High-Quality 3D Printers Put Laboratory Ahead of the Curve

HeyGears’ printing and automation services make significant impact

Matt Winstead, CDT

Oral Arts is a full-service dental laboratory, family-owned for 52 years, and servicing dentists in all 50 states. Our core business consists of producing conventional crowns, implant crowns, full-arch hybrids, partial and complete dentures, night guards, and orthodontic appliances. We also have extended our offerings to surgical guides, 3D printed dentures and night guards, and SLM chrome partials. We are focused on continued growth as a company in all areas of our business, while enhancing product offerings through technology. Since beginning to use 3D printing in 2008, we have become heavily reliant on it for our current production, with more than 40% of all cases including a minimum of one key fabrication step performed by a 3D printer. We anticipate the future of dentistry to be with a 3D printed workflow and are in a prime position to transform 100% of our work to a 3D printer if the opportunity arises.

We first learned about HeyGears at a tradeshow in Chicago in 2018. We were drawn to them because they have been so easy to work with; they eliminated every barrier to trying and using their machines, to the point that we could not say no. After our initial time working with them, they listened to our feedback and improved their product to the point that they exceeded existing competitor offerings, and their printers now account for the majority of our printer fleet. Today, we are pushing the bulk of our print volume through their UltraCraft A2D 4K 3D printer combined with their HiVE (High Volume Enabler) automation module. Their uptime and personalized service match the best-in-class while being extremely financially affordable.

We are using HeyGears machines predominantly for producing models and night guards, and to a lesser degree for resin burnout patterns and surgical guides. The biggest benefit we have recently gained from HeyGears is the addition of HiVE automation units connected with all 10 of our A2D 4K machines; this has reduced manual labor time and increased throughput.

Troubleshooting equipment and software problems can be a major drain on key human resources on a weekly basis. HeyGears has very few issues, which has freed up our staff to work on more productive projects rather than fixing something that is broken. Switching our 3D print volume to HeyGears has allowed us to scale up rapidly on their platform without experiencing bottlenecks in production or burdening our human resources.

We have been very pleased with HeyGears' equipment, resins, and personalized service. I recommend them with confidence.

Key Takeaways

› UltraCraft A2D 4K's uptime and personalized service match the best-in-class while being extremely financially affordable

› HiVE automation units reduce manual labor time and increase throughput

› Reliability of machines and strong customer service keep production running smoothly

About the Author

Matt Winstead, CDT
Vice President
Oral Arts Dental Laboratories
Huntsville, AL

Manufacturer Informantion
HeyGears
heygears.com
318-353-4295

Disclaimer: The statements and opinions contained in the preceding material are not of the editors, publisher, or the Editorial Board of Inside Dental Technology.