 3D printers. Materials and Methods- A dental model was scanned using a laboratory scanner to produce an STL file. This STL file was then utilized to produce 10 models on the 3Dent EnvisionTEC, Bego Varseo and Projet 5000 printers for a total of 30 models. Each of the 30 models were then scanned to produce individual STL files to compare back to the original master STL using 3matic software. An average overall mean and standard deviation was collected for each of the 30 comparisons. An average overall mean and standard deviation was collected for each of the 30 comparisons. Results- 3Dent produced a mean difference of 79.8 micrometers+/- a standard deviation of 13.0, Bego produced an absolute mean difference of 65.5 micrometers with a standard deviation of+/- 7.8, and Projet 5000 produced an absolute mean difference of 75.5 micrometers with a standard deviation of+/- 23.2. A One-way ANOVA revealed a P value equal to 0.146, therefore no statistically significant difference was found between the three printers. Conclusion- The Bego Varseo produced a lower overall mean than the other two printers, however the difference was not clinically significant.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 2018
Accession Number
AD1128502

Entities

People

  • Ezra I. Merritt

Organizations

  • Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Additive Manufacturing
  • Assembly
  • Computer-Aided Design
  • Electron Beam Melting
  • Fabrication
  • Fused Deposition Modeling
  • Lasers
  • Lithography
  • Manufacturing
  • Manufacturing Engineering
  • Materials
  • Measurement
  • Printing
  • Prostheses And Implants
  • Prosthetics
  • Selective Laser Sintering
  • Stereolithography
  • Subtractive Fabrication
  • Teeth
  • Three Dimensional

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Manufacturing Engineering.