

Stereolithography was the first 3D printing technology to be developed.

My experience with it convinced me of the promise of stereolithography in terms of print quality and resolution, while also revealing this method's many challenges. It seemed to me that Formlabs was on to something special, and the Form 1+ was one of the first 3D printers-and the first SLA printer-that I reviewed. I remember a representative showing me a 3D-printed chess set made on the Form 1 the print quality of the pieces was impressive, especially compared with the rough-hewn look of prints from many of the mostly filament-based printers typical of its day. I first encountered Formlabs at World Maker Faire New York more than a decade ago, when the company's first 3D printer, the Form 1, was in crowdfunding. Formlabs' customer service is responsive, though, and helps to resolve problems as they crop up, which means the Form 3+ can be a powerful and reliable tool for your workbench. You may find that there is a considerable learning curve in mastering the Form 3+, however.
#Preform formlabs full#
Indeed, it is capable of printing high-quality parts, and the Complete Package that we tested provides a full 3D printing solution (except for resin and sandpaper). Formlabs describes the Form 3+ (starts at $2,499 $4,249 as tested) as an industrial-quality desktop 3D printer, particularly good for rapid prototyping by product designers, as well as parts production. Subscribe to our blog to get more updates on the great work of our community and peeks inside the Formlabs HQ.The Formlabs Form 3+ is a stereolithography (SLA) 3D printer geared to professionals. We’ve also taken a pass through our automatic repair system, ensuring that itll do the right thing, every time.Ĭome check out the latest software–as well as some of our latest models that show what can be done with PreForm 0.9.0– at World MakerFaire New York City! We’ll have a lot of fantastic parts on hand, as well some amazing prints by some of our first Form 1 users! A trio of Form 1-printed busts by Robert Vignone want to take the opportunity to the highlight the amazing work of Robert Vignone and others on our forums, who have been doing fantastic work with the Form 1! We’re thrilled by what they’ve been up to, and we can’t wait to see more, as more and more of you receive your printers. Thats super-handy if youre working with a couple million vertices. We’ve changed the way PreForm loads models, which means that your large, elaborate designs will load more quickly. Weve also improved the material-selection workflow, making it easier for you to pick your resin and layer thickness. From overhauling all of our dialogues to tweaking our slice viewer, were paying attention to all of the little details. In addition to those big changes, weve made a range of interface improvements.
#Preform formlabs generator#
The support generator also makes for some wild geometries and structures all on its own. These touch points effectively support your model and peel away easily, leaving a smoother surface finish. Our new system uses more, smaller touch points. We’ve also overhauled the geometric structures behind our automatically-generated supports.

With internal supports, this part is fully supported and ready to print! Coupled with PreForms auto-orient feature, preparing your model for printing is fast and easy. This makes complex designs and features a snap. PreForm will build a support system into under-supported areas in your model, no matter where they are. There’s no need to worry about overhangs, lips, or multi-body models. Our new support generator allows PreForm to automatically generate internal supports. The support generator performs a high-speed analysis of your models and automatically generates support structures that will help ensure that your prints come out the way you want them to - regardless of part complexity. Read all about it on our blog.įor PreForm 0.9.0, weve rewritten our support generator from the ground up. PreForm 0.9.0 (download) is one of our most significant updates yet.
#Preform formlabs software#
We take enormous pride in our PreForm software, which is re-inventing what 3d-printing software can do. To ring in our MakeFaire presence, we’re excited to announce our latest software update.
