Formlabs

How 3D Printing Put Terra X in the Fast Lane Jenny and Alex Baumann started out building fine furniture in Atlanta, then found a new passion designing custom Sprinter vans in Southern California. But when the van-life boom exploded after the pandemic, the market got crowded fast, so they pivoted. That’s how Terra X was born. Small, lean automotive brand turning big ideas into reality with Formlabs Fuse 1+ 30W SLS 3D printers. Now, every one of Terra X’s 15 products is designed, prototyped, and produced in-house. What used to take weeks now happens in days, all while keeping their builds consistent, durable, and beautiful. “This changed our business. Every small shop should have one of these.” - Alex Baumann, Co-Founder, Terra X Read the full article: http://bit.ly/47zB2jS #3DPrinting #SLSPrinting #SmallBusiness #AutomotiveDesign #VanLife #AdditiveManufacturing #TerraX #formlabs

Dyeing is a low-cost method to color SLS parts that enhances their aesthetics while maintaining mechanical properties. Whether one is looking to do a small batch of colored parts or Pantone-match high-throughput production, dyeing methods exist to fit every workflow. With Nylon 12 White Powder, users of Fuse 1+ 30W can reliably achieve a range of colors, from oranges to pinks, blues, and almost everything in between. Whether color is required for product differentiation, to meet a specific aesthetic standard, or for safety-critical visibility purposes, dyeing is a viable solution. Our team tested four popular dyeing methods and reported on the results. Our guide will report on those methods, as well as share a dyeing workflow from a customer who designs and manufactures end-use products with this Fuse Series ecosystem and Nylon 12 White Powder. Read further here: http://bit.ly/3IWWRAG #3DPrinting #SLS #Nylon12 #AdditiveManufacturing #Color3DPrinting #DyeingWorkflow #ProductDesign #Prototyping #EndUseParts #EngineeringMaterials #formlabs

🐢 Behind the Shell: How Charlotte’s 3D-Printed Harness Came to Life You might remember Charlotte — the green sea turtle at Mystic Aquarium living with Bubble Butt Syndrome, a condition that makes it hard for her to dive and swim normally after shell trauma. Now you get to see even more of her story. These behind-the-scenes photos show how the teams at Mystic Aquarium, Adia, Formlabs, New Balance, and Functional 3D came together to create a custom 3D-printed harness that helps Charlotte swim straight again. Through 3D scanning, computational design, and advanced printing, they built a lightweight, adjustable solution — made just for her. It’s been a long journey from her rescue in 2008 to this breakthrough moment, and seeing her glide comfortably again feels like hope made visible. For more details, read an article: http://bit.ly/4pVED30 Would you like us to check in on Charlotte and share how she’s doing now? Let us know in the comments if you’d like an update! #CharlotteTheTurtle #MarineConservation #MysticAquarium #Formlabs #Adia3D #NewBalance #Functional3D #3DPrinting #BehindTheScenes

Bringing short-run injection molding into the product development process can be a boon for many engineering teams. When starting off creating a new product, producing smaller batches of end-use parts using rapid tooling is an effective and affordable way to bridge the gap between prototyping and mass production with expensive hard tooling. Special credits to the PSYONIC team for sharing in this video how they use 3D printed molds for their ability hand. PSYONIC is offering the first touch-sensing bionic hand for supercharging humans and robots with advanced capabilities. #InjectionMolding #RapidTooling #Prototyping #BionicHand #3DPrinting #Psyonic #formlabs

Accelerate product development, reduce costs and lead times, and create custom or low-volume products with ease by combining 3D printed rapid tooling and thermoforming. Find more information about thermoforming with 3d printed molds at the following link: https://bit.ly/4q3zru4

We should not expect the same performance from a 3D printing polymer mold as from a machined metallic one! Critical dimensions are harder to meet, cooling time is longer because the thermal transfer occurs slower in plastic, and printed molds can break under heat and pressure. However, companies across multiple industries are continuing to implement 3D printed molds (with Formlabs hardware and materials) into their short-run injection molding workflows, enabling them to quickly produce hundreds to thousands of parts. From designing functional prototypes with end-use materials, to fabricating parts during pilot production, or manufacturing end-use parts, 3D printing injection molds is a cost-effective and quick way to produce parts in limited quantities. 3D Printer: Formlabs Form 4 Material: Formlabs Rigid 10K Resin

