From Form 4 stereolithography (SLA) 3D printed parts that made it 9,000 miles across an ocean to scaling drone production with the Fuse 1+ 30W selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printer, this year, Formlabs users have pushed the boundaries of what’s possible.
2025 also saw advances in materials, with tough resins that rival thermoplastics and custom Color Resin for the direct printing of color parts. From the next-generation of Form Cure to PreForm updates, 2025 has been about saving time while increasing performance.
Here are just a few of the exciting new products and inspiring stories from the past year.
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10 Groundbreaking Stories
Rowing 9,000 Miles Across the Pacific With 3D Printed Parts: The Journey of the Maclean Brothers
“You can put these parts that you get off the printer into the field. And there couldn't be much more of a test for the quality of a part than rowing across an ocean: 120 days in a pretty harsh environment of salt, weather, UV exposure, and repeated use.”
Ewan Maclean, Engineer
In 2025, the Maclean brothers rowed 9,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean in an unsupported journey. Prior to leaving, Ewan Maclean, an engineer at Dyson, designed and 3D printed ~50 custom parts for their boat using a Form 4 and Formlabs resins.
3D Printing Streamlines Single Piece Flow Manufacturing at Eaton
“We anticipated about a nine-month ROI on the Fuse system. And we ended up getting that in about six.”
TJ Zurell, Senior Manufacturing Engineer, Eaton at Olean
After just one year with the Formlabs Fuse Series, Eaton’s manufacturing plant in Olean, NY, has reduced operating costs significantly, replacing 90% of their previously machined Delrin fixtures, and improving their responsiveness and efficiency on the factory floor.
On the Road: How SLS 3D Printing Enabled a Small Business Pivot
“This changed our business. With in-house design and production, we are controlling 100% of the process. Every small-business, every bike shop should have one of these printers.”
Alex Baumann, co-founder and owner, Terra X
Jenny and Alex Baumann began making customized Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Vans. But when the market was saturated, they shifted to producing aftermarket automotive parts. Their company, Terra X, prototypes and produces 15+ aftermarket automotive parts on three Fuse 1+ 30W 3D printers. Bringing the Fuse Series ecosystem in-house enabled them to scale up, meeting their volume and quality demands.
Customizing Yachts With Form 4L and Tough 1500 Resin
“The Form 4L benefits boat manufacturers of every size — from custom builders making one or two boats a year to large yards producing hundreds a month. With its low barrier to entry, it’s accessible to any builder, and every builder needs fiberglass dams for their molds. 3D printing has game-changing potential for the industry.”
Winston Zeberlein, Advanced Manufacturing Engineer, Viking Yachts
Viking Yachts is known for its high level of customization — no two boats are the same. Tough 1500 Resin makes it easy to integrate one-off hardware or equipment selections with minimal post-processing, while delivering a finish that looks and feels like an injection molded part.
Achieving Radio Flyer Red With Custom Color Resin and Form 4L
“There were a couple of products that we showed to our retail customers that were straight off of Form 4L with the Radio Flyer Red resin with a texture applied in PreForm and it looks great. You truly couldn't tell it was 3D printed.”
Agostino LoBello, Product Development Engineer, Radio Flyer
Whether it’s a red children’s scooter, bike, or wagon, the iconic Radio Flyer Red color goes hand in hand with the brand. And now, LoBello is pulling Radio Flyer Red parts directly off of Formlabs SLA 3D printers, delivering roadshow parts in less than a day and saving up to four days of lead time plus costs and labor.
How 3D Printing Prototypes, Jigs, and Fixtures Enables UbeCube to Bring Manufacturing to the USA
“Formlabs resin printers are by far the least fidgety and most reliable printers. That reliability, and not having to troubleshoot, saves us so much time it's not even funny.”
Isaiah Tarwater, Industrial Designer, UbeCube
For UbeCube, a start-up that creates collapsible, stackable, modular storage systems for a range of settings and applications, cost-efficiency and time-to-market are key. In order to reach their goals, they’ve not only moved large, functional prototyping in-house, but they’re also moving manufacturing to the USA, printing the jigs and fixtures they need for automation in-house.
Can You Hear It? Custom Mutes With Fuse SLS
“I’ve always been interested in product design and production engineering. What’s amazing about the age we live in is that I had an idea, and now I’m holding it in my hands! The Fuse Series ecosystem is really great at producing professional stuff.”
Nathan Sobieralski, Owner, S-Mute
At S-Mute, Nathan Sobieralski has fused 3D printing with his extensive background in the world of classical trumpet to build a successful, fast-growing, one-man manufacturing company. With the help of the Fuse Series ecosystem, Sobieralski developed innovative new trumpet and trombone mutes, and started producing them at scale.
