Dreve FotoDent Cast
Dreve FotoDent® cast for Carbon printers is now available to produce crowns and removable partial dentures. The material is a transparent red resin that burns out without any residue for dental casting.
This course will cover digital pre-processing of your crowns and removable partial dentures to properly prepare them for printing with FotoDent® cast for Carbon printers.
Sprues and Crossbars
The addition of sprues and crossbars to parts helps with print quality especially when faced with particularly complex geometries.
Clasp Connectors
It can be helpful to add features that connect both sides of the tooth clasp. These must be made in your RPD design software and can be removed from the part after printing.
Carbon recommends designing your crowns as usual. Dreve FotoDent® cast for Carbon printers requires no special considerations.
Review Supports in Printer UI course for more information.
Perform an initial orientation of the model so that it is roughly parallel with the platform with the posterior or anterior region facing the lower portion of the screen.
Click Orient or Shift + O in the main bar in the printer software.
Orient the RPD so that the intaglio surface is facing away from the platform.
Adjust the RPD so that it is mostly parallel with the platform.
- We recommend typing values into the XYZ axis fields. Changing orientation with the mouse or Snap to Platform function is more challenging.
Position the camera so you are looking straight down on the platform:
- Push the Reset camera icon in the lower left corner of the screen to return to the default view.
- Push ▲ to look straight down at platform.
Rotate the RPD so that either the posterior or anterior region is facing the lower portion of the screen.
Perform the final rotation:
- Click Orient in the main bar.
- Click on the part to select it.
- Enter 50 into the X axis field.
Carbon® recommends using standard bar supports.
- Click Support or Shift + S in the dark gray bar at the top of screen.
- Under Position, select Above Platform to lift parts off the platform.
- Under Auto Support Method, select Basic.
- Click Generate to automatically create supports.
- After the supports appear, the Generate and Manually Add buttons change to Clear and Edit.
- Click Edit to enter the Edit Support interface.
You will now see the support editing view.
- Click Overhang Detection in the lower tool bar or press the V key set to 40 degrees to indicate areas that need support in red.
- Click Toggle Platform button in the lower tool bar to hide the platform. This will enable better visibility during support editing
Now the supports must be manually edited. The first step requires removing all minor supports. These do not support he part and obscure the RPD surface.
- Click the Select multiple supports icon in the top menu bar.
- Select multiple minor supports using shift click or click and drag with the mouse.
- Click Delete in the top right corner or press Delete/Backspace on your keyboard to remove selected supports.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 as necessary until all noisy supports are removed.
Carefully examine your model to look for supports that intersect the denture geometry. If you have intersecting supports, they must be removed.
- Click the Select multiple supports icon in the top menu bar.
- Select the intersecting support(s) using shift click or click and drag.
- Click Delete in the top right corner or press Delete/Backspace on your keyboard to remove selected supports.
- Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as necessary until all intersecting supports are removed.
Carefully examine your model to look for supports that contact the inside of clasps. These must also be removed to ensure proper fit and accuracy.
- Click the Select multiple supports icon in the top menu bar.
- Select the support(s)that contact the inside of clasps using shift click or click and drag.
- Click Delete in the top right corner or press Delete/Backspace on your keyboard to remove selected supports.
- Add supports on the outside of the clasps when necessary.
- Repeat Steps 2 and 3 as necessary until all intersecting supports are removed.
Add supports to large overhangs (red areas) to maintain part quality.
- Click the Multiple supports icon in the top menu bar.
- Add support(s) to overhangs as needed.
- Click Generate in the top right corner to create support structures.
- Repeat steps 2 and 3 as necessary until all large overhangs are properly supported.
Notes
- Do not over-support the model. Too many supports will make post-processing challenging.
- Typically, supports should be no less than 2-3 mm apart. Use the Measure tool in the lower tool bar as needed.
Islands are parts of the RPD that will float away if they are not connected to the platform with supports. Unsupported islands will create problems further along in the print.
1. Position the camera so you are looking straight down on the platform:
- Push the Reset camera icon in the lower left corner of the screen to return to the default view.
- Push ▲ to look straight down at platform.
2. Click Toggle clip plane in the lower menu bar or press the C key. This provides a cutaway view of the model.
3. Move the clip plane handle all the way to the left so the clip plane is at the level of the platform.
- Moving the handle slowly to the right will move the clip plane away from the platform, revealing more of the RPD. This simulates the printing process of gradually building the part.
