Introduction:
As the dental market matures and advances, our expectations for print times have become more demanding. Dentistry as a whole has become quicker, with same-day or even same-appointment work being in vogue. That’s where Dentafab has come in with the Sega Pro and Sega Pro 4K. An update on the original Sega line, the Pro series promises the swift print times that made it a household name amongst many AOX dentists/labs, with excellent print quality.
Figure 1: The Sega Pro – Need For Speed – Turkey Drift
Disclaimer:
This is a personal and individual opinion on the Dentafab Sega Pro 4K. Dentafab nor any of its global distributors have not been involved in the writing or editing of this piece and have not restricted any conclusions made by myself of this product.
Notable features:
- Set up more involved than expected
- Market-leading print times
- Great print quality
- Open library
- Perforated build plate is difficult to clean and will divide users
- Unique silicon-lined resin vat
- Current reliance on Chitubox is not novice-friendly
Basics:
| Printer size | 32.5 x 32.5 x 56cm |
| Weight | 147 bananas* |
| Technology | DLP |
| Print volume | Std plate: 12 x 6.8 x 9cm |
| Slicer | Chitubox/internal |
| XY resolution | 62 µm |
| Price guide | US$10,000 |
* 1 banana = 0.15kg
Figure 2: You can really achieve some crazy print times with this unit
Set up:
Setting up the Sega Pro was not as straightforward as one may expect at the pricepoint.
The printer itself was easy to unbox. The unit comes factory-levelled as do most dental 3D printers these days. To relevel it, it’s a straightforward process, using standard hex keys and technique.
The printer UI is easy enough to navigate through and pretty self-explanatory. You will need to create an account/user profile with Dentafab to load your nominated resins onto the printer, which can slow the overall set up process.
The build plate is friction fit, so there are no latches or knobs to secure it in place – a surprisingly unique approach, but after several months of printing, I can pleasantly report no print failures due to build platform movement.
Wi-Fi connection was straightforward. You will need to connect the printer to Wi-Fi to receive updates and your resin profiles from Dentafab.
Figure 3: Some truly excellent prints can be achieved with the Sega Pro 4K
Software:
These days users are much savvier and the importance of printer software has become increasingly important. This is where the Sega Pro can get unstuck – particularly for the novice user
The Dentafab printers all rely on Chitubox to support their prints. You support on Chitu and then export the plate as an STL which you load onto the printer for internal slicing via another app wirelessly. It’s a little bit of a cumbersome process, particularly knowing that cheaper dental 3D printers even offer their own proprietary slicers that are more catered to the dental user. It gets increasingly tedious as part of the set up you need to input the Sega Pro’s build platform dimensions and individual support parameters per dental application into Chitu – something that you would never even need to do with any dental-specific slicer.
It’s a weakness that Dentafab is aware of and actively working to address – as to when their specific slicer will be released is unclear, but I do hope it’s soon as those who just want to buy a printer, turn it on and immediately start printing are in for a surprise. The Sega Pro really does thrive when the user has experience in consumer-grade 3D printers.
Figure 4: The reliance on Chitubox definitely will turn some users off
Resin library:
Dentafab printers like the Sega Pro 4K are known to be fully open systems. Dentafab has a list of resins that the team has validated for the printer. Via your distributor, you will need to contact the team and request the resins you would like to print and at what layer height. These will be pre-loaded onto your individual account and printer. If you have a resin that they have not calculated the resin settings for, you can send a bottle over to their office for them to work out the print settings. Dentafab also has a library of dental resins, but you are not locked into using them.
Figure 5: Rodin Rapid Ceram implant-bone provisional crown printed in 7 minutes – amazing
The printing experience:
Frankly, the Sega Pro 4K was a lot of fun for me, although I do admit the experience certainly won’t be to everyone’s tastes.
This is largely due to the ridiculous print speeds you can achieve with this printer. We’re talking about 10-minute AOX provisional arches, restorations in less than 8 minutes, and surgical guides in 15 minutes. Absolutely ludicrous. There were several times where I didn’t have time to procrastinate after starting a print and before I knew it my print job was done. Such an amazing feeling.
I’m glad to report that Pro 4K printed results were overall accurate and well-fitting – a much-needed improvement over the preceding original Sega. I did have some issues with screw channels in surgical guides which can often be notorious to print predictably. There is a software workaround in Chitubox but this is admittedly quite tedious to do – another key indicator to show that the Sega Pro would really benefit from its own dedicated slicer and software.
One of the main features that help the Sega Pro achieve its crazy speeds is the perforated build plate. Without going into too specific detail, it improves the fluid dynamics of the resin within the vat, as there is less distance for the resin to travel and level within the resin vat as print bed moves up and down. The big downside with this is the ability to clean in between these perforations after each print and in particular when swapping out resins. I would recommend a different build plate per resin or investing in a large enough wash unit which the build plate fits into.
Figure 6: Rodin Surgical Guide 2.0 prints perfectly on the Sega Pro 4K
I can see why this printer has gained a dedicated following particularly with the AOX crew – ideally you’d have one or two of these set up with dedicated resins for each. 10 minute arches with no arch or crown kit is amazingly fast and the open library means that you can churn out quick and affordable provisional arches very quickly. In the highspeed world of dentistry where patients want results NOW, this unit certainly fulfils a particular niche.
Figure 7: The crazy print speed is probably something I’d never get used to
Conclusion:
Overall, the Sega Pro 4K is a fun printer that is more suitable for those who have operated consumer-grade printers before. Its blistering speed will attract a portion of users who desire that particular property. I do hope that Dentafab releases their slicer soon, as this would address most of the sticking points some potential users would have when investing in such a unit. For prospective users, I’d recommend getting the Pro 4K version over the standard Pro version (this is a completely subjective opinion) as you don’t want to experience buyer’s regret over a couple of thousand extra dollars.
3 points why you should get it:
- Ridiculous print speeds without sacrificing print quality
- No need to rely on additional accessories for faster print times
- Open resin library
3 points why you shouldn’t get it:
- Perforated build plate is difficult to clean
- Reliance on Chitubox is not user-friendly
- Set up, particularly with respect to software, is tedious