Just received a new Form 3 Tank v2.1 and this time it came in a new cardboard box…what’s more, this cardboard box completely replaces the plastic container that used hold the resin tank while in storage.
While I like how the tank sits in the box and the mixer is nicely placed in a dedicated slot this box is bigger/bulkier, doesn’t feel clean since its got packaging tape and whatnot stuck on the outsides since it served as both the shipping box and the storage container at the same time, and now it opens like a hinge rather than a Tupperware, so I always have to pull it out of the drawer to swap resins.
Anyone else received this and any thoughts? I’m all for change and improvements (e.g. I love the new inside layout), but not really caring for the cardboard box.
I can only celebrate this from an environmental point of view.
The tank is an item that expires and it was bad you had no use of a plastic container in perfect shape after you disposed of it.
You do need something better to store a full tank but they could sell it as a separate item
From the environment perspective is great, from the usability, it is not. Have the option to buy or not the box should be much better. If you have old boxes, then great. But if not, new ones take more space than old ones.
At least some notification could be nicer than finding the new packaging and realizing that luckily you have not thrown away some of the old boxes
That’s a fair consideration. If the cardboard is recycled properly, it could be a positive move from an environmental standpoint. Hopefully, Formlabs is also considering this aspect in their packaging choices.
I think it would be easy enough to sell the tanks either with or without the plastic container. They could charge 15 extra dollars per tank if it gets shipped in the plastic container.
Overall i DO applaud the move but agree about the useability of the cardboard boxes. I rarely threw away those containers as they are useful for parts storage…also great for storing sand paper
I also think they should have gone with plastic bag refills with a screw cap mouth to interface with resin cartridges you already own.
When all is said and done, I am not sure how many resources are really saved with the 5 liter system when you consider all the ancillary equipment you need to use it. I think it will take quite some heavy usage before you start saving any raw materials.
For now I am making sure to NOT throw away the tank container i DO have.
Considering that there’s no apparent plan to refurbish the tanks (should be more than plausible) neither the resin bottles (other than the pump). It is an environmentally dubious movement.
Charging for the old box could be un unsurprising movement, albeit a shitty one (consumables are extremely pricy with formlabs.
(Don’t get me wrong, all movement towards less waste is great and necessary)
You make it sound like profit is a bad thing. Companies, especially start-ups, need to make profits to stay in business. They are already selling the printers at/or below cost…have to make money somewhere to keep the lights on and their employees paid…and let’s not forget how hideously expensive R&D is!
It is not like any of us are forced to buy this printer and its ecosystem. They are also not hiding the costs of any of the consumables in a bait and switch move.
At most they are saving is around 5 bucks(This is assuming that they are getting those parts made in China). They have not raised their prices to adjust for inflation in the 5 years I have been using their system. If they had adjusted the price for just the tanks to cover inflation, the price should have been 173 dollars. So those 5 dollars won’t even cover that.
So, just be thankful that all you are inconvenienced by is the cardboard box, and not a price hike. There is also a simple solution… save the old plastic containers from your current tanks and throw away your old/damaged resin tanks in the new cardboard ones…,…problem solved!
Other 3d printer companies have lower hardware prices and much lower resin prices. How do they stay in business?
And there isn’t an option to just buy 1L of resin to refill the cardridges (if someone claims that resin is expensive due to that)
I’m happy with the end result of the whole ecosystem (compared to other solutions) but for a hobbist it’s getting easily out of budget.
I’m not impressed at all with the change. These new containers are not more environmentally friendly at all. That cardboard will get resin on it making it unfit for recycling. Not to mention to recycle properly it will have to have the plastic window removed.
This is penny pinching on what should be a premium product. The old plastic containers can easily be recycled in with general plastic recycling.
I received a new resin tray the other day. With the same card board storage container.
Luckily I have a bunch of the original style ones to use when necessary.
And yes , it would be good if this change as reflected in the cost of the new trays. By reducing the cost per unit.
Wow, that’s a significant change! It’s great to hear that the new Form 3 Tank v2.1 comes with a dedicated slot for the mixer and an improved interior layout.
amazing!
I’m not happy with this at all new packaging… Its not a good way to store the tanks with resin in them… cant think of many things dirtier or more dusty than cardboard. To add insult to injury, I’m paying $50.00 more for a tank than the form4 owners… and they get a lid. We get a dirty cardboard box. For the same inflated price we have always paid. We also pay 33% more for our resin too. Form 4 came out 2 months after I purchased two form3 units. I guess I am supposed to toss them and upgrade??? Pay more, get less… great business model.
Or you can add form 4 to what you have. We have 2 Form3, Form 3L and the form 4. We had to get a separate rack for all the resin trays for the 3s and the 4resin trays you dont even have a box anymore the tray is the box and the lid is designed so you stack the next one on top. The 3s are only 25 dollars more because when you purchase the 4 tray you also have to buy the mixer separate. The reason for the different price of some of the resins is because of production cost. But some are the same price and if you get the open material on the 4 you can try any 405 nm resin and figure out the settings required to get them to print. So they all have their uses we use the 3s for production and the 4 for R&D
@MattRForerunner this setup is awesome! Thanks so much for sharing! We love seeing different user setups. If you’re on social media, share this on instagram, tag Formlabs and we’ll reshare too
A question for you as a Form 3 and 4 user - how to you decide when to print with which machine?
Are there anything that you came across in your setup that Formlabs could support with that we can pass on to our product team?
At this moment we are using the Form 3 for production and the Form 4 has been used mainly for R&D and testing the quality of prints from the 4. As we get later into this year and we are able to use more open materials I could see Form 4 becoming more used for production. Also as more resins become available from Formlabs we could start using it for more output. We are working towards building a small print farm in the future as workloads requiring more printers which is why we started to add racking.
As with setup issues the Form Cure L could use some adjustable feet so the door doesn’t scrape we put it on risers. Also maybe some sort of base plate for the form4 resin tanks to sit on so the bottom one isn’t in direct contact with each other.
Here is a updated picture of our set and Ill be posting a video on Instagram shortly.
