Following its precedent-setting Kickstarter campaign last year, FormLabs started shipping the Form 1 SL 3D printer on Friday last. This initial shipment saw the Collector’s Edition Form 1 printers and half of the Initial Formation tier of pledges leave the production facility, with Kickstarter backers due to start seeing their Form 1’s by the end of next week.
The Form 1 3D printers are behind the original schedule but this is hardly surprising considering the scale-up that was necessary to meet the demand. As a result, Form 1 have kept communication channels open and have maintained positive support from the community. As the 3D printers start to ship, they are grateful for ongoing support: “We especially appreciate your patience and encouragement as we fell behind our original delivery schedule. Fortunately, the hard work and many extra hours from the Formlabs team will make the average Form 1 only a few months late…. As our production ramps and we have accurate data on our steady state production capacity, we will share more precise dates for each group of printer deliveries.” (You will receive a personal confirmation e-mail the day your unit ships).
In further news, the first (and subsequent) shipments will be issued with a new material, different to the grey resin that was originally intended as the first material on the Form 1. FormLabs has now announced that the flagship print material is a Clear Resin. Apparently the grey material requires further development, while the clear resin, which has been in development for more than a year and has undergone hundreds of formula interations, meets the quality standards that FormLabs were after.
The FormLabs team now reports that the Clear Resin offers “improved and excellent tensile, impact and green strength, which allows for immediate use after printing.” Furthermore, “at 15 cents per cubic centimeter, it’s affordable and fantastic for a wide-range of applications — from highly-detailed and complex models to fully-functioning prototypes.”
The resin will be available to purchase from the Form Store for $149 per liter imminently.
how many architectural house (10cmx10cmx10cm) can be made with 1 litter of clear resin costing USD149/L. [email protected]