Shanghai, China — October 2026 — FastForm secured orders for more than 200 metal 3D printers during the first three days of DenTech China 2026, reflecting growing demand for integrated, automated dental manufacturing solutions.
Behind the strong order volume was more than a showcase of equipment performance. Visitors experienced FastForm’s AI-powered software, integrated software-hardware platform, and comprehensive dental metal 3D printing portfolio.
The response highlighted a broader shift in the market: competition in metal additive manufacturing is moving beyond individual machine specifications toward end-to-end production efficiency.
01 More Than 200 Orders: What Is the Market Choosing?
DenTech China 2026 opened in Shanghai on October 22, bringing together dental professionals, laboratories, equipment manufacturers, and technology providers from around the world.
Throughout the exhibition, the FastForm booth remained busy with live equipment demonstrations, software presentations, and business discussions. Visitors evaluated print quality and production capacity, experienced the complete dental build-preparation workflow, and discussed equipment selection, production-line upgrades, and technical support with the FastForm team.
Within three days, FastForm secured orders for more than 200 metal 3D printers.
For dental laboratories and production centers, purchasing a metal 3D printer is not simply about adding another machine. It often requires reconsidering production workflows, staffing, throughput, and delivery capacity.
Customers are therefore looking beyond whether a machine can produce a part. They want to know whether the overall solution can shorten build preparation, support consistent production, reduce operational complexity, and deliver sustainable long-term value.
This was the central focus of FastForm’s presence at DenTech China 2026.
02 From Two Hours to Three Minutes: AI Transforms Dental Build Preparation
Traditional dental metal 3D printing workflows often depend heavily on experienced technicians. Preparing a build plate—including model orientation, connector-bar generation, nesting, and support design—can be time-consuming and difficult to standardize.
Preparing a fully loaded plate with 30 dental frameworks may take one to two hours. During periods of high demand, this can become a production bottleneck, leaving printers idle while they wait for build data.
At the exhibition, FastForm introduced FastLayer 7, its AI-powered build-preparation software designed to address this challenge.
FastLayer 7 uses AI algorithms to automate four major preparation steps:
- Model orientation analysis
- Connector-bar generation
- Full-plate nesting
- Intelligent support generation
In the demonstrated FF-M220 production scenario, the software prepared 30 dental frameworks in approximately three minutes—delivering an efficiency increase of up to 40 times compared with the stated manual preparation time.
The value of this automation goes beyond saving time on a single build. By connecting model import, orientation, nesting, and support generation in one automated workflow, FastLayer 7 transforms build preparation from an operator-dependent task into a more standardized and repeatable process.
For dental laboratories, this can help reduce dependence on highly experienced operators, release production capacity, and lower operating costs.
FastLayer 7 is available across FastForm’s main dental metal 3D printing portfolio, including DeskFab X1, FF-M140, and FF-M220.
03 More Than a Machine: Software and Hardware Developed Together
Dental additive manufacturing users have long faced challenges related to third-party software, including licensing costs, paid upgrades, delayed technical support, and compatibility gaps between software and equipment.
FastForm takes a different approach. Its software, AI capabilities, process database, and metal 3D printing systems are developed as one integrated platform.
This software-hardware integration provides value in three areas:
- Cost: Ongoing software upgrades for eligible systems help reduce long-term software and iteration costs.
- Efficiency: FastForm’s in-house software and application teams can respond directly to customer requirements.
- User experience: Software and hardware are developed together, reducing the process and communication gaps that can arise between independent suppliers.
FastForm therefore delivers more than an individual metal 3D printer. It provides an integrated production solution covering build preparation, printing equipment, process parameters, and technical support.
The orders secured at DenTech China reflect increasing market recognition of this integrated approach.
04 A Complete Portfolio for Different Production Requirements
FastForm has focused on dental metal additive manufacturing for the past decade. Its product portfolio ranges from compact entry-level systems to industrial equipment designed for high-volume production.
Products including DeskFab X1, FF-M140, and FF-M220 address the needs of dental operations of different sizes. With AI-powered build-preparation software available across the portfolio, customers can adopt a more automated digital workflow according to their current production requirements.
FastForm has deployed more than 3,000 systems worldwide across dental and industrial applications, with installations in Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and other markets.
05 From Equipment to Scalable Digital Production
FastForm’s performance at DenTech China 2026 was not driven by a single product feature. It reflected a combination of AI automation, integrated software and hardware, application expertise, and a product portfolio designed for different production scenarios.
The market’s evaluation criteria are changing. Machine specifications remain important, but customers increasingly assess the efficiency, consistency, scalability, and long-term operating value of the complete production workflow.
More than 200 orders in three days provide a clear indication of that shift. As AI becomes part of real production processes and software and equipment become more closely integrated, metal 3D printing is evolving from an advanced manufacturing tool into a more repeatable and scalable form of digital production.
Performance data, including the approximately three-minute preparation time and up-to-40-times efficiency improvement, is based on a defined FF-M220 test scenario using 30 dental frameworks, standard test models, and a specified software version. Actual results may vary depending on model geometry, equipment configuration, process requirements, and software version.