Models and jigs, in batches.

What we need from you

• The scans, or the appliance files that need jigs
• Your printer and resin. Make, model, and which resin — this changes real decisions, not just a label
• What the models are for. Thermoforming, appliance fabrication, records, patient demonstration — each wants different base geometry and different tolerance
• Hollow or solid, and whether you want drain holes
• How many, and by when

What we actually decide

Orientation

Layer lines run perpendicular to the build direction, so orientation decides where the surface is smoothest and where the part is stiffest. For a thermoforming model, the occlusal surface wants to be the accurate one. For a jig, the functional interface does.

Nesting

Twelve models on a plate is not twelve times one model. Packing density affects peel forces, and a part at the edge of the plate does not behave identically to one at the centre. We nest for the plate you have rather than assuming an arbitrary one.

Base thickness

Too thin and the model flexes during thermoforming or warps in post-cure. Too thick and you are paying for resin and print time you do not need. It is a per-application number, and it is worth getting right when the batch is twelve rather than one.

Support contact

Contact points leave marks. On a model those marks are cosmetic if they are on the base and expensive if they are on the occlusal surface. Support density and tip size are tuned to hold the part without bruising the surfaces you need.

Jigs

Appliance jigs have a tighter requirement than models, because they have to locate on something and hold a position while it is bonded or cured. Fit tolerance is set deliberately — enough clearance to seat over the anatomy, little enough to locate unambiguously — and it is set knowing which resin it will be printed in, because resins differ in how much they move.

What leaves the lab

• Nested, oriented, supported build files ready to send to your machine
• The parameters used, so your technician can reproduce or adjust them
• Where relevant, a note on what to expect at post-cure
• Or the printed parts themselves, where we are producing

Where these go wrong

• Generic orientation, applied without knowing what the part is for
• Base too thin, and the model distorts under the thermoforming sheet
• Supports on functional surfaces, which have to be removed and take accuracy with them
• Parameters tuned for a different resin, which is the most common reason a file that worked last month does not work this month

Timeline

Next working day for a batch, from files we can use.