Form 4 vs. Form 3/+

Blazing Speed Meets Industrial Production

Form 4 vs. Form 3

Discover how you can improve your productivity, part quality, and workflow, as well as reduce costs and lead time by upgrading to Form 4 from Form 3 or Form 3+.

Improvement

form 4 vs. form 3

2-5x Faster Print Speed

Most prints are completed in under two hours for faster iterations or more efficient production.

“The dramatic increase in print speed for Form 4 has significantly accelerated our fabrication cycle.” 

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Matt Mullin, Laser Engineer, Laser and Electro-Optics Branch

"I really appreciate the reliability paired with the speed. It's not one or the other, like many other tools. Now I can commit to internal deadlines and feel confident that I can deliver every time."

Robert Mackowiak, Rapid Prototyping Engineer, Hasbro

30% Larger Build Volume and 22% Longer Parts

Increase productivity by printing more parts in a single build or optimizing orientation for faster print speed.

Six New Resins

Our new General Purpose Resins provide higher performance, richer color, and crisper features – all at a fraction of the price of the Form 3/+ equivalents.

"Form 4's speed and materials versatility enable us to create multiple prototypes and manufacturing aids every day.” 

Bruno Alves​, Additive Manufacturing Expert and Tooling Specialist, Ford

Surface Finish That Rivals Injection Molding

Improved aesthetics enable presentation-ready parts and end use part production.

Sharpest Details

Produce parts with the finest and most intricate features.

"Form 4 is our go-to choice for projects needing tight tolerances and engineering-grade materials.”

Mark Honschke, Additive Prototyping Lead, Microsoft

Faster ROI

Substantially lower operating costs thanks to cost-effective materials and long-lasting consumables.

Improved Tank Lifetime

Minimize upkeep costs and waste with long-lasting consumables.

Upgraded Cartridge

Our next-generation resin cartridge enables hassle-free, efficient, and fast automatic resin dispensing.

Integrated Camera

Access images and timelapses online to remotely monitor your prints.

Ecosystem

Improved Post-Processing

Additional Specs

Technology

Key Components of the Print Engine

Maximum Part Length

Typical Dimensional Tolerances

Average Print Speed

Maximum Print Speed

Printer Weight

Printer Dimensions

Form 4

Technology

Formlabs Form 4
1 h 38 m
Formlabs Form 4
1 h 28 m
Formlabs Form 4
2 h 49 m
Build volume Formlabs Form 4

20.0 × 12.5 × 21.0 cm
7.9 × 4.9 × 8.3 in

5.25 liters

23 industry-leading Formlabs materials or third-party materials using Open Material Mode. More exciting new materials are currently in development.

Clear Resin V5 3d printed part with Form 4
Clear Resin V5
  • Prints 3x faster
  • Tougher — 2x elongation at break and 25% higher impact strength
  • Improved in clarity and color
Learn More About the New Resins
Surface finish that rivals injection molding
Fast Model Resin
  • Prints 3x faster
  • Stronger and stiffer — 45% higher strength and modulus
  • More opaque and matte in color
Learn More About Fast Model Resin
Sharpest details of a 3d printed part with Form 4

50 µm with pre-tuned anti-aliasing for subpixel resolution

Learn More About Resolution

General Purpose Resins $79/L

If you print once a day, you will save $5,000 with Form 4 in just two years.

Contact Sales to Calculate Your Savings

Form 4 Tank $99

75,000+ layers with any Formlabs material. 

Approximately 190 prints using average height model (39 mm tall), any resin, and 100µm layer height.

Improved tank lifetime in Form 4

5-10x faster tank filling

63% less waste

30% less shelf space

Cartridge redesign in Form 4

2592 x 1944 resolution (5MP)

Remote monitoring, print history, and print timelapses

Can be easily disabled, covered, or removed

Test

Form Wash 2nd Generation

Form Wash (2nd Generation)

  • 3x more agitation
  • Adjustable forks for Build Platforms, configurable at various heights and widths

form 4 vs. form 3

Low Force Display™ (LFD)

  • Backlight Unit
  • Light Processing Unit 4 (LPU 4)
  • Release Texture
  • Flexible Film Resin Tank
  • Intelligent Control Systems
  • High-Speed Automatic Resin Handling

27.3 cm
10.7 in

1-30 mm features: ±0.15% (lower limit: ±0.02 mm)
31-80 mm features: ±0.2% (lower limit: ±0.06 mm)
81-150 mm features: ±0.3% (lower limit: ±0.15 mm)

Average: 40 mm/hour across all materials
Range: 15-100 mm/hour depending on the material

100 mm/hour
3.9 in/hour

18.3 kg
40.4 lb

40.7 × 47.8 × 84.4 cm
16.0 × 18.8 × 33.2 in

Form 3/+

Technology

Formlabs Form 4
10 h 47 m
Formlabs Form 4
9 h 43 m
Formlabs Form 4
10 h 35 m
Build volume in Form 3

14.5 × 14.5 × 19.3 cm
5.7 × 5.7 × 7.6 in

4.05 liters

27 industry-leading Formlabs materials, or third-party materials using Open Material Mode.

Clear Resin V5 compare to Clear Resin v4
Clear Resin V5 (left) vs. Clear Resin V4 (right)
Surface finish that rivals injection molding
Fast Model Resin (left) vs. Draft Resin V2 (right)
Sharpest details of a 3d printed part with Form 3

85 µm laser spot size, 25 µm XY resolution

General Purpose Resins $149/L

Form 3/+ Tank $149

250-800 hours of printing and/or 10-35 weeks exposed to resin, depending on the material. 

Approximately 70 prints using Grey Resin V4 and average print time (11 hours) or approximately 20 prints using Tough 2000 Resin and average print time (11 hours).

Original resin cartridge

No camera

Test

Form Cure 2nd Generation

Form Cure (2nd Generation)

  • 2x-8.6x faster post-curing
  • Pre-programmed and validated cure settings for Formlabs resins and the possibility to save custom profiles for curing third-party materials
  • Nearly instant heat up time and maximum temperature of 100 °C
  • Larger size, designed to fit any part printed on Form 4 (235 mm turntable diameter, 205 mm maximum part height)

form 4 vs. form 3

Low Force Stereolithography™ (LFS)

  • Laser
  • Light Processing Unit (LPU)
  • Flexible Film Resin Tank
  • Intelligent Control Systems
  • Automatic Resin Handling

22.4 cm
8.8 in

Not measured

Average: 11 mm/hour across all materials
Range: 4-17 mm/hour depending on the material

31 mm/hour
1.2 in/hour

17.5 kg
38.5 lbs

40.5 × 53 × 78 cm
15.9 × 20.9 × 30.7 in

Form 4 reliability graph

Form 4 Delivers 99% Print Success Rate

Form 4 achieved stellar results in a series of comprehensive performance tests conducted by an independent third-party lab to evaluate the success rate and repeatability of parts produced on different SLA 3D printers.

The Form 4 Ecosystem

Complete Your 3D Printing Experience

Form 4 3D Printer
Form Wash

Form Wash

Automate Cleaning

Form Cure

Form Cure

Blazing Fast Post-Curing