New TruPrint 1000 3D Printer Small is Size, But Designed for Big Capabilities

TRUMPF’s new TruPrint 1000 3D printer features a compact design well suited for dental labs, and is also described as a fast machine capable of high quality dental prosthesis production.

Especially in the preform version, the TruPrint 1000 is said to be far superior to the production of metallic dentures using conventional methods. A preform is a standardized, conventionally manufactured substructure onto which the 3D printer prints an individual mold made of a chrome-cobalt alloy or titanium. This creates abutments, for example, which later support the dental crowns.

The 3D printer was showcased recently at the IDS in Cologne, Germany. 

"This 3D printer is the fastest machine on the dental market,” says TRUMPF’s Reinhard Sroka. “In the dual-laser version, the machine is about eight times faster than conventional processes such as milling."

3D printing is becoming the ideal manufacturing method for the dental industry, as dental prostheses are always custom-made. At the same time, companies must produce large quantities of them, so “this is where our 3D printers come into their own," adds Sroka.

Mass Production Capabilities

At just around 80 centimeters wide, the machine takes up very little space, making it easy to deliver and set up through the door. Users can also have several units producing side by side in parallel in small laboratories and speed up their production even further. The construction plates on which the dental prosthesis is created change automatically up to 4 times. This makes it possible to produce metal dentures overnight.

TRUMPF also offers a 3D printer one size larger— the TruPrint 2000, which is designed for the mass production of so-called RPDs ("removable partial dentures"). With an optimized process, the TruPrint 2000 can print up to 100 RPDs in 24 hours. This high speed lowers manufacturing costs.