I got a Form1 new 4 years ago. I have probably not used it in 2 years. I would sell it if there was a reasonable offer.
When the Form2 came out I thought about it briefly and obviously did nothing. The size of the parts it made did not increase significantly enough for me to justify the purchase. It is expensive to run as well. The Form2 is out for ? long now?
Is there any rumors of a Form3?
Please reply directly to bill@lanestrains.com
Thanks
Bill
I’ve heard that there’s a new one due out in about 18 months. It will be different totally and much faster.
Fiber Optic is what I’ve been told but don’t hold me to this. It is the new move in a lot of areas so I don’t see it as impossible.
The Fuse 1? With all the delays already there I can imagine it will be released in 18 months, hehe.
Ha, yeah, one could think that… ticks all the boxes, “totally different”, “much faster”, and the laser is fiber-based too. 18 months also seems realistic, extrapolating from the past delays.
Yeah I’d be surprised if anything is announced before the Fuse 1 is released to market. I’m not a sales guru but I think announcing a next-gen printer just before you launch a current product is guaranteed to muffle excitement and hurt sales of the latter.
Personally my #1 feature request for the Form 3 is big, Big, BIGGER build volumes.
I expect that’s a common sentiment and Formlabs is aware of it ;-).
That and working sensors.
Because of the sensors issues we will wait to buy any new Formlabs product but if a Form 3 with a bigger build volume proves reliable after a few months we will definitely buy one.
That is 1 reason why I stopped using my Form1. I was sort of out of things I needed to print at the same time the print quality was degrading - after about 14 months of ownership. It annoyed me so that I temporarily stopped using it but still have not yet after 2 years. If the Form3 is about $3500.00 I still might have to pass.
Form 3 would be great at this point in time I think however, depending where and what you use the Form printer at dictates what you would like to see regarding new or improved features. I use Form 2 in an orthodontic practice (not lab) and my main request would be reproducibility (which is awesome right now with Form2), extremely close to 0% print failures (which is also the case one year now using Form2 printing dental models), SPEED (there Form 2 is behind but hopefully that will change once and if they give us a new Form Printer), and constant improvement of industry related resins (eg Dental) (which is for sure what they are mainly putting effort to right now, at least out in the open).
So let’s see if we get any news soon, which I doubt it, for at least a year ahead, hopefully I’m mistaken.
It would be great if someone from Formlabs could comment in this topic. Speed is the main thing for mine, I have been producting mold from my form 2 and they are very good but need a whole weekend to produce one mold. The technology is there to make resin printing faster, total redesign of course. Anyway can someone from Formlabs comment please.
Salve, sarei intenzionato ad acquistare una Form 2 . Però prima di azzardare l’acquisto vorrei sapere se qualcuno sa se a breve uscirà una versione nuova (Form 3) ?
Grazie
Maybe later this year, but you’re not going to hear anything until they officially announce it.
Hey everyone!
Thanks so much for taking the time to contribute! We really appreciate the feedback and we really do take it seriously. Nothing to talk about at this time, but we’re always looking to improve our materials, hardware, and software. 
I can’t imagine how fiber optics could enhance the operation of a laser that uses a high speed motorized mirror to point it.
My Wish list would be for greater speed, of course, without sacrificing quality. Perhaps DLP - but as present the DLP printers have lower resolution and are not noticeably faster due to the weak flux of their light sources. But DLP has the potential to be less moving parts- no mirrors to get dusty…
So a DLP with the Form 2’s detail capability, but an ultrabright light source… ( perhaps a million light emitting diodes pumping light into fiberoptics that deliver the light to a tightly packed raster of pixels below the tank?
for a super fast full layer cure.
And, of course a larger build volume would be great…
But ABSOLUTELY fix the sensors- Optical readers with simple printed serial patterns that can be assigned and tracked via dashboard would be great…
OH- and Duct the the spill catchtray to a port on the bottom of the machine or to an internal reservoir
capable of taking a full liter plus a full tray…
Until then, for us Form 2 users, how about a firmware update that allows us to overide the sensors and Confirm to the printer and preform that there IS a cartridge or resin tray in place and what kind it is?
Our Form 2 produces great prints when it’s working, but we’re definitely holding out for a Form3 before buying more machines. The number of sensor problems has been really troublesome. Having new tanks or cartridges that can only be used in open-mode is a real pita.
The build volume is a real hindrance as well. When it’s working, it’s my favorite printer, but when it’s causing trouble, the much-cheaper, much-larger foreign machines start looking a lot more attractive.
SOMEONE FROM FORMLABS should not reply because it is a violation of the anti-trust and fair competition laws to comment on an unannounced product.
Looks like we have an announcement on the 2nd of April
I like my FL2 it works just fine. I would like a bigger print area. faster prints and more access to the printer on open mode and be able to print metals.
However, I wont be spending another $5-6K on a FL3.
IF FL wants to obtain a market share parity with the other newer SLA printers they will need a reasonable price point for the FL3.
Agreed, I bet they start it at about 5k. Haven’t had enough business to justify it. Unless it’s like a 12”x12”x15” print volume I’m sure I’ll be passing.
A bigger print area Requires a faster print speed or you could be looking a 24 hour prints!
Well I just finished an 80 hour print a few days go lol.