Aircenter – compact, energy-saving compressed air systems

Adapting compressed air in dental laboratories to meet CAD/CAM demands

Dental laboratories ideally prefer to operate their own complete CAD/CAM system, allowing them to perform in-house machining of crown and bridges. Successful integration of a milling machine into the laboratory necessitates review, and in many cases, upgrading of the compressed air supply. The Aircenter from Kaeser provides the perfect solution. 

The vast majority of CAD/CAM systems require a compressed air connection. And although most dental laboratories are already equipped with a compressed air supply, integration of a CAD/CAM system usually results in increased compressed air demand – most notably the required pressure in the connection line. Modern systems often require minimum pressures of 7 bar, just to ensure proper mounting of the cutting tools. Perfect tool changes, cleaning of the work area with compressed air and appropriate cooling of the workpiece are all essential to produce a flawless result: in this case, a high-quality framework for a bridge or crown.

Although it’s possible to adjust the quality of the compressed air produced by the existing system using dryers and filters, the pressure itself cannot simply be increased. If the compressor has not been factory-designed for the pressure requirements, nothing can be done subsequently to “adjust” it. Many factors must be taken into account to solve this problem. Unauthorised modifications to equipment not only void the warranty; this practice also leads to increased wear – not to mention safety risks. Simply installing an additional or larger reciprocating compressor won’t meet the higher compressed air demands of a dental laboratory CAD/CAM system either. Furthermore, the milling centre should ideally be constantly loaded, preferably around the clock, including weekends. These demanding operating conditions also preclude extended periods of compressor downtime, such as for cooling and regeneration of the compressed air dryer.