Khai Nguyen Dental Lab is a dental laboratory in Ho Chi Minh City that works on a digital workflow: design in exocad, milling on an imes-icore CORiTEC 350i PRO and model scanning on a Ceramill Map600 desktop scanner.
Our technicians train on a regular schedule with material manufacturers and clinicians. The sections below follow a case through the lab, from intake to shipping.
Our digital workflow, from scan file to shipping box
The table below maps each production step at the lab to the equipment or software used and to the page that covers it in detail. Each machine has its own article; this page only connects the steps so you can see how a case moves through the lab.
| Step | Equipment / software | Related page |
|---|---|---|
| Case intake | STL, PLY or DCM files from your intraoral scanner; physical models scanned on a Ceramill Map600 | Scanner compatibility and file formats, Ceramill Map600 scanner |
| CAD design | exocad | Dental CAD design service |
| Milling | imes-icore CORiTEC 350i PRO | The CORiTEC 350i PRO at Khai Nguyen, CAD/CAM accuracy |
| Pressing | Pressed lithium disilicate: IPS e.max Press, GC Initial LiSi Press, Shofu Vintage LD Press | Pressed lithium disilicate compared |
| Sintering and firing | Zirconia sintering furnace; porcelain furnace | Glazing vs polishing |
| Quality control and shipping | Final inspection under ISO 13485:2016; DHL Express | ISO 13485 certificate, Turnaround and shipping |
1. Case intake: intraoral scans or physical impressions
We accept both. For digital cases, send STL, PLY or DCM files by email to cs@khainguyenlab.vn, WhatsApp or the case portal; current intraoral scanners can export at least one of these open formats. Physical impressions can be shipped to the lab by DHL Express, and the poured models are scanned on our Ceramill Map600 desktop scanner. The scanner works with the Artex CR articulator, so the jaw relation set on the mechanical articulator carries over to the virtual one. If a scan is missing the bite or a margin is unclear, the technician flags it before production starts. For esthetic work, a shade photo set helps; see dental photography for the laboratory.
2. CAD design in exocad
Our CAD/CAM team designs in exocad. On esthetic cases you can ask for design screenshots to approve contour and contacts before milling.
When an approved wax-up exists, its scan is used as the reference and overlaid on the design before production, as in the ten Amber Mill veneers that follow the approved wax-up. Labs and clinics with their own mill or printer can order design only: 12 hours, 24 hours for All-on-X, with a 2-hour express option.
3. Milling
Milled restorations are produced on an imes-icore CORiTEC 350i PRO. According to the manufacturer, it mills with five simultaneous axes and integrates wet and dry processing in one machine, so zirconia, PMMA, glass ceramics, lithium disilicate and pre-milled abutments run through the same chain.
What that means for your cases is covered in our CORiTEC 350i PRO article, and where error actually accumulates in a digital chain in CAD/CAM accuracy.
4. Pressing, sintering and firing
Not everything is milled. Lithium disilicate veneers, inlays, onlays and overlays are often pressed; the three ingot systems we use are compared in pressed lithium disilicate compared. Zirconia is milled pre-sintered and shrinks in the furnace, so the shrinkage factor must match each blank lot.
Staining, layering and glaze firing are done in a porcelain furnace, following each material manufacturer’s firing programme; glazing vs polishing explains when each finish is used. Sintering and porcelain furnaces are calibrated on a schedule.
5. Quality control and shipping
Every restoration is checked for occlusion, contacts, shade and surface finish, then sealed, packed and photographed for your records. A unit that fails final inspection is recorded and remade before it ships. The whole chain runs under ISO 13485:2016, certificate 9199293420717-MED issued by ISOCERT.
In-lab time is 2–4.5 working days depending on material and units, and DHL Express typically delivers in 2–4 days. See the ordering process and policies, or follow a full digital case in the full-arch vertical dimension case study.
Sources: imes-icore – CORiTEC 350i series; Amann Girrbach – Ceramill Map 600.
Written for dentists and technicians. Khai Nguyen Dental Lab manufactures to clinical prescription only and does not sell directly to patients.
