3D MEDICAL PRINT LUXA mould, shell & cast 378–388 nm UV/LED plastics for all open 3D printers Digital Earmould Production with DETAX Premium Plastic Materials by Dominic Schmidt he term “Industry 4.0” is the talk of the town and is being intensively discussed and implemented in all commercial sectors. An important part of this concept is manufacture of products using digital manufacturing methods, which are being used by an increasing number of businesses. In the audiological area, 3D production is likewise gaining traction (Fig.1), so that the process of earmould production is nowadays performed almost exclusively digitally. After successful impression taking by the hearing aid audiologist, using 3D impression scanners the ear impressions are digitally captured and sent to earmould laboratories or hearing aid manufacturers for preparation of hearing aid earmoulds / in-ear hearing aids. A manufacturing workflow in the earmould laboratories geared to this is accordingly necessary; the earmoulds are modelled individually and precisely with the aid of CAD programs. For manufacture, advanced 3D printers are used; the most widely used method here is the DLP method (Digital Light Processing). Requirements arising from this are new materials that are optimally matched to these manufacturing processes. DETAX provides such premium materials for digital manufacturing of hard & soft earmoulds (using the cast method). In the following report, the materials DETAX luxaprint® 3D shell/mould, as well as the associated varnishes DETAX luxaprint® shellac are contemplated more closely. In our earmould manufacture, we rely exclusively on 3D printers by the vendor rapidshape, which are optimised for continuous use in the earmould laboratory. Combination of the rapidshape HA90 system with the premium plastic materials DETAX luxaprint® 3D shell/mould permits manufacture of about 40 – 45 earmoulds within approximately 80 – 90 minutes (400 layers). This means an enormous time advantage over traditional manual Fig. 1: Professional in-ear monitoring with shells made ​​ luxapri

production. Apart from that, there is also the possibility of operating the equipment overnight in a multi-layer operation (Fig. 2), thus optimally using even the non-working time. Another advantage of using the DETAX premium plastics is the possibility of directly producing coloured eartips (Figs. 3 + 4). Thus, thin shells (DETAX luxaprint® 3D shell) for inear hearing aids or in-ear monitoring can be printed in colour. This represents a significant improvement over precision earpieces subsequently painted in the desired colour. The colouring is evenly and uniform, the risk of varnish runs and...

Fig. 5: Colour variety of the luxaprint® 3D Premium plastic materials Fig. 6: Permanent colour sealing with luxaprint® shellac color The classy surface finish thus obtained enhances the durability of the earpiece and ensures increased quality perception by the wearer or audiologist. The surface produced by the coating is scratch-resistant and easy to clean and ensures reduced adhesion of earwax; additionally, the varnished earmoulds yellow significantly less. As a further advantage, the availability of lacquers (DETA luxaprint® shellac colour / Fig. 6) is to be mentioned, whereby colourless earmoulds...

UV Premium Resins luxaprint® mould luxaprint® shell luxaprint® cast 2.0 ■ for hard ITE shells ■ maximum precision ■ thinnest shell walls ■ high fracture resistance ■ intensive colours ■ full cure ■ biocompatible ■ for hard earmoulds & hearing protection (BTE, monitoring, etc.) ■ highest transparency ■ best mechanical features ■ biocompatible ■ for cast forms (fabrication of silicone earmoulds) ■ reduced loss of material due to low viscosity ■ fast cleaning ■ easy to break ■ effortless removal multi colours luxaprint® 3D