Same-Day Dentistry made EASY: vhf Presents Compact Milling Machine E4 for Blocks
The economical solution for the fabrication of in-house restorations in the dental practice.
At the CDS Midwinter Meeting in Chicago, vhf camfacture AG has launched a highly innovative machine for wet and dry machining of blocks. This machine will boost digitization and enable many practices to easily and economically enter same-day dentistry, from which dentists and patients will benefit alike. The E4 offers its users maximum freedom: it can be easily combined with the preferred intraoral scanner and the materials suitable for the respective patient case. The E4 is the ideal complement for the practice workflow and impresses with perfectly manufactured dental restorations made of materials ranging from PMMA to glass ceramics.
Simplicity was the focus of development for the E4, just as it was for the E5 mill for discs launched a good two weeks earlier. Together, they are part of the new EASE Class from vhf. After all, every dentist should be able to enter same-day dentistry in shortest time with any intraoral scanner and the E4. Simplicity manifests itself in the E4 in several ways: its freedom from compressed air, its low weight of only 28 kg, and its compact housing, which requires only slightly more floor space than an A3 sheet of paper. This means it can be installed anywhere. The machine is operated intuitively via the provided DENTALCAM software – without any additional licensing costs.
In terms of material and indication diversity, the E4 is a true all-rounder. As standard, it is equipped to wet grind blocks made of glass ceramics or composites with ceramic content. Thanks to PUREWATER Technology, no grinding additives are required – which means trouble-free disposal and lower running costs. With a few simple steps, the range of indications for the E4 can be significantly expanded by using an optional dry tank instead of the liquid tank. In this way, materials such as zirconia, PMMA and other composites can also be dry milled. The ability to process blocks up to 45 mm in length is particularly helpful here.
Dry milling reveals another major innovation: here too, the E4 operates completely without compressed air – it therefore requires neither an external connection for compressed air nor a built-in compressor. This is not only another sustainability aspect of the E4, it also saves further costs and allows much greater freedom in the placement of the machine. This freedom from compressed air is made possible by vhf’s patent-pending AIRTOOL. The turbine blades of this tool generate a strong air flow due to the high speeds of the high-frequency spindle, which keeps the workpiece free of chips and dust.
Dr. Nicolas Rohde, Chief Strategy Officer at vhf camfacture AG, sums up the balancing act that had to be mastered in the design of the E4: “With more than 30 years of experience in mechanical engineering, it was a matter of course for us not only to design the E4 to be light, compact and easy to operate, but also to build it entirely without compromise from high-quality industrial components. This is where reliability meets precision, and we give every dentist the opportunity to produce lab-quality dental restorations in their own practice.”
The world premiere of the E4 took place on February 23, 2023 at 7 pm CET at the CDS Midwinter Meeting in Chicago. From February 24, it can also be seen in Chicago at the LMT Lab Day, and from March 14 at the IDS in Cologne. More information about the E4 can be found on the dedicated microsite at ease.vhf.com/e4
