This guide illustrates the printer’s various components, the initial setup, and how to begin printing. For additional information, consult the Form 3L/Form 3BL manual and safety documentation.

1. Resin cartridge: Two containers hold the resin before dispensing into the resin tank. Shake the resin cartridges periodically to keep resin well mixed.

2. Cover: The printer lid, made of metal and a strong, orange-tinted material, blocks exposure to the lasers and protects the resin from curing due to ambient light.

3. Build platform: The aluminum base provides a surface for prints to attach to.

4. Resin tank: Resin is dispensed out of the resin cartridges into the resin tank. During a print, two lasers pass upwards through the flexible film and cure resin onto the build platform to form a printed part.

5. Mixer: Each resin tank includes a mixer that improves print consistency by clearing the build area and circulating the resin.

6. Touchscreen: The LCD capacitive touch user interface displays print information, settings, and error messages.

7. Leveling disc: Slide the leveling disc included around one of the leveling feet and rotate to raise or lower the printer.

8. Status light: Two interior lights (vertical strips along the left and right walls) and an illuminated logo (on the front panel) that pulse to indicate the printer is active, a print has completed, or the printer has encountered an error.

For additional information on printer components, refer to the support article Product glossary (Form 3L/Form 3BL).

Place the printer on a level surface. Connect the power cable to the printer and a power outlet. Flip the power switch on the back of the printer to power on the machine. The printer initializes automatically.

Follow the prompts on the touchscreen to complete the setup procedure:

1. Level your printer.
2. Set up a network connection.
3. Insert consumables : the resin cartridge(s), resin tank, and build platform.

Contact Formlabs Support or your authorized reseller for additional product support.

Once you’ve set up your Form 3L/Form 3BL, download PreForm to your computer and start printing.

Step 1: Prepare a file for printing

After downloading PreForm, read the support articles on designing successful 3D models and using PreForm to learn more about the software and preparing models for printing on Formlabs SLA printers.

If this is your first time using PreForm, an onboarding tutorial will appear and walk you through the software’s capabilities. Click Help > Show Onboarding Tutorial to review this information at any time.

When you’re ready, send your print to your Form 3L/Form 3BL and start printing.

Step 2: Start a print

Once you insert the resin cartridge(s), resin tank, and build platform into your Form 3L/Form 3BL during the setup process, the printer should be ready to print. Confirm the print on the printer touchscreen to start.

Step 3: Register your printer on Dashboard

Add your printer to Dashboard to print remotely, track print progress, manage printers, and more. Read the support articles on using Dashboard to learn more.

Step 4: Finish your printed part

Once the print is complete, remove the build platform from the printer, wash any remaining liquid resin off your printed part, and post-cure and remove supports as necessary. Read the support article on SLA basic finishing steps to learn more.

Step 5: Between prints

Between prints, be sure to keep your Form 3L/Form 3BL clean, paying particular attention to spilled resin. Handle the Form 3L/Form 3BL resin tank with care to ensure print success and printer reliability.