Hi, I’m Tom – I’m a Senior Print Technician at S4S Dental Lab in Sheffield. My background is in materials engineering, so I’m focused on ensuring our parts are produced accurately and the process is repeatable. Our department needs to be able to print at least 800 models per day to keep up with the lab production, so we have to be really careful to ensure we don’t hold back production! In my spare time I’m a keen musician, so I’m able to apply a lot of my skills from tinkering with instruments and hardware to my job role. My role working within the Digital Department at S4S means with the exception of 1 item, I am pretty much stuck without software and computers, I guess this is a sign of the times, maybe there’ll come a time where I won’t even use a hand tool!!!
Materialise Magics – In my opinion, there is no comparable 3D software which does what we need it to do. Labelling, neatening and basing models its brilliant. Magics is actually used in a range of industries such as aerospace and automotive – so it has to process data quickly but also really accurately.
Photocentric Magna 3D Printers – For us these have proven to be reliable workhorses that get through a lot of models every day and the quality is incredible. We recently did a study showing we achieve a yield of up to 99% which is far more than we have experienced with other machines on the market. We also have built a really good relationship with Photocentric and worked on projects to reduce our carbon emissions using their 3D printing technology.
Evident – Evident is our lab production software and it has revolutionized the way we operate as a lab. The use of barcodes and being able to track every job to a room specific location allows for speedy and accurate tracking. The digital department simply wouldn’t function the same way without it.
Exocad – This software package is really comprehensive for us in terms of designing appliances and ensuring we get an excellent, consistent result each time. This software package is at the forefront of our department as we continue to take leaps into the world of printing 3D splints directly.
Stanley tool kits/knives – Not all the aspects of the digital department are as rock and roll as you may think! Stanley tools are always great quality and their kits include everything that could possibly be needed for us in the department. Top-quality, long-lasting tools for cutting, scraping, chopping and the sort are a really crucial part of a successful 3D Printing Department!
