A few weeks ago, I was chatting with a dental technician from a mid-sized lab. He shared something that struck a chord—his team was spending over 30 minutes manually adjusting the nesting layout for every case.
"It’s just part of the process," he said. "But honestly, it’s exhausting."
This isn’t an isolated case. Many dental labs still rely on manual nesting, unaware of how much time they’re losing. Some labs complete nesting in minutes, while others struggle with inefficient workflows, wasted materials, and frequent milling errors.
So what makes the difference? Why do some labs operate seamlessly while others deal with constant bottlenecks?
The answer often lies in how efficiently the CAM nesting software handles automation, precision, and material adaptability.
Why Manual Nesting Slows Labs Down
If you’ve ever spent hours fine-tuning the positioning of restorations in a disc, you know how frustrating it can be. It’s not just about placing restorations to avoid tool collisions—it’s about optimizing material use, ensuring proper support pin placements, and getting the toolpaths right.
Traditional CAM software often requires too much manual intervention, forcing technicians to:
❌ Constantly adjust restoration positions to prevent overcuts
❌ Manually define pin locations for stability
❌ Spend unnecessary time trying to maximize material efficiency
Now, imagine pressing a button and letting the software do all of that for you in seconds.
That’s what automatic nesting is designed for.
Real Impact:
A dental lab that used to spend 30+ minutes per case on manual nesting reduced it to just 6 minutes with automatic nesting, freeing up technicians for more critical tasks.
90° Milling: The Game-Changer for Complex Restorations
If you’ve ever worked on anterior veneers, full crowns, or deep inlays, you probably know the struggle—leftover material in buccal and labial undercuts that standard milling strategies can’t remove.
This leads to two major problems:
❌ The restoration doesn’t fit properly, requiring manual grinding and finishing
❌ The extra adjustments compromise the precision of the restoration
That’s where 90° milling comes in. By allowing the machine to rotate to an optimal angle, it ensures complete material removal in those hard-to-reach areas.
Example from a technician’s experience:
"We used to spend 15-20 minutes manually polishing undercut areas after milling. After switching to 90° milling, we eliminated the problem entirely. Now restorations come out clean, saving us an extra step."
Key Takeaway: If your lab frequently mills veneers, anterior crowns, or complex bridge cases, 90° milling can make a noticeable difference in precision and efficiency.
Nesting Strategies for Different Materials: One Size Does Not Fit All
Here’s something that often gets overlooked—not all materials should be processed the same way.
Think about it:
- Zirconia is dense and tough, requiring slower milling speeds to reduce tool wear
- Lithium Disilicate is fragile, so it needs precise pin placements to avoid chipping
- PMMA and Wax are soft, meaning they can be nested more densely to maximize material usage
But what if your CAM software doesn’t automatically adapt to different materials?
That’s where a strategy editor becomes invaluable. Instead of technicians constantly tweaking settings, the software should be able to:
✔️ Adjust toolpath speeds based on material hardness
✔️ Optimize nesting layouts to minimize waste
✔️ Automatically place pins to prevent fractures in fragile materials
Best-Case Scenario:
A technician working with multiple materials doesn’t have to reconfigure settings manually for each case—the software does it for them.
Smarter CAM Software: What Difference Does It Make?
For labs looking to increase production efficiency without sacrificing precision, software like UPCAM offers a more intelligent approach to CAM nesting.
Faster Toolpath Generation
- NC file creation for a single restoration: 30 seconds
- Full disc nesting: 6 minutes
Efficiency Boost:
A high-production lab using UPCAM reported saving over 2 hours per day on nesting alone—time that could now be spent increasing output or refining complex cases.
One-Click Automatic Nesting
UPCAM’s smart nesting algorithm reduces manual work by:
✔️ Placing restorations efficiently to reduce material waste
✔️ Optimizing pin placements for stability
✔️ Generating the most efficient toolpaths automatically
User Feedback:
"Before, we had to manually adjust each restoration to prevent collisions. Now, UPCAM does everything in 6 minutes, letting us focus on production instead of troubleshooting."
Enhanced Precision with 90° Milling
With UPCAM’s 90° milling support, technicians can process restorations with undercuts more effectively, ensuring:
Better marginal fit for veneers and crowns
Cleaner milling in deep anatomical features
Fewer post-milling adjustments
Technician’s Story:
"The first time I used 90° milling, I realized how much time we had been wasting fixing marginal imperfections manually. Now, restorations fit perfectly right out of the mill."
Adaptive Strategy Editor
UPCAM’s built-in strategy editor customizes milling parameters based on the material being used.
For zirconia → Slower feed rates to reduce tool wear
For PMMA → Denser nesting for better material efficiency
Key Takeaway:
For labs handling a variety of materials, UPCAM’s adaptive strategy settings allow greater control, improving efficiency while extending tool lifespan.
Is It Time to Upgrade Your CAM Workflow?
If your team still spends hours manually adjusting nesting layouts, maybe it’s time to ask:
How much time could you save with smarter automation?
Is your current software holding your lab back?
Are you maximizing your milling machine’s capabilities?
Many labs don’t realize how much time they could be saving with a more intelligent CAM system. If this sounds like your lab, it might be worth exploring whether an upgrade—like UPCAM—could streamline your workflow.
Curious to see the difference? Contact us for a free demo and experience it firsthand.
