We are pleased to introduce the brand new Formlabs Form 4: the next step in the evolution of resin 3D printing. The Form 4 and its biocompatible variant, the Form 4B, set new standards in speed, accuracy, reliability and material versatility.

Thanks to its ground-breaking innovations in hardware, software and material science, the Form 4/B offers unprecedented speed, with the majority of parts printed in less than two hours, regardless of material. There is no loss of dimensional accuracy or surface quality.

The Form 4 combines a new printing system with an extended selection of Formlabs materials. At launch, 23 resins are available for the Form 4 and 37 resins for the Form 4B. In addition, new accessories and post-processing solutions have been introduced to enhance the user experience.

The Form 4 opens up new possibilities for any application by shortening iteration loops for design teams, increasing throughput for manufacturers and expanding the variety of materials available to manufacturing service providers. With its print speed of up to 100 mm per hour^¹, a 30% increase in production volume, new advanced materials and improved workflows, the Form 4 is the most powerful professional manufacturing tool on the market.
_{¹When using Fast Model Resin V1 and 200 μm layer height. Based on actual print time of a range of
test parts covering common applications in engineering, product design, manufacturing and dentistry.}

From concept to reality – before the lunch break

The Form 4 offers every person, every team and every company the opportunity to create more. The limits of productivity are not determined by a lack of ideas, but by the ability to realize them. With faster print times than ever before, products can now go through the cycle of design, print and test several times a day.

With the Form 4, prints are completed two to four times faster than with any other resin 3D printer in the Form series, even with large parts and series prints. This makes the device far superior to all other professional 3D printers of any technology and category.

The speed of the Form 4 is based on the new Low Force Display™ printing system, which uses a powerful combination of high-power LEDs and masking devices to cure entire layers of resin at once – regardless of the size and number of parts. Print time is therefore no longer dependent on the amount of surface area covered on the build platform. This means that several parts can be printed at the same time without increasing the printing time.

Find out more about Low Force Display™

Industry-leading dimensional accuracy

Thanks to the tight, uniform tolerances achieved by the Form 4, you get printed parts with sharp edges, clearly defined planes and perfectly smooth surfaces.

3D printed parts must be precise to be useful. Whether it’s prototypes that need to resemble injection molded parts or fixtures that need to fit existing components on a production line, tolerances are critical. Speed should never be achieved at the expense of accuracy and precision.

The Form 4 not only meets the industry standard for tolerances, it exceeds it. By reliably maintaining extremely tight tolerances, the Form 4 always delivers parts that meet your design parameters, regardless of the resin used and with every print. The Form 4’s Light Processing Unit (LPU) achieves an XY resolution of 50 µm. This allows multi-part assemblies to fit together without friction, manufacturing aids to be seamlessly integrated into processes and end-use parts to be produced with the same precision as mass-produced injection molded plastic parts.

With reproducible tolerances that match the original designs, you work with consistent parts across all stages of product development. Whether you’re printing quick concept models, functionally testing advanced prototypes or even producing functional parts as a transitional solution, the look and performance of all parts remains consistent. With a surface finish indistinguishable from injection molded plastic, the transition from design to mass production is easier. The accuracy of the Form 4 allows you to focus on your product rather than planning for all eventualities of dimensional deviations.

First print in 15 minutes – regardless of experience level and application

Before high-quality, affordable 3D printing became possible thanks to early models in the Form series, SLA printing processes were often complicated. Some required specially trained staff, elaborate infrastructure and a lot of space to print resin from top to bottom.

The Form series from Formlabs has shown that accessible 3D printing means more than just low prices. The entire work process should be easy to learn, and the printers should fit into existing spaces such as offices, homes, classrooms and workshops. The Form 4 goes one step further: it makes it easy to set up the printer, monitor the printing process and change materials so that anyone can start printing within 15 minutes.

In addition to the increased printing speed made possible by the printing system and material settings, new automatic resin handling functions also reduce the time it takes to start printing. Intelligent sensors ensure maximum uptime, minimizing waiting time between prints and allowing you to focus on your parts.

The Form series printers are used in very complex applications, such as cell construction in bioengineering, the manufacture of metal turbines using investment casting or the production of surgical implants. When 3D printers are integrated into such complex processes, the printing itself should be the simplest step. With the Form 4, this becomes a reality: it only takes 15 minutes from delivery of the printer to the first print, and you can watch your ideas become reality.

Intuitive operation step by step

The new Build Platform Flex for the Form 4.

The entire Formlabs ecosystem is designed to maximize efficiency and minimize the risk of printing errors. Formlabs’ free PreForm print preparation software automatically analyzes your model and determines the optimal orientation and placement of support structures. Our software development team is continuously working to improve the software settings to optimize print speed, material settings and automatic support alignment and generation.

The process after your print is complete is also designed for simplicity, repeatability and efficiency. The Build Platform Flex ‘s quick release technology speeds up the removal of printed parts and reduces the risk of damage. The printed parts are then automatically cleaned in the new Form Wash 2nd Gen. which enables a faster and cleaner process thanks to improved isopropyl alcohol rinsing. The new Form Wash is designed to accommodate the build platforms of all Formlabs desktop printers. For parts that require post-curing after washing, the Form Cure offers precise settings to achieve optimal mechanical properties.

Reliability with high throughput and consistent results

The entire print job – eight single-use surgical ratchets – is printed in just five hours and 45 minutes, compared to over 25 hours on the Form 3+.

In the Form series, accessibility also stands for reliability. Even when printing continuously from dawn to dusk, the printer never lets its users down. The Form series has already set high standards in terms of printing success, repeatable use and reliability, but the Form 4 surpasses them.

The reliability of the Form 4 is partly due to the meticulous quality control during the manufacturing process: Each printer goes through 60 functional test points before it leaves the factory. This ensures that each unit supports your processes as a maximally reliable, high-performance tool. Additionally, the Formlabs team responsible for print optimization has spent years printing thousands of parts to determine the ideal settings for each material. As a result, even complex geometries can be printed with industry-leading reliability, regardless of the material.

Both the central printing system and components such as the resin tank and construction platform have been redesigned to work even more smoothly while lasting longer, even under intensive use. The resin tanks can withstand more than 75,000² layers, which extends the printer’s uptime and reduces operating costs and the need for manual intervention when producing large quantities.

The Form 4’s improved sensor system reacts quickly to potential problems in the printing process, giving users plenty of time to adjust their work process to ensure smooth printing.

The Form 4’s automatic error diagnostics and integrated sensors warn you of potential problems during the printing process. This gives you the opportunity to avoid potential risks of poorly configured printing and develop a better understanding of how to get the most out of your printer. The integrated sensor system ensures that the Form 4 remains reliable for years, even with high print volumes. Reliability is maintained even with intensive use. The Form 4 is a tool that continuously improves with your processes.

²With any Formlabs material. The exact life of a resin tank depends on the printed layers, physical wear and accidental damage.

Open up new applications with a comprehensive catalog of materials

Formlabs printers combine precision hardware design with advanced software to deliver complex shapes to tight tolerances with every print. However, the full potential to realize new applications in a wide range of industries is unlocked by Formlabs’ extensive materials library. This library includes over 23 specialty resins, including pure silicone, technical ceramics, polyurethane and unique formulations such as Tough 1500 Resin, Rigid 10K Resin and Flame Retardant Resin.

With the introduction of the Form 4, six new materials will be available at a reduced price:

• Grey Resin V5
• Clear Resin V5
• White Resin V5
• Black Resin V5
• Fast Model Resin
• Precision Model Resin

With the Form 4’s optimized automatic resin feeding and resin heating, Formlabs is able to develop materials that were previously difficult to access, such as resins with very high viscosity or high enrichment with other substances. The new materials are improved versions of some of the world’s most widely used materials in resin 3D printing. The properties that have made materials such as Grey Resin and Clear Resin so popular are further improved by the new versions. The printed parts offer even sharper detail and superior aesthetic properties. Clear Resin V5, for example, produces almost completely transparent parts, while Black Resin V5 has a smooth, completely matt surface.

When Formlabs announced the previous version of the Form 4, the Form 3, in 2019, 20 unique resins were available. Since then, the company has nearly doubled its resin catalog, with a total of 37 materials available for the Form 4B and more in development. Integrating the Form 4 ecosystem into your processes gives you access to future innovative materials that will set new standards in toughness, durability, heat and wear resistance.

Together, the Form 4, Form Wash and Form Cure form the complete Formlabs ecosystem for resin 3D printing. This system makes printing with any Formlabs material a breeze, as you can rely on pre-programmed settings that always ensure optimal material properties.

For customers who would like to experiment with resins that are not currently included in the Formlabs material library, the Form 4 also offers the option to use the Open Platform. This allows you to utilize an even wider range of materials by using validated third-party materials and custom print settings. You also benefit from the freedom to print with any photopolymer resin that cures at 405 nm.

Formlabs’ customers often face the challenge that heat deflection temperature, elongation, flexural modulus and tensile strength are critical in determining whether 3D printed parts are a suitable option or whether conventional manufacturing methods are required. For a long time, limited material properties forced customers to forego the benefits of 3D printing, such as immediate availability, affordable costs and design freedom. The choice of material makes all the difference. The Form 4 is designed to work with Formlabs’ library of purpose-built resins to produce high-performance parts using pre-programmed settings.

The next level of industrial 3D printing

The Form 4 and Form 4B represent the next generation of stereolithography (SLA) 3D printing, building on years of groundbreaking innovation in hardware, software and materials science.

The Form 4 sets a new standard for professional 3D printing. By combining the industry’s most versatile material library with a powerful new printing system, the Form 4 enables a new level of creativity and productivity.

With up to four times faster print speeds, you can iterate three times faster and try new approaches several times a day. You can also produce uniform parts in high volumes without worrying about downtime or reliability issues. With 30% more manufacturing capacity, you can handle larger production volumes and fulfill more requests to increase your company’s overall productivity.

Thanks to its unsurpassed reliability, precision and strict quality control system, the Form 4 offers your creations limitless possibilities.