Every STL design file of a surgical guide contains holes, in which sleeves are inserted to guide the surgical instruments.
To be able to insert the sleeve into the printed surgical guide, the holes must have the same or a slightly larger diameter as the outer diameter of the sleeve.
Characteristic for today’s 3D printing technology is that holes are printed with slightly smaller diameter compared to the accurate diameter of the STL file. To correct this, you need to specify a “Sleeve Offset”.
The offset depends on the type of 3D printer used, calibration & maintenance and sometimes also on the individual printer.
Example – Typical offsets are:
Formlabs – Form 2 ~ 80μm
SprintRay – SprintRay Pro 95 ~ 200μm
Objet Eden 260V ~ 80μm
DS – Primeprint ~ 80µm
Our offset reference bodies help you determine the individual printer offset. All reference bodies are specific to your sleeve. Download the appropriate reference body here.
Within the SICAT Implant software, you can plan sleeves for the surgical instruments of your implant system. Using the RAPID DIGITALGUIDE enables you to insert those sleeves into your printed guide yourself. Find a list of all available sleeve options here.
In case one or more sleeves are planned inside the gingiva or collide with bone, you need to indicate whether you allow a collision of the sleeve holder with the gingiva.
The stability of the sleeve inside the guide can be affected. To avoid collision between guide and gingiva, the sleeve will not be surrounded by acrylic where patient anatomy is present.
The sleeve will be completely surrounded by acrylic, even if gingiva is present. In case of collisions between gingiva and sleeve holder, the guide might not fit.
Ordering a RAPID DIGITALGUIDE requires SICAT Implant V.2.0.1 or higher as well as SICAT Implant Database Version V2.0 Update 3 or higher.
To find out, which SICAT Implant software version and which SICAT Implant database version you are using, please proceed as follows:
1. Open your SICAT Suite and click on the question mark at the upper right corner.
2. In the following window, please click on the “About” button and the required information will be displayed (here: highlighted in red).
3D implant planning: easier, safer and faster than ever before - with just a few clicks.
Last Update: 2023-06-22