Bertram Dental Lab Uses 5 SLM 3D Printers for Denture Print Service

In partnership with SLM Solutions, Bertram Dental Lab is offering its LazerTEK Print Service — a metal additive manufacturing (AM) service offered exclusively to its U.S.-based dental lab partners. Through the use of SLM Solutions printers and LazerTEK partial alloy, BDL says it will provide a print service for cobalt chrome removable partial dentures (RPDs) with unmatched quality, price, turnaround time and mechanical properties, as documented by independent lab studies.

Dental Lab partners simply upload their completed .stl design files through the service portal to access direct manufacturing. “The dental industry is arguably one of the oldest identifiers of using AM to enable their business,” says Charlie Grace, chief sales officer at SLM Solutions. “BDL has successfully displaced casting by leveraging AM to create world-class partials with great efficiency and with the highest quality.”

BDL has been utilizing metal AM to produce RPDs at scale. Since 2016, it has had a long-standing partnership with SLM Solutions after acquiring its first SLM 280 PS. Since then, its lab has installed four more. The company says its mission is to provide its partners with the most consistent fitting, high-quality wholesale parts. To achieve that level of quality, it says it relies on the repeatability and productivity of SLM Solutions technology to meet its marketplace’s demands and stringent industry standards. BDL is utilizing its five SLM 280 production series printers to launch this latest service.

“The decision to partner with SLM Solutions was easy in 2016. SLM Solutions was the only AM company solely focused on metal AM and they have continued to be a leader ever since,” says Tim Bertram, BDL co-owner. “They pioneered bidirectional recoating, multilaser systems and their current production series machines have been a game changer.”

BDL says the production series machines provide everything it needs. The automated and closed loop powder handling are said to reduce labor costs, while ensuring safety and maintaining the highest possible alloy properties. Also, the improved gas flow and permanent filter system is said to ensure BDL can run 24/7 without any decrease in part quality. “SLM Solution’s partnerships with industry leading companies guarantees that BDL will benefit from continued research and development across all levels of metal AM. Thus, enabling our mission,” Bertram adds.

Bertram Dental Lab is said to have a solid U.S. national presence, and 98% of its products are RPDs, so scale is critical to its success. The LazerTEK Print Service is said to reduce dependency on casting consumables and improve product fit and quality. It improves the overall manufacturing process in a technological age, thus empowering recruitment potential for new AM talent, the company says. The service is also said to provide transparency for its dental lab partners with a digital workflow.

“The days of needing to cast RPDs in-house are over,” Bertram says.