Nobel Scanner

Hi guys, glad I found another wonderful resource for our trade.

We are considering the new scanner from nobel to upgrade from our old touch scanner. We do a tremendous amount of custom abutments and after demo of the system at headquarters and receiving some abutments back I was very impressed with the quality of the new 5 axis mill Nobel is using in conjunction with the new scanner. I have a few meanderings I want to share with you all.

I have always been pragmatic about trends in dentistry and want to share my thoughts as it relates to the growing digital future. The idea of Open source systems to me have a very nice ring to it but truthfully I wonder how OPEN is OPEN. Will the technology and the ability to send your files to your choice of milling centers really be the way of the future? Is subscribing to a closed end system really a bad thing? I think not.

I have been very careful over the years to invest in technology that has a predictable ROI for me. As a NICHE lab I understand my market and the customers that choose to partner with me. The landscape of our industry is changing. The machines are becoming our hands and artistic abilities become more akin to what design libraries are programmed in. How are we to satisfy that NICHE market we have developed in the future years? Is clicking a button really going to destroy all the talent out there. Will artistry take second chair to efficiency? Will technology only allow us to make things faster stronger cheaper? Will the future of the dental laboratory be hinged on the deep pockets of investors and will talented techs become unemployed? Where will you be in 5 years?

Just walking out the door to head down to the ocean to catch a few waves, thought I would share a few things to ponder.

Have a wonderful weekend,

John Wilson

Sunrise Dental Laboratory

Yucaipa, Ca

Hello John,
It is great to see you on WebDental. I agree with you. 3Shape is an interesting company. Even though the scanner is considered open it can be closed. You have to be very careful who you buy it from because they can close it's segments by choice. If you buy it from Whip Mix they will give you an awesome credit towards abutments. However you can't send scans anywhere but to Whip, so it is effectively closed. If you buy from certain vendors like Lincoln Dental Supply or Wieland I believe the product is totally open and you can buy as much of the options as your pocketbook allows. It seems from my research that the 3shape scanner has the most diverse acceptance and options for sending the STL files to output devices.
We just have to make the right choice and it's not an easy one. I have a picolo and the longer I wait to buy again the better off I am in terms of product development and product fall out.
Good luck with you choice
Ira

Ira N. Dickerman, CDT, TE

Replies

Ira N. Dickerman, CDT March 25, 2010 at 9:02pm

Hello John,
It is great to see you on WebDental. I agree with you. 3Shape is an interesting company. Even though the scanner is considered open it can be closed. You have to be very careful who you buy it from because they can close it's segments by choice. If you buy it from Whip Mix they will give you an awesome credit towards abutments. However you can't send scans anywhere but to Whip, so it is effectively closed. If you buy from certain vendors like Lincoln Dental Supply or Wieland I believe the product is totally open and you can buy as much of the options as your pocketbook allows. It seems from my research that the 3shape scanner has the most diverse acceptance and options for sending the STL files to output devices.
We just have to make the right choice and it's not an easy one. I have a picolo and the longer I wait to buy again the better off I am in terms of product development and product fall out.
Good luck with you choice
Ira

Ira N. Dickerman, CDT, TE
Ruth Iverson CDT March 19, 2010 at 11:05pm

I like Nobel, do you think eventually that all systems will go to open architechure? We have the Forte in our lab, I am excited about the ability to make the overdenture bars. I have had a couple of Zirconia abutments fracture but I think that was my error . . . in the design. Sometimes lab techs need to compromise due to the placement of the abutments, not always being where we would like them!

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