Something new is taking form.
Find out what it is next week! Join our live announcement event Wednesday, October 14th at 9:00 AM EDT.
Visit Formlabs.com/new to sign up to be notified, or click “Notify me” on YouTube to receive a reminder!
Hi everybody,
We want to quickly let you know that PreForm now runs natively on Apple Silicon Macs! This means faster startup times and better performance for Mac users.
Please note that we plan to end Intel support for MacOS at the end of 2026. Nothing changes for the Windows versions of PreForm.
Check out our release notes for all contents of the latest PreForm update!
We've all seen these cases: The print that came out looking like a Cronenberg fever dream, the support structure that fused into an abstract sculpture, the resin bath that became a crime scene. Time to share the pain.
How to Enter:
Prizes:
First prize: $500 discount voucher
Second prize: $250 discount voucher
Third prize: $150 discount voucher
Fourth and fifth prize: Official merch package
Timeline:
Submissions open now through Sep 28.
Winners announced Sep 30!
Judging:
We're picking winners based on both how bad it looks and how useful the lesson is - a spectacular failure with no takeaway loses to a less disturbing one that saves someone else's next build.
Bonus points if your disaster has a name. We've seen things.
Drop your worst below!
NOTE: Please see our Terms and Conditions for Contests and Sweepstakes here.
This contest is limited to regions with direct Formlabs sales or authorized reseller coverage. If a winner is located in a region we cannot ship to, a new winner will be selected.
Hi everyone!
If you're printing on the Fuse Series SLS printers, you might be familiar with TPU 90A Powder for gaskets, cushioning, etc. But a recent post on this subreddit featured TPU parts printed down to a 40A durometer - so for anyone who hasn't tried this yet, we wanted to share how to achieve softer parts without changing materials or doing extra cleanouts!
By using the Print Settings Editor (PSE) inside PreForm, you can modify laser parameters on the Fuse 1+ 30W to adjust the hardness of your parts. This lets you achieve shore hardnesses as low as 38 Shore A, all with TPU 90A Powder!
When you reduce the density of the sintered powder, the part becomes softer and more foam-like. You can control this using two key levers in PSE:
You don’t even need to figure these out through trial and error! On our support page, you can find downloadable print settings for 40A, 50A, 60A, and 80A hardness.
As parts become softer, their bulk density decreases - the part becomes more foam-like at a microscopic level. This impacts mechanical properties as well as watertightness. Make sure to test your parts fully for your application.
At the extremes of very low Fill Laser Power or wide Fill Hatch Spacing, there may be visible surface effects. Certain features may not resolve, and there may be a ‘fuzzy’ or ‘crumbly’ surface texture. Changing the thickness of a part can help mitigate the effect of changing a setting on the feature resolution.
Check out the full workflow guide on our support page to start experimenting with PSE!
Have you tried tweaking print parameters for elastomeric parts yet? Drop your tips or questions below!
Hi everyone!
Silicone molding is easily one of the applications that generates the most questions when we post about it. To help out, we’ve collected answers to the most frequent questions on materials and workflows!
The Core Workflow:
Frequently Asked Questions
What printer and material should you use?
We recommend SLA printing with a material like Formlabs Clear Resin. Silicone rubbers capture fine surface details, including defects - so a smooth, non-porous mold surface is essential.
Many resins deliver the required accuracy, but a transparent material like Clear Resin is ideal because it lets you visually inspect the cavity for air pockets, flow fronts, or voids while pouring.
What silicone should you use?
Most of our customers use a generic platinum-cure silicone. Tin-cure silicone is a great alternative used by some.
Will a resin mold inhibit the silicone curing?
Not necessarily. Many of our customers have achieved successful silicone parts with just the basic workflow. Others apply 1 or 2 of the following techniques to solve the problem (you don’t need to follow them all!):
How do you avoid air bubbles?
Proper vent placement in CAD is critical:
We hope this is helpful! For more in-depth information, check out our whitepaper on the topic.
Are you using any other techniques and materials for this workflow? We're curious to hear about your experiences in the comments!
It’s here!
We're proud to introduce Fuse X1 – industrial SLS, 7.5x bigger than Fuse 1+ 30W.
With a massive 61.5 L build volume and high packing density, Fuse X1 delivers 3x the throughput at a fraction of the cost compared to industrial competitors.
Read all about the Fuse X1 Ecosystem here!
And what about SLA? Meet Flexible 80A Resin V2!
compared to the previous version.
Want to see it all in action? Check out our full launch keynote covering the Fuse X1 ecosystem and the new Flexible 80A formulation:
Watch the full Formlabs Keynote here
Flexible 80A Resin V2 is available now, and Fuse X1 will ship in Q4!
Any questions? Don’t hesitate to drop them below in this thread and we’ll be happy to answer them.
Hey everyone,
We're getting ready to drop some big news.
Stay tuned for the official reveal on Tuesday, June 9th at 9:00 AM EST.
If you want to watch live and hang out with us in the chat, you can join right here and bookmark the stream for later: Formlabs Announcement Event Link
Any guesses on what we're unloading? Drop them below!
Excited to see you in the live chat next week!