- As you move the handle, different areas of the part will be revealed. Each new area is potentially an island. These areas must be supported to ensure an accurate and complete build.
4. Move the handle back to the left.
5. Slowly move the handle to the right. You will initially see only the bases of the supports. Eventually portions of the RPD geometry will appear.
6. When a new island is revealed by the clip plane, stop moving the clip plane and examine the new island.
7. Position the camera as needed to see the underside of the island.
8. Add a support to ensure the island prints.
9. Continue moving the clip plane to search for islands, adding supports as necessary.
- Intaglio surfaces face away from the platform.
- Tilted 50 degrees from platform.
- Minor supports removed.
- Overhangs supported.
- Islands supported.
Proper Orientation
Carbon recommends:
- No overhangs on crown margins.
- No overhangs on interface surfaces.
- Minimum overhangs on buccal/lingual crown surfaces.
Following these recommendations will maximize accuracy and minimize the need for manual finishing
1. In the lower right corner, turn on Overhang Detection or V key set to 40 degrees to indicate areas that need support in red.
2. Click on Orient or Shift + O in the main bar in the printer software.
3. Orient each crown so that the margin and interface are free of overhangs.
4. Refine orientation to minimize overhangs on other crown surfaces.
The margin and interface of each crown should now be free of overhangs. The remaining surfaces should now have the minimal amount of overhangs.
Note: Margins and interfaces that have overhangs will require supports. These supports affect fit and will require finishing to ensure proper seating.
Supports hold up the part during printing. They do this by connecting down-facing surfaces to the platform.
- Click Support in the dark gray bar at the top of screen.
- Under Position, select Above Platform to lift parts off the platform.
- Skip Auto Support Method as this mode is not recommended.
- Click Manually Add to go to the Support editing interface.
- Click Toggle Platform button in the lower tool bar or press the B key to hide platform. This will enable better visibility during fence creation.
- Click Fence button in the top menu bar.
- Click a series of points in an area of overhang to define the fence.
- Use Overhang Detection or press the V key set to 40 degrees to find areas that need support.
- Click Esc key on keyboard to end a fence and begin another.
- Carbon® recommends making a series of small fences, rather than making a single continuous fence, to give greater flexibility to reposition points.
- Hold down the E key and click with the mouse to reposition points.
- Click Generate to create the fence geometry. This may take a few minutes.
- Repeat as needed until all overhangs have been supported.
- Click Done in the upper left corner when finished.
- No supports on margins.
- No supports on interface surfaces.
- Minimum overhangs on buccal/lingual surfaces.
Because incisors can be longer than other crowns, they require supports in areas that do not have overhangs. These extra supports prevent sagging as the part prints ensuring excellent accuracy.
- Click Toggle Platform button in the lower tool bar or press the B key to hide platform. This will enable better visibility during fence creation.
- Click Fence button in the top menu bar.
- Click a series of points in an area of overhang
- Click Esc key on keyboard to end a fence and begin another.
- Hold down the E key and click with the mouse to reposition points.
- Click Generate to create the fence geometry. This may take a few minutes.
- Add a short fence about 1/4 of the way up the part.
- Add another short fence about 3/4 of the way up the part.
- Click Done in the upper left corner when finished.
- No supports on crown margin.
- No supports on interface surfaces.
- Stabilizing supports at 1/4 and 3/4 height.
- Minimum overhangs on buccal/lingual crown surfaces.
Click Print Controls or Shift + P in the top menu bar.
Under Print Profile select either Default or Dynamic.
- Dynamic mode will print in approximately half the time. Due to this, print forces are elevated, requiring greater vigilance in supporting of the parts.
- Unsupported regions with larger cross-sections such as horizontal sprues and crossbars should be supported across their length to increase print success.
Printing with release film can make part removal easier once printing is complete. If using release film, select Print with release film.
Select either Standard or Fine.
- Fine slicing results in finer features at the cost of a longer print time.
Under Print Profile select Default.
Printing with release film can make part removal easier once printing is complete. If using release film, select Print with release film.
Select Fine.
- 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.
For questions about the resin properties, printing, washing or curing your parts, please contact the DREVE support team: