Buying a Brand New Form 1...Is it still worth it?

Ok, maybe NOT Mint In Box brand new but less than 50 hrs on the machine. It was shelved and now the owner wants to get rid of it for a really decent price. I have talked him down as there is little to no support left for the Form 1.

So, the question to you dear community and any admins at Formlabs is this:
“If I buy this practically brand new Form 1, will I be throwing good money away?”

Is there any place that I might be able to get consumables for the Form 1?
Will the new resins work on the old gal?

Let me know what you think guys, love to hear from you!

It really depends on the type of user you are. If you’re the kind that needs to be guided through everything, and needs support at the drop of a hat, then you’ll probably want to buy new one. Also if you like the bells and whistles that are unique to the Form 2, then you should buy a Form 2.

On the other hand, if you want a solid printer, read on…

Fist of all, if this is a Form 1, not a Form 1+, then I would pass unless you can get it really, really cheap. If it’s a Form 1+, and the price was right <$1K, I wouldn’t hesitate to get it. So you won’t get some of the bells and whistles that the Form 2 has, it’s a more hands-on, manual and simpler machine, with less doodads that can go south when you least expect them. If anything, it’s a more “open” machine with more freedom over what you can and cannot use or do with it.

Some of the resins currently being sold by FormLabs work fine, others not so much, and to be sure FormLabs is moving away from the Form 1 series, but we’re also beginning to see 3rd party alternatives that actually work very well, and are made with the Form 1 user in mind.

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Form 1 or 1+?

I bought the F1+ exactly a year ago and am perfectly happy. The F2 has a better advertised resolution, slightly faster build time and slightly bigger build area but none of those factors is particularly significant for my jewelry work. Some of the newer resins are a bit dodgy in the F1+ but the important ones work very well.

If it’s an F1 not F1+ then make that really, really, really cheap.

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I would pass on a Form 1. Formlabs might turn it into a 1+ cheap. They did mine and I don’t remember what it cost. It might have been free because it was so much trouble. The Form 1+ works good. It is just picky about being clean.
I thought the Form 2 was supposed to be faster also. It’s not! The same file will print faster on my Form 1+ than it will on either of my Form 2’s

I found the same as ScottBarbour on my F1+ vs. F2 (F1+ faster in most cases), but ended up getting spoiled by the F2 consistency (the F1+ just needs to be kept very clean). I did get the FlexVat for the F1+ which makes it possible to use other resins without worrying about how fast they deteriorate the tray silicone. I also got a couple pet electric blankets to keep the temperature stable in the winter (some resins are more sensitive to temps). Because I am not having the time to fine-tune the settings like I thought, my F1+ has been patiently waiting for work or a new owner.