Creating a bespoke plaster room. By Andrew Taylor.
Images and text courtesy of
dental-technician.org
A plaster room is often the most neglected department in a dental laboratory. It is habitually abused, difficult to maintain and keep clean and over time is allowed to fall into a state of advanced toxicity and decrepitude to the point that only the people who really have to go in there, or the very brave and foolhardy actually enter. Or leave.
Most plaster rooms are hectic, noisy and dusty environments that require a chance of clothes once you have ventured in and a visit to the ENT specialist should you spend a day in there! Ok I go a little too far perhaps, but there is no disputing that, for the majority of labs, a plaster room is not the place to be.
My old plaster room was no exception. It has, for a number of years, borne the brunt of every ham-fisted apprentice, enthusiastic improver, carless lab owner, steam cleaners and much more.
To be honest, it was doing just fine and could have batted on for many years to come if it were not for just one problem – The settling tank. The benches were intact and robust enough; the extractors and other machinery were all okay and with the plumbing, with one single exception of the waste handling, was functioning perfectly – especially as the dripping tap allowed for the micro addition of water to a measuring cylinder with great accuracy.
Why not just solve the settling tank problem then? Ah, if only... We have tried over many years, to find a way round the problems caused by less than ideal room configuration and water –in-waste-out inconveniences that this has caused. We have fought against the laws of physics and nature and never actually won. All the battles, and there have been many, have been victories by stubbornness over engineering and make-do over perseverance – eventually you have to give it up and get some real work done.
Moving to a dry plaster trimmer certainly helped but just bought a little more time before the inevitable happened again. We had tried everything from basic tanks to elaborate systems of tubes and “easy empty” Polythene bag-lined affairs, but in the end, the problem always overcame us and won hands down.
The Dawning of a solution.
You have to hand it to LATEM Metals; if you have received one of their flyers, you will have received one hundred – they are nothing if not persistent. It was this persistence that finally scratched its way through to my anaesthetised sensitivity to plaster waste problem- solving. I made arrangements for Kevan Thompson who heads up LATEM to visit my lab with the intention of asking him to design for me one of his bespoke plaster traps.
The plaster trap had been a key feature of the advertising that had taken so long to make an impression. Once Kevan had arrived, he was allowed unescorted into the plaster room to familiarise himself with the problem while I made him a cup of tea.
When i had returned, Kevan had it all worked out. His vision was complete, made perfect sense and, through the terms he proposed, made perfect financial sense too.
Why was it so obvious?
Well, for the first time, I had been exposed to the ideas of manufacture rather than supplier. Suppliers provide modular units – users must adapt to the hardware; LATEM provides bespoke furniture, which is manufactured to the individual’s requirements. Suppliers are limited to a manufacturer’s factory-restricted dimensions and product range; LATEM works to the dimensions presenting and the limits of imagination.
Its is important to note that the design phase requires input from the end users; LATEM will offer ideas but the team are not dental technicians so cannot guess what your requirements are – be careful to specify exactly what you need.
Ultimately, we achieved a suite units that were made to fit the vagaries of a 100-year-old building; units that were individual to our requirements and through the innovative design of the plaster trap, water that escaped our building while leaving behind the solids that have blighted our lives for many years.
This is how it all happened...
The team arrived, the kettle was on and the van unloaded. The team consisted of Kevan, the designer and very experienced sheet metal worker, Dale the plumber and Darren the electrician.
There was a lot of cross-specialist accommodation during the process of re-assembly (the furniture had previously been assembled in a mock-up in the factory), and all three joined in with unloading and tugging large lumps of metal into place – no prima donnas here – and the kettle was on again.
The cabinetry was planned around what previously existed; the configuration had worked so well in the past that there was no need for a wholesale change.
However, the sink was moved to best suit the needs of waste removal and maintenance (at long last!).
One of the main problems that had caused so much trouble in the past was an immovable object in the centre of an external wall – the chimney breast. The obvious solution – removal – was a non-starter; the occupant of the flat above the lab enjoys the use of the chimney breast and was not about to give it up.
The new design had to accommodate this feature and make the best of the situation. LATEM solved the problem by designing a diagonal feature that incorporated three drawers intended to contain die stones. Above the drawers and worktop is a substantial triangular shelf.
Fabricated from stainless steel over a matrix of supports, it can withstand weight far in excess of any machinery that could be lifted into place.
