Like
- Excellent print quality
- A complete ecosystem
- Huge variety of materials
Don’t like
- Incredibly expensive
- No third-party resins available
Because the Form 3 Plus is a resin 3D printer it requires a lot of different hardware to make the final form safe, so setup is an entire procedure in and of itself. Aside from the 3D printer, you also need a way to wash and cure the prints as they come off the build area. 3D-printed resin is toxic when it comes off the printer and first must be washed in isopropyl alcohol and then cured in a UV chamber to make it stable.
The basic Form 3 Plus package comes with a simple wash station — not much more than two plastic tubs on a stand — but you would still need to buy a curing chamber. It’s a better idea to buy the entire setup, which includes the company’s Wash and Cure machines, as they’re dialed in to work specifically with the Form resins. That makes the entire bundle a lot more expensive, but if you are using this for your business the investment is worth it.
Formlabs Form 3 Plus specs
When it comes to quality, it’s hard to beat the Formlabs Form 3 Plus. There is a reason Hasbro chose Formlabs to partner with when it created the selfie series of action figures. Having my head printed on a Form 3 Plus and seeing it on an action figure is still one of my favorite things. I used Fotis Mint’s Cheyenne Elder bust to see how well the 3D printer captured fine details and while the print didn’t quite succeed, the details were excellent. You can see the weave on the jacket and each wrinkle on his wise face. I also printed a miniature version of Minas Tirith from Lord of the Rings and it’s detailed enough to see the white tree in the center of the plaza.
To test some of the other materials I printed an Optimus Primal head that was released by Paramount in Elastic 50A. Not only did the print complete perfectly, the elastic material makes it feel tough and durable. It’s even bouncy and can be thrown around the room. I was impressed that it was able to print such a flexible material while still maintaining all the delicate details of Optimus Primal’s face.
The recently added flexible build plate helps a lot with the removal of these more exotic resins. Just a few quick flexes and every model I tried popped off into the bucket of IPA. I did find the magnets to be incredibly strong, making it hard to release the plate, but you want it to be strong so it doesn’t come off midprint. Just make sure you’re wearing nitrile gloves to combat the resin splashes.
The entire Form 3 Plus ecosystem is made to give you the best experience start to finish, though the software needs to be updated. Preform — the software in question — doesn’t let you hollow models or add drain holes, something that is a staple in resin 3D printing. Instead, you’re asked to use an external app called Meshmixer. However, Meshmixer hasn’t been in active development for years, and every other resin slicer software has that basic function built in.
There’s no denying that the Form 3 Plus, along with the Wash and Cure stations, is a fantastic 3D printer. The quality of each model is amazing and with Formlabs’ walled-garden approach, you can be sure every part of the process works in tandem. If you have a small-to-medium business trying to create a product that looks exactly the same every time, investing in the Form 3 Plus system makes sense.
For the average user though, who has the chance to own one or two 3D printers in their garage or workshop, it’s just too big an expense to justify the extra quality you get.
