Form X is Formlabs’ experimental product platform. Form X showcases innovative tools, materials, and approaches, for advanced users who want to explore the boundaries of what’s possible with desktop stereolithography (SLA).
Form X includes Ceramic Resin and OpenFL, an API for hacking the Form 1+. More projects are in development.
Ceramic Resin is the first Form X material from Formlabs. This experimental material produces post-cured prints with a distinctive aesthetic that look and feel like ceramic. After firing, prints become pure ceramic parts, suitable for glazing. Ceramic Resin is under development and will be available in late 2017.
Interested in working with Ceramic Resin? Get in touch.
The current formulation of Ceramic is optimized for reliable, detailed printing, and is a mixture of ceramic microparticles dispersed in a photopolymer resin. Objects printed in Ceramic Resin look and feel like ceramic without firing.
Successful printing with Ceramic requires some additional precautions, such as use of a polyester film to protect the build platform, vigorous shaking of the cartridge, and adherence to different design parameters.
If you choose to fire your parts, you’ll need to account for various shrinkage effects and use a programmable kiln.
OpenFL: An API for Hacking the Form 1+
OpenFL is a software project that gives users direct access to the Form 1+ API. This allows the Form 1+ to support third party materials, and enables non-standard applications such as embedding objects in prints, creating lithopanes, and etching PCBs.
