When Formlabs launched on Kickstarter nearly a decade ago, it stood out from the (then) crowded field of 3D printing startups by offering an accessible approach to high-res stereolithography.
It was a big deal, introducing a technology that had thus far been relegated to far more expensive industrial machines. It’s paid off for the company, which achieved double unicorn status earlier this year, even as much of the competition has fallen away. The company says it has sold more than 90,000 printers to date.
Today at CES, the MIT spinout announced a pair of new printers — the Form 3+ and Form 3B+. As the names imply, the new printers are updates to the Form 3 and 3B, announced back in 2019. The main update here is speed — promising exposure and printing that’s up to 40% faster than earlier models. That comes courtesy of more powerful, higher intensity lasers for the resin curing process. The new Build Platform 2, meanwhile, promises faster and easier removal of prints.
“Formlabs created the professional desktop printer market, and our Form 3 has become a best-seller,” CEO Max Lobovsky said in a release tied to the CES news. “The Form 3+ is the next iteration designed to help users go from idea to part in hand as quickly and easily as possible.
Also new for the show is a new ESD (electrostatic discharge) resin for printing, designed specifically for electronics manufacturing, automotive and aerospace applications.
