Just wondering if there is any news on a possible FormLabs 3?
We will find that out when FL makes an announcement. FL has never had a leak of information on the release of a printer that I am aware of. There was 1 3rd party early resin release incident. I doubt that will happen again.
For what it’s worth, I asked in December if a Form 3 was in the works and received this as an answer:
“Great questions! Formlabs does not currently have plans to release a new, Form 3 printer anytime soon. Our teams are focusing on developing new resins to work with printer, and we have several new ones slated to be released early next year, including our Durable resin, which is similar to a polypropelene.”
Logico that they are already working on improvement in F3, but they will not talk and logico more than we hope the update they are also for F2.
There is an urgent need to make a more reliable version of the Form 2 which is plagued with sensor errors.
Missing cartridge, missing tank, sensing resin forever, obstruction error when there is none, touchscreen freeze, etc…
Of course,
-Larger
-Faster
-Less noisy
…would also be nice, but please : reliability !
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For me the most important for an improvement in form 3 would be more resolution and a larger printing area. And it’s logical … more speed and fix the bugs and details in your design that still sin a little … like the broom fit. Tank and resin cart too.
i don’t need a significant increase in volume if i can get a significant increase in speed.
eliminate the galvanometers and use a full layer at once exposure system like the carbon does- but without sacrificing resolution- I don’t mind cutting apart models to fit the volume if I can get them out in a fraction of the time. redesign the catchtray and enclosure to direct Any spill well away from important parts- ideally into a disposable catchbasin or container that is easy to remove.
Maybe make it as big as the Milkshake 3d printer and ensure resin spills don’t kill(or never happen in the first place) the machine and lead to catastrophic end.
Just devil’s advocate here - since FL recently attempted (and ultimately withdrew) a speed increase in the Form2, this still indicates some room to grow in the F2. As more and more F2s go out of warranty, the pressure to keep them untouched might diminish and maybe a third-party cottage industry (or even FL themselves) will cook up replacement controllers and firmware for upgraded control and functions. Remember the F1 got a laser upgrade and then the OpenFL software, imagine the F2 with similar life left in it for improvement!
For me who use F2 for jewelry improvement in the resolution would be ideal and a significant improvement in reducing the thickness of the brackets placed on the pieces.
Formlabs is VERY behind on their release schedule comparing to past releases. I’ve been waiting over a year now for the next version to drop, with hopefully some of these bugs fixed I’m hearing about. I think it’s a bit dumb to expect people to want to buy a 2.5+ year old 3d printing product. I know as soon as I do, the new one will come out probably the next day. 
They did just drop the price about $150 a month or two back… so I’m hoping that means starting to get ready for the new one. Marketing-wise, it may make sense to announce something along-side the release of the Fuse 1. ??? (just speculating)
So… the fine folks at Formlabs will not be getting any of my money until the new one is released. Then they will get all of it. 
-Rob
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