Rapid Prototyping Custom Hardware at Peak Design With Form 4
“Formlabs printers are basically the backbone of our research and development here at Peak Design.”
Dane Jones, Senior Design Engineer, Peak Design
Every aspect of a Peak Design product — including a cinch hook, tension lock, or flat hook — is customized. Prototyping each piece of custom hardware requires dozens of iterations. Upgrading to Form 4 revolutionized the prototyping process, enabling three to four iterations a day, less time spent on post-processing and finishing, and finer surfaces.
SLS 3D Printing Pays Off Small Business Bet In Months
“I utilize SLS 3D printing to its fullest potential. The Fuse 1 really did save my business.”
Josh Driggs, Owner, ZapWizard
One employee, three hours a day, 3,600 products shipped, $135,000 of personal investment, and just seven months to achieve a complete ROI. Too much to believe? Well, Josh Driggs, owner and sole operator of ZapWizard, begs to differ. With the Fuse 1 and a complete in-house SLS workflow, ZapWizard has shipped thousands of products in less than a year and paid off an over $100,000 investment into Driggs’ side-hustle.
Drone Solutions With SLS 3D Printing at ORQA FPV
“We’ve been so surprised at how much the Fuse 1+ 30W has had an impact. It’s so fast and the whole system is so very well designed. We’re really satisfied with it and expanding to a fleet is in our future.”
Antonio Kovac, Mechanical Designer, ORQA FPV
ORQA FPV, a drone manufacturer based in Croatia, built an EU-based supply chain and manufacturing base, putting them in the perfect position to provide timely solutions for those looking for alternatives to big offshore manufacturers. Part of building their secure supply chain has been leveraging the power of in-house SLS 3D printing.
Faster & Tougher: New Releases
The Next Generation of Form Cure
2025 brought the release of the next generation of Form Cure and Form Cure L, enabling up to 6x faster post-curing, including post-curing of General Purpose Resins in just 60 seconds.
“We were shocked by how fast the cure times were across all materials, even the engineering resins, which allowed us to work faster and get finished parts to our engineers in less time.”
Agostino Lobello, Product Development Engineer, Radio Flyer
With validated presets for 45+ Formlabs materials and the ability to save custom profiles, Form Cure and Form Cure L make it easy to consistently deliver parts.
Materials for SLA
2025 brought notable additions to the Formlabs Materials library with updates to the Tough Resin Family, new Color Resin in Custom and Classic Colors, plus True Cast Resin.
Tough Resins compete with thermoplastics, with mechanical properties that rival high-density polyethylene (HDPE), ABS, and polypropylene. Tough 1000 Resin, Tough 1500 Resin, and Tough 2000 Resin are resilient engineering materials that stand up to harsh environments, impact, and repeated wear, all while delivering a dark, matte surface finish with crisp details when printed on Form 4 Series 3D printers.
Color Resin is available in 16 Classic Colors or a Custom color that matches your brand, product line, or creative vision. Color Resin is custom-manufactured in one-week for a time-efficient and cost-effective solution for directly printing color parts.
True Cast Resin enables users to print precise, detailed patterns for casting under 5 mm thick. It has low thermal expansion, minimal shrinkage, and 0.03% ash content to ensure clean burnout and consistently excellent casting outcomes.
PreForm Updates
PreForm updates save time from print setup through post-processing, streamlining workflows. Highlights of this year’s PreForm updates include:
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Improved Supports for SLA: Improved support tools and a new algorithm improve surface finish, support removal, and dimensional accuracy.
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Add to a running job for SLS: Add parts to an in-progress print job to save time.
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Build-Packing for SLS: Additional specifications for automatically packing an SLS build.
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Auto-Layout for SLA: Automatically arrange multiple models on a build platform for improved pack density.
These are just some of the PreForm updates this year. Many PreForm updates come directly from user suggestions — if you have a PreForm suggestion, click the Feedback button in the lower right-hand corner to submit your thoughts.
Looking to 2026
From robust, impact-resistant parts to supply chain resilience with in-house manufacturing, Formlabs users are bringing their ideas to life while saving time and costs. Join our Community Forum to share your latest news and give feedback.
The Formlabs team is also hard at work pushing the boundaries of just what it’s possible to print. To receive the latest news — including new product announcements — in 2026, join our mailing list and subscribe to our YouTube and social channels. To start printing, explore our printers or contact sales to learn more.