Notice:
To avoid damage to equipment, check the resin tank compatibility table in Choosing the right material to confirm you are using a resin tank that is compatible with this material.
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Using Surgical Guide Resin
Using Surgical Guide Resin
Surgical Guide Resin is a material designed for 3D printing Class I devices such as surgical guides, drilling templates, pilot drill guides, and device sizing templates. Developed specifically for Formlabs printers and rigorously tested with autoclaves, solvents, and implant systems, this material was designed to work with Formlabs SLA printers for improved part quality, accuracy, and mechanical properties.
Recommended for:
- Surgical guides
- Drilling templates
- Pilot drill guides
- Device sizing templates
Note:
To learn more about the performance or specific material properties of Surgical Guide Resin, please refer to the Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and Technical Data Sheet (TDS). Always consult the SDS as the primary source of information to understand safety and handling of Formlabs materials.
Comparison with other materials
Surgical Guide Resin is designed with relatively high elongation and ultimate tensile strength to minimize brittleness and breakage seen in similar materials. When compared to Dental SG Resin, the higher flexural strength and flexural modulus of Surgical Guide Resin exceed ISO standard requirements to deliver a stronger performance with the consistency needed for dental guided surgeries. See the table below for a comparison of relevant material properties that meet minimum ISO standards:
| Mechanical Property | Dental SG Resin | Surgical Guide Resin |
|---|---|---|
| Flexural Strength | ≥ 50 MPa | ≥70 MPa |
| Flexural Modulus | ≥1500 MPa | ≥2000 MPa |
To learn more about the performance properties of Formlabs resins, refer to the library of material properties datasheets.
Required resources
Made by Formlabs:
- Biocompatible Formlabs SLA printer with up-to-date firmware
- PreForm software (most recent version)
- Compatible resin tank
- Build platform
- Surgical Guide Resin
- Form Wash or Finish Kit
- Form Cure
Made by third parties:
- Surgical guide treatment planning and design software (CAD)
- Intraoral or desktop optical scanner
- CBCT scanner
- Metal guide sleeve
Workflow overview
Notice:
This is an abbreviated version of the application guide 3D Printing Surgical Guides [en]. Read the application guide for detailed instructions about the workflow for Surgical Guide Resin.
Scan
Collect anatomical data of the patient’s dentition using an optical scanner. Scan the patient's dentition directly with an intraoral scanner or use a desktop optical scanner to scan a polyvinyl siloxane (PVS) impression or model. To make a fully limited surgical guide, also capture the anatomy of the patient’s osteotomy with a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scanner.
Align the intraoral scan and the CBCT scan using both manual point-of-interest identification tools and automatic tools for detailed alignment. Identify the mandibular nerve, if applicable.
Design
Use a dental CAD software package to design the surgical guide. For the best retention and accuracy, use full arch guides. The exact design steps vary for each software package, so contact the software provider for details on generating a splint from patient scans. Choose software that offers open STL file export.
Adjust design settings carefully for each guide to ensure safety, precision, and comfort. Design surgical guides on the Form 2 by following the guidelines below to ensure strong, durable results. Modify the recommended design setting values based on the brand and size of the guide sleeves being used.
| Design Setting | Recommended Minimum Default Value | Recommended Maximum Default Value |
|---|---|---|
| Wall Thickness Ensures structural stability, should be large enough for sufficient strength and durability. | 2.0 mm | n/a |
| Offset From Teeth Impacts how tightly the guide fits on the patient’s teeth—higher values will fit more loosely, lower values will fit more tightly. | 0.050 mm | 0.070 mm |
| Offset From Sleeve Ensures a tight press fit when inserting the metal guide sleeve. | 0.000 mm | 0.040 mm |
Printing with Surgical Guide Resin
Notice:
To avoid damage to equipment, check the resin tank compatibility table in Choosing the right material to confirm you are using a resin tank that is compatible with this material.
- Orient parts horizontally with the intaglio surface facing away from the build platform.
- If printing more than one surgical guide in a single print, manipulate the placement of each model on the build platform for the best fit.
- Generate supports using the auto-generation feature in PreForm.
- Avoid placing supports near the guide sleeve holes or on intaglio surfaces.
- Use the manual support editing feature to add or remove supports as needed.
Thoroughly agitate the resin cartridge by shaking and rotating it several times. Insert the resin tank, resin cartridge, and build platform into the printer.
Notice:
For full compliance and biocompatibility, Surgical Guide Resin requires a dedicated resin tank, build platform, and finishing kit, which should only be used with other Formlabs resins for biocompatible applications.
Finishing
The Form Wash agitates the solvent bath and removes parts from the bath after a set time. Wash parts according to the support article Form Wash time settings. Pay particular attention to information that affects mechanical properties or biocompatibility requirements.
Notice:
Leave parts to air dry for at least 30 minutes to remove excess isopropyl alcohol (IPA) off part surfaces. Ambient humidity and thickness of printed parts can affect drying time as longer dry times are needed for thicker objects. A printed part that is not fully dry can affect autoclaving results. For optimal performance, dry larger and thicker parts overnight prior to post-curing.
Post-curing requirements
Surgical Guide Resin requires post-curing to achieve biocompatibility and optimal mechanical properties. Post-curing is also critical to fully cure the surgical guide to ensure patient comfort and safety.
Refer to the support article Form Cure time and temperature settings for post-curing recommendations. During post-curing, a color change from translucent yellow to translucent orange occurs.
Removing supports
Notice:
Remove supports only after post-curing to prevent parts from warping.
Use the flush cutters included in the Formlabs Finish Kit or other part removal tools to carefully cut the supports at touch points attached to the surgical guide. Use caution when removing supports, as the post-cured material may be brittle. Supports can also be removed using other specialized appliances, such as cutting disks or round cutting instruments like carbide burs.
For instructions on post-processing, disinfection, sterilization and assembly, consult the application guide 3D Printing Surgical Guides [en].
Biocompatibility
Surgical Guide Resin is non cytotoxic, not a sensitizer, non irritating and complies with ISO 10993-1:2018.
Additional resources
- Surgical Guide Resin EC Declaration of Conformity
- Formlabs Biocompatible Product Availability
- Surgical Guide Resin Instructions for Use [en]
- 3D Printing Surgical Guides [en] [fr]
- 3D Printing Surgical Guides [en] [de] [fr] [it] (web version)
- Surgical Guide Resin Technical Data Sheet [en] [es] [fr] [it] [zh]
- Surgical Guide Resin Safety Data Sheet (SDS)
- Surgical Guide Resin sterilization report