title: Experimental Validation of Plastic Mandible Models Produced by a "Low-Cost" 3-Dimensional Fused Deposition Modeling Printer.
abstract: 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.
  
  
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Maschio
authors.affiliation: Discipline of Oral Sciences, Faculty of Dentistry, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Mirali
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pandya
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Olszewski
mesh_terms: D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006801:Humans; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D008953:Models, Anatomic; D015588:Observer Variation; D010969:Plastics / Q000737:chemistry*; D066330:Printing, Three-Dimensional / Q000191:economics*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics