ALL NEW - Formlabs Form 4 - Can it Pay for Itself?

[@buboonful]

May I ask why did you choose formlabs over others cheaper printer and resins? As I see there are on the market models and materials which has the same features but twise cheaper at the same time they have relatively good reviwews, available spare parts and good success rate of prints.

[@kevin_fine]

@@buboonful I got a used Form 2 from my friend a while back for about $1K and just upgraded from there. The biggest plus for Formlabs is their resins. They far outperform the competition, not to mention the consistency of their printers and ecosystem is what you’re paying for. That does make a difference when you’re making product to sell or need reliability.

[@barry-d1066]

Couple questions, at 4:34 you have 2 sets of parts per build plate. The new form 4 has a ~17% larger build plate, could you fit 3 sets of parts on it, or at least have more room to vary part locations and avoid wear? Secondly, I see you focus mostly on engineering resins, with the new v5 resins like black and white having improved mechanical properties do you think you might see demand for these in the future?

[@kevin_fine]

Very good points indeed! Fitting extra parts on a build plate would certain mean even lower costs. Regarding new resins: I am likely going to explore them but as I need parts that bend, flex, and can take big impacts I don’t see myself using them too soon.

[@barry-d1066]

@@kevin_fine if you calculate those build costs with the larger plate I’d be curious to see how it changes things, definitely interesting numbers. As far as the materials go it seems like notched izod is the most applicable test for your application with impact and flex, the new standard materials aren’t up there with tough 2k or 1500 but they are for sure going in the right direction.

[@patrickd1606]

Any update on the part cost with the added parts with the larger BP?

[@kevin_fine]

@@patrickd1606 the tray cost is the only thing that is affected here so it would likely go down another 20-30% depending on how many parts you can fit. However, since the tray cost is only about $0.17 you’re not getting much more dollar savings at that point. Late of diminishing returns once you get that low.

[@corksauve4949]

Are you using the LT tanks in your form 2?

[@kevin_fine]

Yes I am

[@corksauve4949]

@@kevin_fine Your printers must run non stop. lol. I've have a LT tank that's still running strong for over a year.

[@kevin_fine]

@@corksauve4949 haha I use anywhere from 10-20 liters a month. Just depends on volume and new product launches and how in demand they are.

[@corksauve4949]

@@kevin_fine I'll never get to that volume. And my form 2 is dying a slow death. Especially since formlabs no longer supports it. And don't have replacement parts.

[@kevin_fine]

@@corksauve4949 I will say Formlabs support has literally pulled parts off their old printers to send me to repair mine. No guarantee on them, but it’s keep mine running!

[@janettaselaar5673]

Let's be honest this form 4 printer is way to expensive.