A CAD/CAM Nightmare Resolved by Axsys Dental Solutions

Friedman Dentistry is a father and son general practice located in Encino, California which is an idyllic suburb just north of Los Angeles. In 2013, Matt Friedman convinced his father Mark Friedman that the practice should stop sending digital scans to a milling center and instead start fabricating definitive restorations in the office. After careful due diligence, they decided to purchase the Versamill 5X-200 from Axsys Dental Solutions. This is a commercial-quality, open source milling machine that could handle the entire spectrum of dental restorations with superb precision and long-term reliability. This highly capable mill was up and running at Friedman Dentistry by the fall of 2013.

On Thursday, September 7, 2023 at 2:00 PM, Dr. Matt stood outside Dr. Mark’s treatment room with a solemn look on his face. He was milling a series of E-Max crowns and the machine’s spindle had failed. For a brief moment in time, both doctors were in an anxiety and panic mode. Not only did the following week have several patients scheduled for multi-unit anterior restorations, but Dr. Matt’s E-Max crowns needed to be inserted the following Monday because the patient was leaving town. Moments later, the doctors were on the phone with the support team at Axsys Dental Solutions who immediately sent a replacement spindle via Fed-Ex. The following day at 10:00 AM the new spindle arrived. An Axsys Dental Support Solutions engineer contacted the office at 10:30 AM and walked them through the 20 minute spindle removal and replacement process. They also sent an STL file of a 10.00 mm block to be milled out of PMMA. It would be used to verify the position of the Z axis once the new spindle was in place. The engineer explained that if necessary, he could adjust the Z axis remotely to get the mill within exact specifications. The test block was milled in less than 10 minutes and it measured 10.004 mm on the digital micrometer, exactly within the specifications of a new machine. Both doctors were elated. No adjustments were necessary, but more importantly the potential nightmare of having the mill inoperable for an extended period of time had been averted.

The Friedman Dentistry team thanks Axsys Dental Solutions for their rapid and expert response in a time of need. This was a prime example of how Axsys makes a long-term commitment to supporting their customers. Their expertise, professionalism and support allowed the team at Friedman Dentistry to care for their patients without interruption. Axsys Dental Solutions provided them with peace of mind and it goes without saying that benefit is priceless.