Form 2 - SLA 3D printer

* Discontinued product. Only reconditioned units available. Current model: Form 3

FormLabs Form 2 is a high quality and accurate 3D printer with working technology based on laser stereolithography (SLA). The SLA technology uses UV light to convert the liquid resin into a solid object, tracing the shape of each layer.

How does it work

The Form 2 uses a powerful UV laser engine (250mW) which is guided by two highly accurate galvanometers, one for the X axis and the other for the Y axis, which point to the laser beam through the printing area solidifying the resin, layer to layer. In this case there are 3 elements in charge of the part where the resin is located: the tank, the cleaner and the build platform build.

Image 1: Form 2. Source: FormLabs

The process of each layer begins by lowering the build platform until it is submerged in the resin, once there, the UV laser traces the shape of the layer. Next, the build platform rises while the tank moves, thus preventing the layer from adhering to the tank, and the cleaner slides down the tank to remove traces of solidified resin or air bubbles that can affect the solidification of the next layer. A larger, the Form 2 has an orange cover that prevents the UV rays of the environment affect the printing process but at the same time with a design that allows easy access to both the build platform and the resin tank thanks to the upper hinges on which it rotates.

Video 1: Form 2. Source: FormLabs

Quality, ease and reliability

Something increasingly demanded by users is that the objects made by 3D printers are functional pieces and be able to dedicate themselves solely to design. The Form 2 is capable of making parts with a resolution of between 25 and 100 microns in a variety of materials highly tested by the manufacturer and in continuous development.

Image 2: Pieces with great finish. Source: FormLabs

Thanks to this and being a 3D SLA printer, Form 2 can create at the same time many models of small size and with much detail, something that other printers with other technologies, including DLP (digital 3D printer of light processing), do not they are able to perform with such quality.

Image 3: Great detail with many objects. Source: FormLabs

FormLabs has created the ProForm, a free software to prepare the impressions of your Form 2 in a simple and effective way, to the point that the software itself has the option of orienting the piece and generating the supports automatically.

Image 4: PreForm for Form 2. Source: FormLabs

Image 5: Real model printed by Form 2. Source: FormLabs

Once the print file is prepared, it's sent to the printer via Wi-Fi, and from the color touch screen provided by Form 2, the manufacturing starts. A part, from this screen you can pre-visualize the piece, know the time of printing, manage the print queue and many more options. But the connectivity doesn't end there, thanks to a cloud-based application, the user will always be connected to Form 2 receiving warning messages, such as start or end of a print.

Image 6: Alerts through mobile. Source: FormLabs

Once the piece is printed, a post-processing is necessary to remove the supports and cure the pieces to achieve the maximum mechanical performance of each type of resin. For this FormLabs has the Form Wash and the Form Cure, two teams that streamline and automate the post-processing, reducing to the maximum the time and effort necessary to get the final piece.

Image 7:Ecosystem of Form 2. Source: FormLbas

Resins

Form 2 has a recognition system of the type of resin and quantity available in the cartridge that is being used to ensure that the tank can always be filled automatically.

Image 8: Automatic recognition of cartridges. Source: FormLabs

Thanks to this system, Form 2 recognizes all types of current resins (Standard resins, Engineering resins, Jewelry resins, Dental resins) and all future resins developed by FormLabs.

Image 9: Types of FormLabs resins. Source: FormLabs

Video 2: Form 2. Source: FormLabs