Influence of print orientation on the accuracy (trueness and precision) of diagnostic casts manufactured with a daylight polymer printer.

Statement Of Problem: Print orientation may affect the manufacturing accuracy of vat-polymerized diagnostic casts. However, its influence should be analyzed based on the manufacturing trinomial (technology, printer, and material) and printing protocol used to manufacture the casts.

Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to measure the influence of different print orientations on the manufacturing accuracy of vat-polymerized polymer diagnostic casts.

Material And Methods: A standard tessellation language (STL) reference file containing a maxillary virtual cast was used to manufacture all specimens using a vat-polymerization daylight polymer printer (Photon mono SE. LCD 2K) and a model resin (Phrozen Aqua Gray 4K). All specimens were manufactured using the same printing parameters, except for print orientation. Five groups were created depending on the print orientation: 0, 22.5, 45, 67.5, and 90 degrees (n=10). Each specimen was digitized using a desktop scanner. The discrepancy between the reference file and each of the digitized printed casts was measured using the Euclidean measurements and root mean square (RMS) error (Geomagic Wrap v.2017). Independent (unpaired) sample t tests and multiple pairwise comparisons using the Bonferroni test were used to analyze the trueness of the Euclidean distances and RMS data. Precision was assessed using the Levene test (α=.05).

Results: In terms of Euclidean measurements, significant differences in trueness and precision values were found among the groups tested (P<.001). The 22.5- and 45-degree groups resulted in the best trueness values, and the 67.5-degree group had the lowest trueness value. The 0- and 90-degree groups led to the best precision values, while the 22.5-, 45-, and 67.5-degree groups showed the lowest precision values. Analyzing the RMS error calculations, significant differences in trueness and precision values were found among the groups tested (P<.001). The 22.5-degree group had the best trueness value, and the 90-degree group resulted in the lowest trueness value among the groups. The 67.5-degree group led to the best precision value, and the 90-degree group to the lowest precision value among the groups.

Conclusions: Print orientation influenced the accuracy of diagnostic casts fabricated by using the selected printer and material. However, all specimens had clinically acceptable manufacturing accuracy ranging between 92 μm and 131 μm.