Formlabs 1+ SLA-type 3D Printer – Hands on

SLA type 3D printers look like something out of science fiction, what with the lasers and gooey resin they use. But they’re faster and more detailed than conventional 3D printers.

Instead of melting a plastic filament to create objects layer by layer, SLA printers use a laser projection system to “grow” objects out of a pool of UV-curable resin. The laser flashes over the resin tray, it causes a thin layer to solidify on the build plate, which is slowly drawn upward as each new layer is made.

Formlabs’ Form 1+ printer is one of the first consumer-oriented SLA printers to hit the scene. At $3,300, it’s still more than most consumer FDM models, but according to the company, it can “outperform the print quality of even high-end FDM machines.”

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