Qualifying a Purchase: Form 3 vs. Form 2

General Discussion
1

Hi all,

I’m considering purchasing a Form 3 printer and I’ve done my homework in reading lots of posts on these forums, and many different reviews. I see where the formlabs market exists with their robust line of materials, and the “white glove” plug and play experience that they offer.

What concerns me the most is the price of the consumables in relation to their lifetime. It seems that the form 2 tanks have a better system and lifetime than the Form 3. Is there anyone out there that can offer commentary on their experience of the form 3 tanks vs the form 2 tanks, lifetime of parts? In regards to resins, do people feel like they’re getting their money’s worth out of these cartridges?

And has formlabs taken care of the speed (Form 2 beats Form 3) and quality (warping, shifting layers) issues that were brought up last year with firmware updates?

With all of my readings I’m leaning towards a refurbished Form 2 instead of a Form 3, unless there’s something significant that I am missing.

Thanks in advance.

2

Having owned a Form1+, a Form2 and now a Form3, I’d suggest you go with the Form2. My Form3 prints every bit as well as my Form2 did. But it’s not clear to me if it’s better. I used to run in to challenges with the Form2 because of the way the peeling operation works, prints would warp. I upgraded to the Form3 because I thought the low peel force design would help. It hasn’t hurt, but it’s not clear to me if it’s helped. At least for the parts I’ve printed so far, they were of a quality level comparable to the Form2.

2 Likes