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Equipment & Products

22 Dent. Tech N° 112/113 Dent. Tech N° 112/113 23

Equipment & Pro d u c t s

Last version of the Sintra in 2013

The Sintra Fu rnace has been designed

to meet the needs of dental labora to ri e s

w h i ch expect and need a highly

ve rsatile zirconia furn a c e .

S h e npaz have developed unique and

s p e c i fic ch a ra c te ri stics in this are a .

The Shenpaz Sinte ring Fu rnace can be

f u l ly pro grammed, and can be used

w i th all zirconium oxide mate rials on

the market to d ay.

It is the best selling furnace in the US,

and has been awa rded the Zirl u x

z i rconia fast cycle cert i fication. Sintra

Fu rnaces are also used by Shofu in

Japan.

The purest of pure Sintering

By Pierre BajotDental Technician

● Company Backg r o u n d

S h e npaz was established in 19 87 by Baru ch

Indig, a dental technician and also the owner of

one of the biggest labs in Tel Aviv. Before setting

up his lab, Baruch studied dental technology and

worked in both Germany and Italy.

In 2010 Shenpaz joined the Electrotherm Group,

and became the specialist division for dental lab

f u rnaces. Electroth e rm ’s excellent custo m e r

s e rvice, combined with Shenp a z ’s innova t i o n

h ave made this comp a ny a leader in th e rm a l

e quipment for labs. The comp a ny ’s mot to is

excellence without comp romise, based on

quality, performance, reactivity and support.

Dent. Tech N° 112/113 25

Equipment & Products

24 Dent. Tech N° 112/113

● B a c kground in zirconia sintering atS h e n p a z

In 2007, Shenpaz launched its first Sintra sintering furnace

(fig. 1).

The second version was launched at the IDS in 2011, and

featured additional innovations such as:

- Ac t i ve cooling (a nega t i ve te mp e ra t u re ra mp for ex t ra

slow cooling)

- Sintering temperature upto 1650°C (fig. 2).

In 2013, the newest version of Sintra and Sintra Plus were

launched, featuring a colour screen and a touch sensitive

command pad, as well as 50 additional programmes for

cooling.

The opening and closing mechanism opera te s

automatically with an ultra precise lifting tray (fig. 3). A

full menu allows you to modify pro gramme names and

copy programmes (fig. 4).

● Latest model

The late st models of Sintra have 200 ava i l a b l e

p ro grammes, whilst Sintra Plus offe rs 250 pro gra m m e s ,

all of which can be configured as required.

The high-contra st colour screen and the to u ch sensitive

command pad make it easier to read and adapt th e

programmes as required (fig 5). The programme cycle can

be visualised on-screen (fig. 6).

The furnace te mp e ra t u re can be raised to 18 0 0 ° C ,

h oweve r, the fa c to ry confi g u ration limits the maximum

te mp e ra t u re to 1650°C in order to pre s e rve the heating

elements and extend the lifespan of the machine.

A USB connection on the back panel helps with technical

interventions.

In the case of a power cut, power fa i l u re prote c t i o n

ensures that the furnace will resume the cycle that was in

operation when the power cut off.

● D e g a s s i n g

D e gassing is fully pro grammable (fig. 7). The dega s s i n g

option is available for both furnace models, but requires

an air connection. A decanting filter is essential to prevent

any impurities from accidentally getting between the lab

compressor and the furnace (fig. 8).

This installation guarantees a pure sinter and improves the

t ranslucency of the copings. No colouring residue can

affect the muffle and its resistors. This also significantly

i n c reases the muffle lifespan (connection tube and fa st

connector provided).

● Power and precision

T h ree U-re s i sto rs, made from a special alloy, ensure that th e

heat is spread homoge n o u s ly th roughout the muffle, which

also contri b u tes to the ex tended muffle lifespan (fig. 9).

