Jump to content

Formlabs Form 2 3D Printer Review: A Great Buy for Medical 3D Printing


Dr. Mike

4,313 views

blog-0410755001464285171.jpg

Hello Dr. Mike here and welcome to my review of the Form 2 3D printer by Formlabs. The Form 2 is Formlabs newest desktop stereolithography printer. It is a great asset for medical 3D printing with many user friendly features and an acceptable price.

 

My full review is included here in both video and text. You can download the splenic artery aneurysm file shown in the video. The Form 2 printer is available to purchase. The previous generation Form 1+ can be purchased on Amazon. However, the Form 2 represents a better value.

 

Stereolithography is a 3D printing method where a laser hardens liquid resin in a vat one layer at a time. This is different from fused deposition modeling (FDM) where plastic filament is heated and extruded through a nozzle to make the 3-D print. Stereolithography is capable of producing highly detailed 3-D prints with a layer thickness of 25 µm. This is four times finer than the 100 µm layer thickness for the latest MakerBot Replicator. q?_encoding=UTF8&MarketPlace=US&ASIN=B00ir?t=embform2-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B00SNM8VIK

 

 

Form 2 Unboxing and Set Up
My Form 2 arrived in a series of boxes at my front door. I do a lot of 3-D printing so I ordered extra bill platforms and resin tanks. Resin cartridges came in their own separate box. As you can see I also ordered extra resin cartridges.

 

The Form 2 printer came in a large box that contained a quick start guide, another resin tank, build platform, and accessories. The printer itself was well secured in the box and had convenient pullout handles. Once the printer was in its final location next to my old form 1+ printers I had to remove the extensive tape used to secure the printer during shipping. A thin plastic protective film is present over the touchscreen. I tend to get my printers dirty so I left this in place.

 

Next I plugged in the printer, and it immediately started to initialize. The printer immediately gave me a warning that it was not level. I had the printer set up on the same table that my older Form 1+ printers were on but they do not have a leveling sensor, and apparently I have been printing with them leveled all this time.

 

Fortunately leveling the Form 2 printer is very easy. It has screw type legs that can be raised or lowered, much the same way that restaurant tables can be adjusted. A simple disc like leveling tool comes with the printer and can be used to adjust the legs easily. Adjust the legs until the leveling circle is within the bull's-eye shown on the main screen. This is a pretty cool feature. The printer is now ready to print.

 

You can connect to the printer over a USB cable, but I prefer Wi-Fi as my main computer is in a different room than the printer. To do this turn on Wi-Fi settings and select your network. The older Form 1+ printer resin came in bottles that you had to pour into the resin tank. The Form 2 printer comes with a printer cartridge that slides into the back of the printer. When you're resin tank is low the printer automatically fills the tank from the cartridge. This is quite handy especially with larger prints that may require the tank to otherwise be refilled in the middle of a print.

 

A new resin tank fits easily into the printer and snaps in place. Resin tanks are considered to be consumables and are thrown out after about 2 L of printing when the floor of the tank becomes foggy and starts to inhibit the laser. Each resin tank comes with a wiper arm which snaps into place. This wiper arm is a new feature for the form to and can prevent cured resin from sticking to the bottom of the tank, a situation that in older printers could cause total print failure. With the new wiper arm this situation is much less likely to happen.
The new build platform slides and easily.

 

Inserting a resin cartridges a snap. There's a cap on the top of the resin cartridge that should be opened to allow resin to drain into the printer. At this point the printer should be ready to print. You can see that the display shows that a resin tank and cartridge have been inserted. Also the display indicates the internal temperature. During printing a heater will warm the internal temperature to the appropriate level to achieve best results.

 

This is the result of my first print, which is a hollow vascular model. This is my second print which is a section of lumbar spine printed in clear resin.

 

This is the new removal tool, which is used to remove the three printed model from the build platform. Form labs has recently released firmware update which makes removal of the parts much easier. The removal tool can slip under the edges and with gentle twisting will separate from the bill platform. This is a significant improvement over the older support structure. It is also an example of how form labs continues to improve its products even after sale through the use of software upgrades.

 

Once removed from the bill platform the support structures need to be removed. This can be done either before or after cleaning the part in an alcohol bath. The model will be covered in sticky resin so you need to wear disposable gloves and be able to clean the parts with alcohol, which requires decent ventilation. Using the flush cutters that come with the kit the base can be cut and the support structures can be gently worked off the model.

 

Here's an example of a splenic artery aneurysm model that I printed and clear. You can see that the quality of the print is excellent. If you would like to 3-D print this model yourself I have made it free for download at the link in the description below. It is available in both STL and Form labs Preform software format. This is an example of some of the parts that are produced with the Form 2 printer. As you can see they are a very high quality.

 

Purchase and material options, and other features
The Form 2 comes with many upgrades and improvements over its predecessor, the Form 1+. This includes:

  • Larger build volume, 14.5 x 14.5 x 17.5 cm
  • Heated tank
  • slide peeled
  • resin wiper
  • dust protection
  • automated resin system
  • wireless connectivity


The cost of the Form 2 printer is $3499, which includes the printer, resin tank, build platform, finishing kit, and one liter of resin of your choice. The printer comes with a one-year warranty.

 


Standard resins are available in black, gray, white, and clear. Functional resins include flexible, castable, and tough. A biocompatible resin is available for dental purposes.

 

Form 2 For Medical 3D Printing Review Conclusion
The Form 2 is an outstanding desktop stereolithography 3-D printer for the price. It produces very high quality parts. It is expensive for a consumer grade desktop printer but is significantly cheaper than other printers used for medical purposes. The free Preform software makes setting up a print easy. Cons of the printer are it is messy, requiring gloves and isopropyl alcohol to clean the sticky resin from the parts. This can be a problem in a poorly ventilated office environment. Also the build volume, while larger than its predecessor, is still smaller than many FDM printers.
Overall the form two is an outstanding value and I recommend it highly particularly for medical 3-D printing. Thank you very much for watching if you like this video subscribe below and happy 3-D printing.

1 Comment


Recommended Comments

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...