Opinions of Formlabs Form 2 SLA ?

Bob E · Feb 1, 2016

I have a customer for whom I design blow molded beverage containers.

They want to bring the RP portion in-house.
They are using a vendor now that is using a Stratasys unit.
The models are strictly for sales meetings and some fit and function analysis.

I was kind of shocked to see some low priced SLA units available, such as Formlab's:

Form 2 Desktop SLA 3D Printer

Anybody have one or worked with one?

Also, the current vendor uses a polishing process that makes the model nearly crystal clear. I imagine it to be a vapor polishing process. Any ideas of what this process may be?

Thanks.

rcoope · Feb 2, 2016

I talked to a stratasys/Solid Concepts rep (I think they're one entity? It was a Stratasys guy) at a trade show. They had some mirror finished FDM parts via a mix of hand finishing, bead blasting and epoxy filler or something. We've found the vapour method makes our FDM parts look smooth but slightly melted. I've heard people say good things about form labs but it's not likely to be as good as the parts you're getting now.

alexdobbie · Feb 4, 2016

We have the Form1+, it's not that reliable for large parts and the dimensions ( even after going through the whole calibration procedure) aren't that good. They claim the Form2 is much more reliable and I have no reason to doubt that.

The machine might not be reliable but the support is quite good if you are in the same time zone as them.

If it is an Objet print ( Vero clear? ) then hand polishing gives a really high quality finish for the bits you can reach. I think this material can be used in the Alaris Pro that is much cheaper than the big Objets but still much more expensive than the Formlabs.

Search

Largest Manufacturing Technology Community on the Web

Search

Opinions of Formlabs Form 2 SLA ?

Bob E

Hot Rolled

rcoope

Stainless

alexdobbie

Aluminum

Similar threads