How to Process Surgical Guides before Printing?
In previous sections, we covered the processing workflows for orthodontic models and working models. This article will focus on processing workflow for surgical guides before printing, including both automated and manual methods, along with important considerations for each.
New users can refer to the Primer tutorial What to Do Before Model Preparation in CHITUBOX Dental? for detailed instructions on initial software setup, including printer and material selection, print parameter configuration, and model import.
Let’s begin learning the pre-print processing workflow for surgical guides.
Surgical Guides
A surgical guide, also known as an implant guide, is a medical device used to assist in dental implant surgery. It helps surgeons precisely determine the position, angle, and depth of the implant. 3D-printed surgical guides are produced based on the patient’s oral scan data and are personalized using CAD and CAM technologies to match the patient’s oral condition.
The structure of a surgical guide includes the drill guide and the positioning plate. The drill guide records the position, angle, and depth of the implant, ensuring accurate placement during surgery. The positioning plate serves as a stabilizer, conforming to the bone, teeth, or alveolar ridge surface.
Automated Processing
Surgical guides are generally small in size and do not require hollowing or filling. Therefore, CHITUBOX Dental’s automated processing workflow for such models includes only three default steps: orientation, support, and layout. Users only need to import the models and click the "Auto Process" button. The software will handle the rest, and once the process is complete, clicking "Slice" will generate a ready-to-print file. Note that before processing, ensure the application type in the configuration page is set to Surgical Guide.
Manual Processing
The manual processing workflow for surgical guides follows the same three steps as the automated process: orientation, support, and layout.
Orientation
CHITUBOX Dental orients surgical guides with the intaglio surface facing upward and away from the build platform, while aligning the drill guide direction perpendicular to the platform. This prevents supports from being added to the intaglio surface and inside the drill holes, which could affect the guide’s fit and function.
Some surgical guides have multiple drill guides. Due to variations in patients' oral condition, these guides may not share the same orientation. For such cases, CHITUBOX Dental’s orientation principle is to calculate the average deviation angle of each guide from the vertical axis and position the model accordingly, aiming to keep all drill guides as perpendicular as possible to the build platform. To prevent deformation of inclined drill guides during printing, we recommend using high-rigidity, low-warping resins.
Support
Unlike teeth models with flat bases, surgical guides require supports for printing. When adding supports, it's need to avoid placing them inside the drill guides or on the intaglio surface of the positioning plate, as this may compromise precision and fit.
CHITUBOX Dental’s automated support function includes an "Auto support excluding round holes" option. When enabled, supports will not be generated inside drill guides, and support density will be reinforced around the edges of the guide openings. Users can access this setting by clicking the second button on the right side of the support files and selecting "Auto support excluding round holes" under Advanced. Given the small size of surgical guides, thin supports are generally sufficient.
When support density is low, which means the support point spacing parameter is large (over the default value of 4.0mm), check whether overhangs are adequately supported and whether the lowest areas of the model have sufficient support to ensure successful printing. Flip the view to the bottom perspective and use the slider on the right to examine cross-sections, verifying if manual support addition is needed in critical regions.
Layout
After adding supports, use CHITUBOX Dental’s layout function to arrange models efficiently with a compact layout.
After completing these steps, carefully inspect the models for integrity and verify that printer and material parameters are correct. Once confirmed, click Slice to enter the preview interface and review each layer. Then, click Save to store the file locally or on a storage device for transfer to the 3D printer. For network-enabled machines, users can also click "Send to printer" to directly transfer the file and initiate printing.
The above describes our recommended workflow for processing surgical guides in CHITUBOX Dental. If you have alternative insights, please share them with us at marketing@dental.chitubox.com.