Desktop Health Flexcera Smile and Flexcera Smile Ultra+
Overview
Flexcera™ Smile and Flexcera™ Smile Ultra+ are now available for Carbon M- Series printers to produce artificial teeth for dental prostheses, which are one of the main components in the fabrication of removable permanent full dentures.
This guide will cover the orientation and supporting of the digital models for the applications listed above
This resin is not currently compatible with the AO Polishing Cassette.
Resource Links
Flexcera Smile
Flexcera Smile Ultra+
Protocol
This downloadable handout provides important usage information, including instructions about storage and post-processing. Print it out and bring it into the lab!
This protocol sheet applies to both Flexcera Smile and Flexcera Smile Ultra+.
Dental Post-Processing Grids
One of our most popular downloads! This table provides washing and curing instructions for all supported dental resins.
Print it and use it in the lab as a quick reference.
German/Deutsch
Spanish/Español
Flexcera Smile Application
Flexcera™ Smile may only be used for the production of artificial teeth for dental protheses, which are one of the main components in the fabrication of removable permanent full dentures. Any deviation from the Instructions for Use can negatively affect the chemical and physical properties of the finished product. Consequently, the biocompatibility of the full denture cannot be guaranteed.
Flexcera™ Smile may not be used for the production of e.g. crowns, bridges, veneers, cover dentures, implant retained full or partial dentures or any other application which deviates from the indication.
For design recommendations, see manufacturer instructions for use here.
Resin Shades Available
Carbon has validated four shades of Flexcera Smile/Flexcera Smile Ultra+ resins: Bleach, A1, A2 and B1. There are two options in the printer UI resin menu:
- Flexcera Smile/Flexcera Smile Ultra+ Bleach for use with the Bleach shade.
- Flexcera Smile/Flexcera Smile Ultra+ A1, A2, B1 for use with A1, A2 or B1 shades.
Resin Shade | Resin menu option |
|---|---|
Bleach | Flexcera Smile/Ultra+ Bleach |
A1, A2, or B1 | Flexcera Smile/Ultra+ A1, A2, B1 |
Preparation Tips
Resin menu options
Carbon offers two resin options in the printer UI for use with Flexcera Smile and Flexcera Smile Ultra+.
- Flexcera Smile/Ultra+ Bleach for use with Bleach shade.
- Flexcera Smile/Ultra+ A1, A2, B1 for use with A1, A2 or B1 shades.
Prepare Resin Before Printing
Before using the material for the first time or after prolonged storage, shake the material bottle vigorously for approximately 5 minutes.
Vigorous shaking may cause air bubbles to form. Allow the material to rest in the bottle for an additional 5 minutes to allow any air bubbles to rise and dissipate before use.
General Orientation & Support Information
Hide the Platform
Use Toggle platform (or press B) to hide the platform before orienting parts. This will make it easier to see overhangs and place supports.
Patch tool
- The Patch tool speeds up support creation by automatically supporting an area with just a few clicks. It is useful for supporting larger areas of overhang that would take longer to support manually.
- It is often useful to support your parts with this tool before manually adding supports.
Patch Workflow
- Select the part to be supported.
- Orient the camera so that the overhangs are clearly visible.
- Check that Patch is selected.
- Click on each large overhang to select it. A green patch will appear over each overhang. Repeat until all the large overhangs are selected.
- Under Support Attributes → Primary Support Type, select Fence.
- The other Support Attributes should remain their default values.
- Click Generate All to create the support fences.
Fence tool
- Fence supports are manually placed by the user and are best suited on linear overhangs or smaller areas.
- Fences provide stability while leaving smaller nubs than the default Bars option.
Continued from Patch workflow above. So be sure the part is selected and overhangs are clearly visible.
Fence Workflow
- Select Fence tool.
- Click a series of points in an area of overhang to define the fence.
- Target long, narrow overhangs and small overhangs.
- Click ESC key to finish adding points to a polyline.
- Hold down E key to reposition points.
- Click off of the part and drag a box to select points. Press Backspace to delete.
- Click a polyline to select for editing.
- Support Attributes should remain their default values.
- Click Generate All to create the support fences.
- Repeat steps 1 - 5 as needed.
- Alternately, you can add multiple polylines as needed and then click Generate All to create multiple fences at once.
Review Supports in Printer UI course for more information.
Occlusal surfaces towards platform
- Digital models should be oriented with the occlusal surfaces facing the platform.
- Does not apply to try-ins or full-arch denture teeth.
- Necessary to maintain accuracy.
- Ensures supports are on the occlusal surfaces enabling greater accuracy for mating surfac
No overhangs on interface
Orient parts so that interfaces and margins are free from overhangs so that no supports are required there. Supports leave nubs which require more finishing and can affect fit with mating parts or teeth.
Introduction
Crowns, veneers and bridges have similar requirements.
- No overhangs on margins.
- No overhangs on interface surfaces.
- Minimum overhangs on buccal/lingual surfaces.
Orientation
1. Click on Orient or Shift + O in the top bar in the printer interface.
2. In the lower right corner of the bottom bar, turn on Overhang Detection or V key and set to 40 degrees. Areas that need support will appear red.
3. Orient each part so that the margin and interface are free of overhangs.
4. Refine orientation to minimize overhangs on other surfaces.
The margin and interface of each part should now be free of overhangs. The remaining surfaces should have a minimal amount of overhangs.
Margins and interfaces that have overhangs will require supports.These supports affect fit and will require finishing to ensure proper seating.
Supporting
Follow the application specific recommendations below.
Incisors and canines
In addition to supporting overhangs, these teeth require additional supports to maximize accuracy and print success:
- Secondary fence supports offset to the lingual side of the incisal edge/cusp tip
- Two rows of fences on the labial surface located at approximately 1/4 and 3/4 of the tooth height.
The example below shows the additional supports needed on a veneer for an incisor.
Secondary fence on lingual side
1. Support overhang at incisal edge with a single fence.
3. Generated supports.
2. Add secondary fence approximately 1 mm to the lingual side.
4. Side view of generated supports.
Two fences on the labial surface
1. Labial surface of veneer for incisor.
3. Generated supports.
2. Add fences approximately 1/4 and 3/4 of the tooth height.
4. Side view of generated supports.
Examples of well-supported parts
Crown
Veneer
The following information applies to upper and lower denture try-ins.
Introduction
Denture try-ins the following general requirements:
- Orient try-ins with anterior facing platform.
- Minimize overhangs on intaglio surfaces.
- No overhangs on occlusal tooth surfaces
Orientation
1. Click on Orient or Shift + O in the top bar in the printer interface.
2. In the lower right corner of the bottom bar, turn on Overhang Detection or V key and set to 40 degrees. Areas that need support will appear red.
3. Orient the occlusal surfaces roughly parallel to the platform.
4. Rotate model so the occlusal surfaces are 90 degrees to occlusal side.
Note: There will be overhangs on molars and labial surfaces.
Surfaces that have overhangs will require supports.
These supports affect fit and will require finishing to ensure proper seating.
Supporting
Follow the application specific recommendations below.
- Support all overhangs as needed using the Patch or Fence tools.
- In most cases, Patch is the only tool that will be required.
- When using Patch tool, set Fence spacing to 2 mm.
- If redundant bar supports are added, they may be manually deleted.
- Don't forget to support T-bars and the inner edge.
Anterior labial surfaces
T-bars
T-bars also require supports.
- Use fence supports to quickly support T-bars.
- Press ESC key to end a fence.
Inner lingual edge of lower try-in
Typically, only a single fence is needed to support the lingual edge.
Example of well-supported try-ins
The following information applies to full arches only.
Introduction
- Unlike other applications, denture teeth require placement of supports on basal surfaces.
- No overhangs on occlusal tooth surfaces.
Orientation
1. Click on Orient or Shift + O in the top bar in the printer interface.
2. In the lower right corner of the bottom bar, turn on Overhang Detection or V key and set to 50 degrees. Areas that need support will appear red.
3. Orient the occlusal surfaces facing up, parallel to the platform.
4. Rotate 30 degrees up to lingual side.
Surfaces that have overhangs will require supports. These supports affect fit and will require finishing to ensure proper seating.
Supporting
Follow the application specific recommendations below.
- Support all overhangs as needed using the Patch or Fence tools.
- In most cases, Patch is the only tool that will be required.
- Limit supports to basal surfaces.
Nesting
- Select the Layout tab (Shift + L) in the top menu bar.
- Under Auto Layout, select Gen2.
- Gen2 usually gives the most effecient packing for dental devices.
- Enter at least 1 mm in Padding.
- Models require a minimum of 1 mm of space between them.
- Leave Optimize starting rotation unchecked.
- This leaves your parts in their previous orientations.
- Leave Allowed rotations at the default setting.
- This gives the software maximum flexibility to fit the most possible parts on the build platform.
- Press the Auto Layout button to arrange your parts.
If necessary, nesting can be changed manually:
- Click and drag parts to adjust their position.
- Modify Z rotation by using the Spin tool or manual rotations under the Orient tab (Shift + O).
- Use the Part List tab as needed to more easily select models and focus on them.
Print Preparation
Print Controls
Click Print Controls or Shift + P in the top menu bar.
Choose the correct print profile
When printing crown and bridge geometries in Flexcera Smile/Flexcera Smile Ultra+, use the print profile Flexcera Smile Ultra+ C&B.
- The use of this print profile will improve the accuracy of the intaglio surfaces of these types of geometries, but will also increase the print time.
- Do not use this print profile when printing denture teeth or monolithic dentures in Flexcera Smile/Flexcera Smile Ultra+.
- If you do not see the Flexcera Smile Ultra+ C&B print profile in your print controls, please contact Carbon Support.
Slicing
- There are two options for Print Profile:
- When printing crown and bridge geometries select Flexcera Smile Ultra+ C&B.
- For denture teeth, monolithic dentures and veneers, use the Default profile.
- Under Slicing, select either Standard (100 µm) or Fine (50 µm), depending on your preference.
- Leave all other values at their default values.
NOTE: Fine (50 µm) slice thickness will result in increased print times compared to Standard (100 µm).
Application | Print Profile | Slicing |
Denture Teeth or Monolithic Denture | Default | Standard (100 µm) or Fine (50 µm) |
Crown or Bridge | Flexcera Smile Ultra+ C&B | |
Veneer | Default |
Project Analysis
- Select the Project Analysis tab.
- Click Start Analysis and wait for the processing to complete.
- Note the required resin volume and print time.
- Click Add to Queue.
Manufacturer Instructions for Use
Flexcera Smile
Flexcera Smile Ultra+
Questions & Support
For questions about the resin properties, printing, washing or curing your parts, please contact the support team:
- Submit support ticket: https://health.desktopmetal.com/support/ticket/
For questions about your Carbon printer or Carbon software settings used for this resin, please contact Carbon:
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone:
- U.S. and Canada 1-650-285-6307 option 2
- Germany +49 6102 5790849
- UK +44 (0) 2082 647484
- Printer UI: On the dashboard, select the Prints tab. Select one of the printed projects. Click Request Help in the lower right corner.
