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. 2020 Mar 17;9(3):817.
doi: 10.3390/jcm9030817.

Evaluation of the Dimensional Accuracy of 3D-Printed Anatomical Mandibular Models Using FFF, SLA, SLS, MJ, and BJ Printing Technology

Bilal Msallem  1   2 , Neha Sharma  1   2 , Shuaishuai Cao  1   2 , Florian S Halbeisen  3 , Hans-Florian Zeilhofer  1 , Florian M Thieringer  1   2
Affiliations

Evaluation of the Dimensional Accuracy of 3D-Printed Anatomical Mandibular Models Using FFF, SLA, SLS, MJ, and BJ Printing Technology

Bilal Msallem et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

With the rapid progression of additive manufacturing and the emergence of new 3D printing technologies, accuracy assessment is mostly being performed on isosymmetric test bodies. However, the accuracy of anatomic models can vary. The dimensional accuracy of root mean square values in terms of trueness and precision of 50 mandible replicas, printed with five common printing technologies, were evaluated. The highest trueness was found for the selective laser sintering printer (0.11 ± 0.016 mm), followed by a binder jetting printer (0.14 ± 0.02 mm), and a fused filament fabrication printer (0.16 ± 0.009 mm). However, highest precision was identified for the fused filament fabrication printer (0.05 ± 0.005 mm) whereas other printers had marginally lower values. Despite the statistically significance (p < 0.001), these differences can be considered clinically insignificant. These findings demonstrate that all 3D printing technologies create models with satisfactory dimensional accuracy for surgical use. Since satisfactory results in terms of accuracy can be reached with most technologies, the choice should be more strongly based on the printing materials, the intended use, and the overall budget. The simplest printing technology (fused filament fabrication) always scored high and thus is a reliable choice for most purposes.

Keywords: 3D printing; RMS; additive manufacturing; binder jetting; dimensional accuracy; fused filament fabrication; mandible; material jetting; precision; selective laser sintering; stereolithography; trueness.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Bony mandibular reference: (a) front view; (b) side view; digitized mandibular (standard tessellation file (STL)) in 3-matic medical: (c) front view; (d) side view.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Registration process in 3-matic medical: (a) n-point registration; (b) after global registration.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Mandibular model printed in fused filament fabrication (FFF) technology: (a) front view; (b) side view.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Mandibular model printed in stereolithography (SLA) technology: (a) front view; (b) side view.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Mandibular model printed in selective laser sintering (SLS) technology: (a) front view; (b) side view.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Mandibular model printed in material jetting (MJ) technology: (a) front view; (b) side view.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Mandibular model printed in binder jetting (BJ) technology: (a) front view; (b) side view.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Heat map of mandibular model printed in SLS technology: (a) front view; (b) side view; (c) measurements.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Box plot demonstrating trueness RMS (mm) values by 3D printer type.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Box plot demonstrating precision RMS (mm) values by 3D printer type.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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