Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 23, 2026
Designing CAD/CAM Surgical Guides for Maxillary Reconstruction Using an In-house Approach
Published on: August 24, 2018
Experimental Validation of Plastic Mandible Models Produced by a "Low-Cost" 3-Dimensional Fused Deposition Modeling
Federico Maschio1, Mirali Pandya2, Raphael Olszewski1
1Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Background:
The objective of this study was to investigate the accuracy of 3-dimensional (3D) plastic (ABS) models generated using a low-cost 3D fused deposition modelling printer.
Material/Methods:
Two human dry mandibles were scanned with a cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) Accuitomo device. Preprocessing consisted of 3D reconstruction with Maxilim software and STL file repair with Netfabb software. Then, the data were used to print 2 plastic replicas with a low-cost 3D fused deposition modeling printer (Up plus 2®). Two independent observers performed the identification of 26 anatomic landmarks on the 4 mandibles (2 dry and 2 replicas) with a 3D measuring arm. Each observer repeated the identifications 20 times. The comparison between the dry and plastic mandibles was based on 13 distances: 8 distances less than 12 mm and 5 distances greater than 12 mm.
Results:
The mean absolute difference (MAD) was 0.37 mm, and the mean dimensional error (MDE) was 3.76%. The MDE decreased to 0.93% for distances greater than 12 mm.
Conclusions:
Plastic models generated using the low-cost 3D printer UPplus2® provide dimensional accuracies comparable to other well-established rapid prototyping technologies. Validated low-cost 3D printers could represent a step toward the better accessibility of rapid prototyping technologies in the medical field.
