What is the Best Way to Make An Emax Inlay?
Patrick Coon, CDT/TE · January 28, 2014
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Question
How do the big labs produce Emax inlays for 69 dollars, if the ingots alone already cost 20 dollars?
Answered By
Patrick Coon, CDT/TE
Technical Consultant at Ivoclar Vivadent, Inc.
Patrick Coon is a 22 year US Air Force Veteran and has been a Dental Laboratory Technician for 28 years. Pat now works with Ivoclar Vivadent, Inc. as a Technical Consultant.
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Patrick Coon, CDT/TE
Because I can fit 4-5 inlays into one pressing with a small ingot, then my ingot price is down to $4 or $5 per unit. Not rocket science, but because...See more they have so much volume coming in it is much easier to maximize their ingot usage, along with all the other material costs associated with it.
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Martin Martinez, CDT
The only way I know to accurately finish an emax inlay is to: 1) Wax up inlay over a lubricated die with die spacer, make a sharpened sprue connected to...See more the inside of your wax up 2) Invest with a ratio allowing for a slightly looser fit than your crowns 3) Carefully devest and fit using a fit marker 4)...
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Show MoreCurt Morgese, CDT Patrick is there any real data on your finding. I will cut ingots and am not so sure about the reuse of a pellet. The companies could make these ingots half the size at no real cost difference to them. Problem is that everyone wants to sell to big labs.
Patrick Coon, CDT/TE Definitely weighing your patterns is the best way to ensure maximum use of an ingot.
However, I would recommend against re-pressing ingots. Every time you take an ingot to the point that it will flow you change its physical properties. This will make the material more brittle, lower its strength, and shift the CTE. I've heard people say, "Well, I only put them behind a new ingot and...See more use them as a 'pusher' ingot so I can maximize my new ingot." The problem with this is that due to the friction of the ingot moving against the investment, part of the used ingot will actually be pushed through the center of the new ingot and end up in your pressing. Now you have a pattern made up of the new and used ingot. This pattern will have areas with differing strengths and CTEs, making it difficult to stack on if needed.
Martin Martinez, CDT I agree with Patrick, you can weigh your wax ups and fit a lot of inlays in a single casting, some labs even recycle the casted buttons and re-press them.