It’s good to see my number one feature request, albeit after I sold my Form1+. I have been shopping for faster 3D printers, so if the Form2 comes out before I buy, it might be a candidate for me… if it is reliable. I still don’t regret selling the Form1+ even a little.
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I hear some regret in your voice 
Not at all, I just wanted to throw out a deserved compliment 
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Well I regret you selling it. You were a valuable asset to this community.
Thanks Rocus
If it’s any consolation – the 200 micron setting is only for clear resin, v2.
I mean, not to knock FL. I think the 200 micron setting is great. But I’ve stocked up on a few months worth of black, so…
200 micron makes sense for clear (and other low-or-no-pigment resins), but i’m not sure how feasible it would be for others. For one, the laser power would have to increase, leading to a bigger “curing spot” and reduction in XY quality.
It would also require slowing down, probably, in order to increase exposure, which would reduce the gain in speed due to taller layers somewhat.
I’m guessing that’s why it’s limited to clear only and i’m guessing that’s the way it will stay for quite a while.
Josh K,
Sorry to hear you ran out of patience. I keep running into enough trouble to leave me exasperated with the Form1 and having enough success to make it seem like a fantastic tool. I just completed a small project for a client which included printing out a set of parts for a fit-check. Needless to say the first set of parts ripped off the supports! I looked at service bureaus and realized that they would be too slow in delivering the parts to meet the deadline, so I went ahead and printed a new set which came out of the Form 1 about an hour before the client needed to leave town with the parts. It also meant a 1:00 AM trip to the shop to start the second build. I can definitely see both sides on this question.
Just out of curiosity, how much did you get for your F1? There are days when I think I’d rather have the cash to use at Shapeways or imaterialize. Finally, let us know if you find anything better out there. A real SLA printer should print on the top of the tank. I’d love to see someone put such a machine on the market.
Good luck printing however you do it!
-Andy Hudson
@AndrewHudson,
After ebay fees I got far less than 3K. It wasn’t just patience, when I have a 3D printer for business use, I need it to be reliable. It was always breaking down and not delivering. I was outsourcing prints after my deadlines because I thought I had a working printer. And FormLabs support told me my fatal laser flare was harmless and threatened my warranty if I tried to prove it (and I could). It was listed, sold, paid, and shipped before support even answered my last message… 6 Days. Now my business knows when a successful print will arrive. And the cost of failures and downtime is not on me.
Hey guys, chiming in on the 200 micron setting…
I received my Form1 in Aug of 2013 and happily printing since.
Bought 2 liters of clear just prior to the grey being available. Haven’t sold many clear models, most clients have been ordering their models in grey, white and black. The shelf life on the clear resin was up in September of 2014, and basically could not get a good print with the clear V1 since.
Enter Preform 1.8.1…
What the heck I’ll give it a try…loaded a tray with the clearV1 resin now 16 months old…set the Preform setting to clearV2 at the 200 micron setting.
Boom…perfect print at 1/2 the print time…saaaweetness… perfect for quick prototypes. Comparable to 100micron surface.
Happy camper here…$300 of clear V1 resin ready for prototypes!
Edit - Running with the Form1+ upgrade since September 2014
Cheers and good journeys!!
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