While most in the dental 3D printing industry have heard of the big players such as Sprintray, Formlabs and Asiga, fewer have heard of HeyGears – an up-and-coming China and US-based company that was started in 2015. Like many other companies, HeyGears is seeking to break into a bustling printing market and to differentiate itself from others, it has focused on innovation and providing a holistic printing experience, from integration with popular intraoral scanners, to cloud-based design services and eventually printing and curing the final object. The following review will go through their latest DLP printer designed with minimal input from the dentist in mind – the UltraCraft ChairSide. Please note that this is not to be confused with the ChairSide’s big brother, the ChairSide Pro, which is catered for dental practices with higher 3D printing volume.
Figure 1: The ChairSide is one sexy beast
Disclaimer:
This is a personal and individual opinion on the HeyGears UltraCraft ChairSide. HeyGears 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:
- Unique disposable build plate and capsule system
- Easy physical set up
- Great fitting, precise and accurate prints completed quickly
- Best paired with the AirWash
- Closed resin library that is open to a small number of popular exceptions
- Noisy operation
- Nifty and affordable design service that covers most bases
Basics:
| Printer size | 33.6 x 52.8 x 60.1cm |
| Weight | 180 bananas* |
| Technology | DLP |
| Print volume | Std plate: 12.5 x 7 x 7cm Mini plate: 3 x 5 x 7cm |
| Slicer | HeyGears Cloud |
| XY resolution | 96 µm |
| Price guide | US$7000-7500 |
* 1 banana = 0.15kg
Figure 2: The ChairSide Combo – printer, wash and cure – affectionately known as the 2 rice cookers and the lit-up oversized pill
Set up:
HeyGears claims with the ChairSide it only takes “5 minutes” for the user to learn 3D printing. While this is of course hyperbolic, truth can often be stranger than fiction and the reality is that this 3D printing system is very easy to use and is designed for clinicians who want to print with the least amount of physical and mental input possible.
Levelling the printer itself is very easy – the printer itself stands on 4 short legs which can be easily increased or decreased in height till it is level. The printer has an internal level gauge and the levelling menu will show you which leg to adjust. As mentioned, the ChairSide uses disposable build platforms so there is never any need to level them, as long as the machine itself is level.
Connecting the printer to the internet was very straightforward and I did not run into any firewall or network issues, which is unlike the experiences I have had with other printers. Updating the firmware was very straightforward and connecting the AirWash and AirCure to the printer for material profile updates was very fast and easy.
Figure 3: The disposable build plate and capsule system is definitely the most controversial aspect of this printer
Software:
Like the ChairSide Pro, the ChairSide uses HeyGears Cloud – a cloud-based platform to nest, support and slice objects. It is pretty straightforward to navigate but graphically it’s not winning any prizes. I found it pretty “clicky” to find which resin and settings to use as different layer settings for the same resin are selectable as different options.
Moreover, there’s no way to “go back” or undo a mistake during the nesting and slicing process which means if you screw up, you go back right to the start. In addition, if you want to print multiple copies of the same object, there’s no way to do this in the cloud-based slicer. You basically need to copy and paste the file under a different name in the folder before uploading your files. Frustrating.
Default support settings and object orientation is surprisingly good. The software will generally know what objects require supports and those that don’t. You can manually edit support settings and add/remove supports, but I found this process once again, a little “clicky”.
As long as your PC and ChairSide Pro are connected to the internet (can be different networks), you can send the sliced print file directly to the printer wirelessly. It’s a simple drag and drop process but you will need someone to physically start the print.
Figure 4: HeyGears Cloud – it’s uggs, but it works
Resin library:
The resin library for ChairSide is closed. However it is open to some popular exceptions – Saremco Crowntec, KeySplint Soft and KeySplint Hard, etc.
Basically users will have access to everything they need for pretty much any printable dental application. Available to the ChairSide units are most of the HeyGears library of resins and most of whatever you will need for clinical use, from models, surgical guides, temporary restorations, denture teeth and bases, impression trays, etc.
Figure 5: The ChairSide has a really pleasant UI that is easy to navigate
The printing experience:
The ChairSide has innate heating and humidity controls. The printer itself is unfortunately a little noisy during operation. You certainly don’t want to be running the AirWash while patients are around as it shakes and it’s a little loud.
Print time is quite fast due to the perforated build plate which allows for reduced peel forces (improving print success) and reduced delay time in between layers. Models orientated horizontally and supported 3mm abovethe build plate will take around 30-35 minutes to print at 100 micron layers.
I did find quite obvious voxel lines depicted on models printed on the ChairSide – probably not clinically relevant but it was surprising. Thankfully aligners, retainers and mouthguards made based off these models fit perfectly.
There is also an optional disposable mini build plate which is very cute. With this plate, restorations can be printed in as short as 10-15 minutes (Crowntec at 100 micron layers). Print quality of restorations has been honestly fantastic. Honestly, they are even better than some of its leading competitors.
Figure 6: It often feels like a bit of a waste using one build plate for a single appliance
One gripe I had with the experience is the disposable build plate and cartridge system. First of all, it does feel a little wasteful chucking away a build plate every time you print. You do get build plates every time you purchase resin cartridges so I never felt I was running low.
My biggest gripe was the fact that cartridges “expire” after a period of time once opened – depending on the application, it only limits you to a number of prints, or a certain number of weeks to use up that cartridge. There were several times I could see I could print more, but because of the cartridge system, I was locked out of the print – annoying.
That being said, the physical printing workflow is one of the easiest I’ve ever experienced, and that’s saying a lot! The ChairSide is definitely best paired with the AirWash as the build plates just slot in to the wash unit. I REALLY like the AirWash as it minimises IPA waste and you will always be using clean IPA. There’s basically zero chance of cross-contamination. It’s a shame you can’t really use the AirWash for any other printer.
Figure 7: The AirWash is definitely the unsung hero of this printer-wash unit-cure unit combo
Conclusion:
The ChairSide is a funny one. It works and operates very well and I feel that if it didn’t use the capsule system, it’d be a much more popular unit. It works well and it’s easy to use. While many Chinese-manufactured hardware is focussed on brawn and functionality rather than beauty and finesse, the ChairSide is a beautiful piece to showcase in your operatory – it’s a bit of a shame it’s a little loud during operation. If low-volume users don’t mind not needing to keep up with the latest trends and just want a machine that works well and operates easily, then check out this guy. Just make sure you get the whole combo for the best value.
3 points why you should get it:
- Easy to use and delegate the physical task of 3D printing
- Overall excellent print quality at a decently fast speed
- Design service and print management in the same online cloud-based portal
3 points why you shouldn’t get it:
- Cartridges have very limited and unignorable lifespan/usage limits
- Disposable build plates feel wasteful
- To get the best value of the printer, you pretty much have to get the AirWash