We're so happy to announce the Form 3 and Form 3L!

25micron steps is 0.025mm… Which is 1/40th of a millimetre.

As JonathonBaker said above, the spot size of the laser is 85microns (almost a 1/12th of a millimetre) - over three times larger than the step size - so there the laser point will overlap on each step. I made a mock-up with relevant dimensions:-

laser

Obviously that’s zoomed in highly. Going from that, the troughs between each laser spot would be 1-2microns deep (1/500th of a millimetre). That’s going in a straight line, I’m guessing it’d be a miniscule amount rougher on curves, but still imperceptible.

The reduction in laser spot size alone would suggest (at least on paper) you could create more detailed parts. Imagine a paint brush with finer bristles, or a sharpened pencil compared to a slightly blunt one.

The only thing I wonder is that given the laser spot is smaller it will need to cover more ground to “fill in” any solid areas compared to Form2, so would this extend print times?

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The starter did not have China. Very disappointed

Is there a new release substrate? The Form2 “consumable” tank system is very wasteful, will the Form3 tanks also be consumables, or will users be able to simply swap out an inexpensive film?

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Very Interesting… I like the way the new tank works… I can see how it will speed things up and keep the resin agitated at the same time, but a couple of questions

Do you by chance have a tank lifetime expectancy yet. Are we are talking 5-6 liters or more. Double edge sword there as if the movement weakens anything over time. (Like bending a wire back and forth eventually breaking it)

I see you say it is a sealed light chamber. is this truly sealed as in the sense of a tank fails and dumps resin on it can the owner clean it or is this a send back type of failure like my first F2 with a bad bite valve and flooded the “Sealed” laser chamber.

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This are all very valid questions.
The spill from a defected valve is what I fear all the time when I go and check in the printer. Removing the cartridge does not help.
The new systems seems very capable, but I would also slime to know about vat life expectancy, lasers seal against spills, effect of using a discrete x/y step on quality.
The last really worries me as it feels we might be going backwards.

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Hi Dan,

Is there any improvement with the WiFi connectivity ?

I see they finally made possible remote start. On the “Suggestions” forum, Formlabs guys were saying it was not possible for security reasons (printer doesn’t know if there’s enough/too much resin in tank … blablalba…) and that the Start button had to be pushed physically in any case. The same with “Skip resin level” waiting time (>1 hr). Security is not an issue anymore? Basically, instead of implementing natural and very demanded functionality into Form 2, they’re just make you pay 5 k$ more for a new machine that is not necessarily better, depending on applications. In 3 years they’ll stop fabricating resin trays (instead of design modernisation) and spare parts. Good thing is, there are plenty of 3rd part manufacturers (glass/FEP trays…)

I suspect they put more sensors to avoid user-based issues when using remote start… now to hope their sensor implementation is better and more reliable than on the Form 2…

it is almost 4 years when they stop spare parts, meaning they will stop selling form2 in less than 2. Anyhow by then my form2 will need replacement, have been replaced or retired. $ years is a lot. If too little maybe the printer is not being used enough to warrant a buy in the first place.

Hi all. I am very excited by the new printers.
I would like to know about printing SPEED differences between Form 2 and Form 3?
Inside the Form 3 and 3L; Is there a tray inside that will take 1 L if your cartridge is leaking?
Or maybe it will not affect optical parts?
I hope I will be able to buy from my Canadian resseller the machines without the finishing kit that I already have with my Form 2, Form Wash, Form Cure?

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I haven’t heard of Wi-Fi changes specifically, but I’m more than happy to try and find that information for you.

Terrific question.

Obviously the the Form 3 hasn’t been in the field for an extended period of time yet, but early internal tests show the Form 3 tanks lasting for an amount of time that’s comparable to our Resin Tank LT, so significantly longer than the standard Form 2 resin tanks.

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Print times are roughly comparable to the Form 2 even with the increase in fidelity due to a smaller laser spot size.

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Happy to see the large volume 3L come out. Though little concerned as there seems to be more sensors? Almost all my problems are associated to sensor for my Form2, resin sensor error, cartridge worn out, unable to recognize resin tank… those things still happen and are very annoying.

Also are open mode supported in 3L? The large build plate means cartridge goes empty quickly for sure…need to know if 3rd party resin are allowed.

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Could you tell us why the don’t talk about speed in comparaison of the From 2 and Form 3?
The Form 3L must go faster? If you have 2 lasers
This is a deception for me if the speed is the same. I was looking for DLP for faster speed…

The answer to the Form 2 vs Form 3 speed is that they’re roughly the same for for equivalently sized parts.

As for the 3L, it does have two lasers,but it’s also working with a much larger build area, so there’s really nothing to compare it two in terms of the other printers we produce. Additionally the lasers are each responsible for half of the build area, so they’re not working on small parts concurrently(unless this small part straddles the intersection area of the two lasers).

I could very easily be misinterpreting your question, so please feel free to correct me. :slight_smile:

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@Olivier_Suire

Our hardware team just confirmed for me that the Form 3 has dual Wi-Fi antennas, and they’re mounted in a slightly better spot within the printer.

I should be clear that we haven’t done internal tests directly testing the differences in connectivity between the two machines, but in theory, it should handle the connection a little more reliably.

I don’t see any info on a Form Wash for the Form 3L. One would need a very large unit to accommodate this size build.
I guess you would have to convert a top loading washing machine to do it. Otherwise maybe a row of open top 55 gallon drums and a electric winch to dunk the prints in to them and transfer to the next drum.

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Can you comment on the resin spil from the cartridge? And is you finally plan to make a pack which does not include the finishing kit?
I have one still int he box unused since I use the wash/cure and feel kind of wasting money to get yet another one

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Same question asked earlier. Good, I would like a response to that too!
:slight_smile: