As chairside CAD/CAM dentistry continue to expand its reach, a range of new restorative materials are available for use in the dental clinic. While full-contour zirconia restorations are a rapidly growing option, the production of these restorations chairside is still uncommon. Fabricating a zirconia crown requires a mill capable of cutting the hard ceramic material and a specialized furnace to sinter it. In the past this sintering took extremely long periods of time, but now it can be accomplished in time frames similar to that of more popular chairside ceramics. Production of full-contour zirconia crowns chairside might not be common today, but it might be in the future, and with that in mind, here is a look at some of the specialized sintering furnaces for use with zirconia restorations.
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| Company | DEKEMA | VITA North America | Ivoclar Vivadent Inc. |
| Item | Austromat uSiC Furnace | VITA ZYrcomat 6000 MS Sintering Furnace | Programat S1 Sintering Furnace |
| Price | Inquire | Inquire | Inquire |
| Description | The DEKEMA high temperature furnace AUSTROMAT µSiC is equipped with three silicon carbide heating elements to safely and consistently operate at | The VITA ZYRCOMAT 6000 MS sintering furnace is capable of sintering up to 25 units as well as 9-unit bridges in 80 minutes starting from room | The Programat S1 is a light-weight and compact sintering furnace for the sintering of frameworks made of IPS e.max ZirCAD and other ZrO2 materials. |
| Warranty | Not Available | 2 Years | Not Available |
| Voltage | 100 - 240 volts, 50 - 60 Hz | 230 volts, 50 Hz | 118 – 240 volts, 50 – 60 Hz |
| Display | LED | VITA vPad Comfort, Excellence, Clinical - LCD, Touchscreen | LED |
| Requirements | Not Available | VITA vPad Control Unit | Not Available |
| Chamber Dimensions | Not Available | 9 x 7 cm (3.5 x 2.8 inches) | 8 x 8 cm (3.15 x 3.15 inches) |
| Indications | Ceramic | ZrO2 and Al2O3 Ceramic Materials | ZrO2 Ceramic Materials |
| External Dimensions | 98 x 42 x 60 cm (38.6 x 16.5 x 23.6 inches) | 47 x 31.5 x 50 cm (18.5 x 12.4 x 19.7 inches) | 57 x 31 x 43 cm (22.4 x 12.2 x 16.3 inches) |
| Computerized Auto Control / Calibration | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Programmable Settings | 10 Stored Programs | HighSpeed, Conventional, and User-Defined Sintering Modes
VITA vPad Comfort, Clinical - 500 Firing Programs
VITA vPad Excellence - 1,000 Firing Programs | Standard Program for Ivoclar Vivadent Materials and Other ZrO2 Materials
Free Programs |
| Memory | Yes | Yes | No |
| PC / Printer Connectivity | USB
Ethernet | No | USB |
| Maximum Pressing / Firing Temperature | 1,600° C (2,912° F) | 1,600° C (2,912° F) | 1530 °C (2786 °F) |
| Vacuum Level | Not Available | Not Available | 500 - 1060 mbar |
| Muffle Type | Not Available | Quartz | Not Available |
| Get Info | Not Available | Not Available | Inquire |