Form 3L - Large SLA 3D printer

 

Stratasys F123 vs. Formlabs Form 3+/3L

In 2023, You Can Get Much Better Quality at a Lower Price

Scale prototyping and production as your business grows with the Form 3+ and the Form 3L, affordable, industrial-quality 3D printers that don’t compromise on the details.

 

 

Compare the Stratasys F123 Series vs. Formlabs Form 3/3L

Printer

Formlabs

Form 3+/3L

Stratasys

F123 Series

Price

$2,499- $8,999

Transparent pricing with no hidden fees. Buy directly from Formlabs via an additive manufacturing specialist or the online store, or locally from a worldwide partner network.

$20,000-$60,000
Complicated and opaque pricing, requires multiple quote requests and negotiation.

Technology

Low Force Stereolithography (LFS)™

This new generation of stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing uses lasers to cure liquid resin into hardened plastic to produce high-accuracy, isotropic, and watertight prototypes and parts with a smooth surface finish.

Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM)
FDM 3D printers extrude thermoplastic filaments, a process that creates voids in the parts and lacks the ability to reproduce fine details. This process also offers lower resolution compared to SLA, resulting in visible layer lines on the surface.

Resolution

Accurate, repeatable prints with a smooth surface finish

25-200 microns Z resolution

25 micron XY resolution

Rough surface finish and visible layer lines
127-330 microns Z resolution

Build Volume (W × D × H)

Form 3+: 
14.5 × 14.5 × 18.5 cm
5.7 × 5.7 × 7.3 in

Form 3L:
33.5 × 20 × 30 cm
13.2 × 7.9 × 11.8 in

 

F120/F170:
25.4 x 25.4 x 25.4 cm
10 x 10 x 10 in

F270: 
30.5 x 25.4 x 30.5 cm
12 x 10 x 12 in

F370: 
35.5 x 25.4 x 35.5 cm
14 x 10 x 14 in

Materials

30+ functional resins
A wide range of materials for prototyping from soft silicone-like to flexible, tough, durable, and rigid varieties. Specialty materials for high-temperature applications and castable patterns. A variety of dental resins, including biocompatible materials.

2-7 filaments
A limited selection of materials for prototyping, only rigid, tough, and semi-flexible varieties. 
 

Setup and ease of use

Plug and print
Contact-free delivery and online or in-person training for the entire team. Easy workflow empowers anyone at your company to use the system independently after less than one hour of training.

Complex
Setup and training with on-site installation recommended. The more complex workflow and the steeper learning curve means that the system requires a skilled technician in-house to operate and maintain. 
 

Software

Free and easy to use
Formlabs' free print preparation software, PreForm, automatically suggests optimal orientation, supports, and layout, with the ability to manually refine as needed. Try it now. You can also use the online Dashboard to manage printers, materials, and teams.

Free
Stratasys also offers a free print preparation software, GrabCAD Print, with a range of basic and advanced features and online job tracking.

Service

Pro Service
Premier support service with fast response time, customized training, replacement printer, and extended warranty—all for an affordable price.

Mandatory Contract

A mandatory service contract with multiple expensive tiers and add-ons. You can’t even set up the printer without it.

Company

Formlabs adapted the SLA technology to the desktop in 2011 and has since become the market leader, selling more than 100,000 printers as of today.

Founded by the inventor of the FDM process, Stratasys primarily offers industrial 3D printers that are limited to large companies and service bureaus due to their high price.

Do you have more questions about the differences between these solutions?

Form 3+

The Industry-Leading Desktop 3D Printer, Powered By Low Force Stereolithography

Form 3 3d printer
Form 3l 3d printer

Form 3L

The First Affordable Large Format Resin 3D Printer

Compare SLA and FDM Technologies

SLA vs FDM surface finish

SLA 3D printing (left) can reproduce fine details and parts have a smooth surface finish. FDM printers (right) create parts with a rough surface finish and visible layer lines.

Watch our video guide to dive into the differences in price, applications, and speed.

Request a Free Sample 3D Print

See and feel Formlabs quality firsthand. We’ll ship a free sample part to your office.

Nozzle Form 3L Grey Sample Part

Get an Entire Fleet for the Price of a Single Stratasys F-Series 3D Printer

Buy a fleet of 8 Form 3+ printers for the price of one entry-level Stratasys F120 or 6 Form 3Ls for the price of a single Stratasys F370 to scale your throughput, be able to print different materials simultaneously, and have a peace of mind to avoid downtime. 

Form 3L
Form 3L
Webinar

Form 3+ and Form 3L: Product Deep Dive

In these product demo webinars, our printing experts will walk you through the step-by-step workflow for using Formlabs 3D printers.

Watch the Form 3+ Demo NowWatch the Form 3L Demo Now

High Quality Parts, Fast, Affordably

Reduce costs, iterate faster, and bring better experiences to market with our advanced 3D printing materials designed to deliver beautiful final parts for a wide range of applications.

Printer

Form 3+

Material

Draft Resin

Print Cost

$3

Print Time

42 minutes

pump

70,000,000 Parts Printed With Formlabs Technology

Google
Sony
Tesla
Ford
Gilette
Harvard University

Start scaling your prototyping and production today.