Further powder storage is accommodated by the use of two bottom-hinged panels behind which are cages that retain plastic bins. These bins are used for the storage of surgical plaster and KD stone or similar. These features are completely optional as are many that you may not have considered. This is USP at LATEM: the design is only limited by your imagination and, obviously, the budget. That is not to say that the costs are the problem – far from it, I was pleasantly surprised when the quotation arrived.
The features you want will be delivered if they can be manufactured, constructed as individual items that exactly fit the area selected. There are no gaps and therefore no infill panels.
Once the cabinetry is installed, it was time to fit the stainless steel worktop. This is delivered in sections and was fitted to the cabinets on-site. The sections were welded together in situ and finished to provide a seamless worktop that provides a one-piece appearance and very easy maintenance. The workmanship is excellent; the weld site is re-grained to match the original finish and is undetectable. The installation lasted two days; the team did not leave until they were entirely sure that everything was working correctly and all the snags had been visited.
To be honest, there were a couple of snags; but I did not have to point them out or complain – LATEM had found them before I came to inspect the work. One of the cupboard doors did not fit to Kevan’s satisfaction and, although perfectly serviceable will be replaced. The plaster trap had a minor problem - there was a drip that would have filled teaspoon by the end of the week. Fixed.
It’s a shame that new fixtures have to be sullied by the work that they were designed for, but necessarily, that is what happens. Even though the plaster room is a plaster room, it will take some time before the pleasure of working in the room will ensure that it stays as good as it looked on the day one for some time to come. Sooner or later we will be back to square one in terms of mayhem, but we will be on top of the waste disposal forever. Plaster trap maintenance is so easy it can be completed in seconds – no need to put off until it is over flowing.
-------------------------------------------
The temptation of working from home... By Sarah Prime
Images and text courtesy of
dentalab
We moved into the property on August bank holiday 2005 and immediately applied for planning permission for a dental studio class B1.
As our area is residential (no shops, units or businesses within quite a number of streets) we were apprehensive of the result. However, it was passed in January 2006.
The barn although structurally sound was in a state of disrepair so our focus was on turning it into a viable laboratory and our first priority was to install new windows and doors to make it secure and weather proof!
Of course, things didn’t go smoothly. We had to completely revise plans for benching in the laboratory because a simple run staircase wasn’t going to work (this is an old building and sometimes very difficult to get the specifications required by modern day standards to fit a shell that doesn’t have a true wall in it and is small enough to make cat swinging a dangerous sport to begin with!!)
We were really scratching our heads and trying desperately to find a way to incorporate a staircase that wouldn’t take up too much crucial workspace when Kevan Thompson at LATEM METALS came charging in on his steel ‘oss to sort us and building control out!
The request – to design and manufacture a steel staircase to fit our needs and building conditions. Drawings and measurements went to and fro between him and our building inspector. Finally a design was agreed and he could get on with manufacturing it (by hand) for us.
Unfortunately the head room issue with the stairs and lack of space meant all the benching was going to have to be custom made for the laboratory, and so we decided to use the expertise of Kevan again whose particular strength is his ability to visualize and plan with only measurements (no computer aided design for our Kev). He seemed to have a very good grasp of our requirements very quickly.
We were impressed with his understanding of how a laboratory works. “The guy is good”.
Kevan insisted that we go visit the workshop to see the benching he had designed and in a ‘mock up’. Although it was a two hour trip, we were so relieved when we saw his work – suddenly all our trials and tribulations of the past months fell away.
It was fantastic benching perfectly in tune with our aspirations for the barn. Kevan together with his little crew (plumber and electrician) installed the benching over two sessions of 4 days in May. Any problems sorted on the spot and afterwards Kev remedied anything within 48 hours. We had originally planned to move in September / October to give ourselves a month to redecorate. We actually moved in on the 31st July. Although there were one or two teething problems as you would expect – due to the professionalism and quality of the work we received from Kev these ‘problems’ were very speedily remedied and we can genuinely say that we have received a first class service.
Everyone who has seen our new laboratory has commented on its quality design and appearance which should be credited to Kev and his team at LATEM metals. However the proof of the pudding is in the tasting, and after a month working in the unit we are still very impressed and pleased with this excellent product.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Custom made laboratory work stations, Extractor hoods, Sink troughs,
plaster trap systems.
Full workstation design and installation service available.
We design to suit your environment no matter what shape or size.
We project manage the whole process.
We have our own plumbers and electricians.
We
work around your time scale.
Easy
pay options available |
