This month marks the five-year anniversary of Formlabs’ latest significant 3D printer revamp, the Form 3. To mark the event, the MIT offshoot has revealed the much-anticipated Form 4. According to the company, the most noticeable characteristics are quicker printing rates (under two hours for most prints), a 30% increase in build capacity, and print resolution that matches injection molding.
Founded in 2011, Formlabs is a unique long-term success story in the field of desktop 3D printing. The underlying stereolithography printing, previously restricted to large-scale and prohibitively costly industrial 3D printing, is largely responsible for this success.
Since then, the firm has grown to become a leader in the field of fast prototyping. It has also expanded into the medical field. For instance, the company set up procedures to print nose swabs for COVID-19 tests in March 2020. Dental has also been a key market for the firm due to the amount of personalization available via additive manufacturing.
Formlabs claims it was able to print 11 dental models in nine minutes and 130 dental crowns in about 20 minutes.
“Fast print speeds do not compromise dimensional accuracy or surface finish,” Formlabs states in a statement. The Form 4’s print quality is essentially indistinguishable from conventional manufacturing processes like injection molding, making it the ideal 3D printer for increasing efficiency, moving production in-house, and allowing customers to take greater creative risks.”
The system is driven by a new print engine that leverages LFD (low-force display) technology to cure items at faster rates. Combining this with a larger build area enables users to print more tiny pieces simultaneously.
Formlabs seems to have thoroughly tested this one, utilizing Form 3 to develop components for its replacement. It is available for pre-order today, beginning at $4,499. We plan to start shipping it in May. In contrast, the healthcare-focused Form 4B begins at $6,299.