The late st insulating mate rials guara n tee to p - l evel insulation,

w h i l st a single-phase electrical supply ensures the dev i c e

consumes less electri c i t y, making it a high-perfo rm a n c e ,

e n e rgy saving device. The furn a c e’s electronic syste m

m a n a ges the flux of the electrical supply, so as to adapt

te mp e ra t u re rise and te mp e ra t u re stabilisation phases

p e rfe c t ly. It is possible that the cycle will be slightly longe r

in the case of a poor or unstable electrical connection, but

this will not influence the sinte ring qu a l i t y.

● Programming: 5 temperature risephases and 5 cooling phases

Sintra has been developed to work best with the various zir-

conia products available, so it adapts well to new products

on the market, because it can be fully programmed accord-

ing to the zirconia manufacturer’s instructions. For exam-

ple, the temperature rise speed can be changed from 1°C

to 70°C per minute depending on the specifications provid-

ed by the material manufacturer (fig. 10).

1

First Sintra model in 2007 Second Sintra in 2011

2 3

S i n t ra and Sintra Plus we re launched in 2013

4

Full menu Colour screen and sensitive touch pad

5 6

P ro gramme cycle

7

Degassing

8

Air connection

9

U resitors

10

The heating phases

Equipment & Products

26 Dent. Tech N° 112/113

Equipment & Products

Each programme can be configured and features five

phases of temperature rise, from 1°C /min to 70°C/min

with a hold time from 1 minute to 5 hours for each

specific phase. This is the same for cooling, there are five

phases for cooling, each of which can be programmed

1°C and 70°C per minute, with hold time to ensure

stabilisation between each of the phases.

● Active Cooling (photo 11)

Active cooling is a fast cooling parameter. When the air

decanter is activated, the furnace is cooled more quickly

once the te mp e ra t u re has come down to below 450°C

(fig. 11).

This option offe rs the possibi lity of reducing th e

programme length from 10-11 hours down to 7-8 hours.

Fa st or slow nega t i ve te mp e ra t u re ra mps can be

p ro grammed, as per the specif ications of mate ri a l

manufacturers.

This may extend the cycle a little, but allows you to adapt

the programme for all types of long-span restoration.

● Fast Sintering Cycle

The fast sintering option is only available with the Sintra

Plus furnace. It allows for the sintering of five to six units

or two th ree-unit bri d ges in just 90 minutes, so long as

this corresponds to the mate rial manufa c t u re r’s

i n st ructions. The furnace will need to be confi g u red in

fast mode (fig. 12).

Important:

The programmes configured in the Sintra and Sintra Plus

m e m o ry may va r y to the mate r ial manufa c t u re r’s

instructions for a specific material. It is best to obtain the

Zr manufa c t u re r’s precise inst ructions in order to

configure specific programmes for that given material.

Note: Shenpaz is not a Zirconia manufacturer, but does

offer a generic programme (0) which is adapted to most

materials on the market today. ◆

By Pierre Bajot

Dental Technician

Technical Adviser SDC

11

Active cooling

12

Fast sinter

13

The plate lifting mechanism is so smooth that a coin can be

balanced on it!

14

Various frameworks Single unit framework on Camlog implant

15 16

Full zirconia coping, Zirkonzahn

17

Finished porcelain

18

Implant bridge framework

19

Full framework

Here are a few cases done by Design Implant Lab, from asimple coping to more complex cases. This lab has beenusing Shenpaz Sintra since September 2014.

‘We have been working with zirconia for the past 12 years. We now have four sintering furnaces in the lab. Sintra Plus isdefinitely the one that has given us the best results, both forsintering single coping and bridges, and for numerous zirconiabrands on the market.We have learnt to use this furnace over time, and now master thenumerous possibilities it offers.

Each of the 250 programmes is completely programmable on theversion I have chosen. There are also 17 pre-set programmes from various materialmanufacturers, which can also be adapted as needed: ZirkonZhan, Katana Multi, Metoxit, Spark, Degudent, Cercon, Sirona,LAVA, Zirlux and more.’

User ReviewJean-Marie a n d Edouad JOURDAN - Dental Technicians

Zircone liste

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