HP Innovation Issue 17: Spring 2021 | Page 42

AT THE BRIGHTLY LIT SMILE

HOUSE ”

manufacturing facility in Antioch , Tennessee , SmileDirectClub employees in purple masks , gloves , and other safety gear work amid the industrial hum of an unconventional production process . The facility is the heart of an innovative approach to manufacturing that has delivered affordable orthodontic treatment and straighter bites to more than a million customers in a major disruption to the 120-year-old , $ 12 billion orthodontics industry .
In three pristine rooms , much of the action happens within 60 state-of-theart HP Multi Jet Fusion 3D printers , which follow detailed plans to produce customized molds as unique as the smile on your face . The molds will be used to shape SmileDirectClub ’ s signature clear plastic aligners , which are then shipped directly to consumers .
3D printing systems have the potential to evolve manufacturing from mass production of identical products to “ mass personalization ” of unique , customized products at scale , when and where they are needed , says Ramon Pastor , Head of 3D Printing Platforms at HP . “ It is a great example for many other industries — such as health and wellness and consumer goods — that mass personalization is possible and scalable , and that we can produce it ,” he says .
EXPANDING ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY
According to SmileDirectClub , although 80 % of Americans could benefit from orthodontic care , just 1 % get it , primarily because of cost , among other barriers . Sixty percent of counties in the United States don ’ t have an orthodontist .
Removing those barriers is a major goal for SmileDirectClub . Braces , the classic strategy , typically cost $ 5,000 to $ 8,000 , says Dan Baker , SmileDirectClub ’ s global head of supply chain . SmileDirectClub ’ s Clear Aligner therapy offers straighter teeth at less than half that cost : $ 1,950 .
HP ’ s 3D-printing solutions create a significant part of those savings , allowing SmileDirectClub to make products more efficiently with lower-cost materials . At its current facility in Antioch , SmileDirectClub ’ s 60 HP Multi Jet Fusion printers work around the clock to produce the molds used to create its aligners each year , Baker says . The partnership is set to grow this summer with a new facility in Columbia , Tennessee , that will significantly expand SmileDirectClub ’ s fleet of HP ’ s Multi Jet Fusion printers and create 600 new jobs . The Columbia facility is
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