Kulzer’s cara Print 4.0: a 3D printer developed by dental experts

Fresh from IDS 2017 in Germany with a new logo, new products and a new approach, Kulzer is again making a move to establish itself in the growing digital dentistry market with the launch of cara Print 4.0, a 3D printer and soon cara Scan 4.0, a standalone impression scanner.

Kulzer has been attempting forays into the digital dental space for some time by partnering with existing players, including as a founding investor in 3Shape's now highly successful TRIOS intraoral scanner and Dental Wings' run at a laser dental mill. However at IDS 2017, the company has rightfully launched its own standalone product range.

"We've invested significantly in developing our own 3D printing solutions specifically for dentistry and we're excited to be launching it at a time when there is such a focus on this technology in dental laboratories," said Jeff Lauretti, Managing Director of Kulzer Australia Pty Ltd. "From looking at everything on offer at IDS this year, cara Print 4.0 will be very attractive to dental laboratories looking for a 3D printing solution. It ticks all the boxes in terms of accuracy, speed, cost to acquire and cost per unit to manufacture.

"Most importantly however, cara Print 4.0 is backed by the manufacturer from our office in Sydney with support across the country."

According to Mr Lauretti, the new cara Print 4.0 offers dental technicians a faster, more economical method of producing polymer-based dental appliances in-house. Not only does it provide a cost-effective alternative to milling for certain indications, it is more competitively priced than other 3D printers on the market while still meeting all the accuracy requirements.

At its heart, cara Print 4.0 utilises the latest Digital Light Projection (DLP) technology. Through intelligent calculation of the illumination sequence and the mechanical movement of the z-axis - combined with the unique properties of the tray window - the manufacturing process is sped up significantly.

cara Print 4.0 also allows you to accelerate the production of high-quality polymer-based dental applications. With an X-Y resolution of 53.6μm and a variable layer thickness (Z-axis resolution) of 30-100μm, you can quickly achieve the accuracy requirements for all polymer-based restorations.

Unlike many other 3D printers, cara Print 4.0 automatically adapts print speed according to the accuracy requirements of the current layer, often reaching speeds in excess of 100 mm/hour (e.g. when printing temporary support structures).

The ability to vary layer thickness means that you can select the optimal balance of accuracy and speed. This makes it possible to optimise the process for appliances that don't have high accuracy requirements (e.g. impression trays) by increasing the layer thickness and thereby reducing build time.

The cara system for 3D printing is open, working with open STL files commonly used by CAD programs, such as 3Shape Dental Designer. cara Print CAM software is included with the purchase of cara Print 4.0, with no additional licensing fee required. Technicians are encouraged to use cara Print 4.0 together with Kulzer's own dima Print materials, followed by post-curing in Kulzer's HiLite Power. Doing so ensures the highest quality results and guaranteed clinical performance.

"cara Print 4.0 is the result of considerable research to create a product that gives technicians the right balance of accuracy with price performance," Mr Lauretti said. "We will also be launching more of our own materials for the system under development by our parent company, Mitsui Chemicals in Japan.

"This together with our service and support infrastructure will allow us to partner with dental laboratories to increase their profits and productivity from digital manufacturing."