Valplast International Corporation announced at IDS 2015 in Cologne, Germany, the prototype of its 3D Printable Valplast® Resin. This major advancement in additive manufacturing reortedly represents the very first Class IIA (European Union) and Class II (USA) Denture Base Resin that will yield a permanent restoration directly from 3D printing.
"Over the past five years, Valplast has made a considerable investment in developing digital design and three dimensional printing techniques for the fabrication of removable dental appliances. We are extremely excited about now being able to print our classic Valplast® Flexible Dental Resin, combining the world's most popular flexible denture material with the most modern manufacturing techniques in the industry,” said Justin S. Marks, CDT.
This new breakthrough is said to represent a major upgrade over the current "Precise-Fit" technique that uses digital design and 3D printing of prototype dentures, which are used to replace the waxing, blockout and duplication stages prior to the traditional Valplast injection molding process.
The production models of associated equipment are in design and testing and will be rolled out to the industry together with new techniques allowing flexible methods of fabrication and tooth placement.
Some of the early prototypes of 3D printed Valplast dentures are on display during IDS at the Valplast Stand (L058) in Hall 10.2.