Software Update Alert! Introducing PreForm 3.51 with a Powerful New Support Tool! We're thrilled to launch PreForm 3.51, featuring major updates to give you ultimate control over your SLA 3D prints. This is a game-changer for optimizing stability, detail, and post-processing speed! What's New & Why You'll Love It: - Powerful New Support Tool: Choose from Preset Support Profiles like Reduced Density for cleaner surfaces and faster cleanup, or take full control with custom settings. - Custom Control: Dial in the perfect supports using precise Touchpoint Placement and Support Structure Parameters to match your part's specific needs. - Improved Workflow: We've added handy Support Visibility modes and detailed usage metrics to streamline your preparation process. This entire update was driven by your feedback! We're committed to continuously improving the tools you rely on every day to bring your ideas to life. Ready to level up your printing workflow? Download PreForm 3.51 Now: http://bit.ly/4gMFC1e Learn More About All the Features: http://bit.ly/42ZrQ5E Let us know what you think of the new features in the comments below! #Formlabs #PreForm #3Dprinting #SLAprinting #NewRelease

3D Printed Tools for Prototyping and Low Volume Sheet Metal Forming: Metal manufacturing is essential for all areas of the economy. Because of their strength, stiffness, and long-term durability, metal components are used in applications from appliances to construction parts and car body panels. Traditional metal manufacturing techniques include forming, casting, molding, joining, and machining. Sheet metal forming involves various processes where force is applied to a piece of sheet metal to plastically deform the material into the desired shape, modifying its geometry rather than removing any material. Sheet metals can be bent or stretched into a variety of complex shapes, permitting the creation of complex structures with great strength and a minimum amount of material. Sheet metal forming is the most cost-effective forming procedure today for manufacturing parts in large quantities. It can be highly automated in factories or, at the other end of the spectrum, manually operated in metal workshops for small series parts. It is a versatile, consistent, and high-quality procedure to create accurate metal parts with limited material waste. From metal cans to protective housing for hardware, parts created by sheet metal forming are found everywhere in our daily lives. In this article, learn the basics of sheet metals, the various sheet metal forming processes, and how to reduce the cost of sheet metal forming with rapid tooling and 3D printed dies. For a detailed overview and the step-by-step method, watch our webinar or download our white paper here: http://bit.ly/4737WZY Research conducted by Shane Wighton. Check out the fantastic 15-minute video on his YouTube channel 'Stuff Made Here'!

Ever wonder what drives the design decisions behind our printers? Shane Wighton, the creator of Stuff Made Here and a former Formlabs engineer who led the design of Form 1, Form 2, and Form 3, returns to tear down the next generation with Alec Rudd, the lead engineer behind Form 4. Alec has his work critiqued by his former boss, Shane, as they discuss the thought processes behind seemingly small yet impactful choices, like these solder-on mounts for a PCB they tore out. Watch the full teardown here: http://bit.ly/4nidsxP #stuffmadehere #3Dprinting #form4 #formlabs

Fully Automated SLA Printing Workflow for Dental Aligner Models: Recently, Dimitar Hristakiev shared a timelapse showcasing their SLA automation in action. As the founder of DHR Engineering, his mission is to build automation solutions that are both practical and reliable. In this project, that vision translated into a workflow where 3D-printed dental arches move seamlessly from printer to wash to cure—ending fully prepared for thermoforming, without any manual intervention. Within just 24 hours, two Formlabs 4L printers produced 7,280 dental arches. This demonstrates how even a compact cell can achieve high-throughput dental manufacturing. Scaling is straightforward as well: simply add more printers around the robot and expand post-processing capacity. The cell can easily support up to eight Form 4L machines with their peripherals. #DHREngineering #Automation #SLAprinting #3Dprinting #digitaldentistry #formlabs