FormLabs

In the face of decades of shifting markets, endless new technologies, and unprecedented labor shortages, Ashley Furniture has only continued to grow. In 2005, they became the largest furniture manufacturer in the world, a title they still hold today. The company followed the arch most American businesses of its era dreamed of. Its first manufacturing facility opened in Arcadia, Wisconsin in 1970 with 35 employees, since blossoming into a global company with 900+ stores around the world. Ashley's factories produce more than 300,000 pieces of furniture a week, amounting to about 26 million a year. A careful look around Ashley’s [...]

The new Form 3 3D printer from Formlabs represents the next generation of industrial 3D Printing. With advanced Low Force Stereolithography (LFS)™ technology, Formlabs has completely re-engineered resin-based 3D printing to drastically reduce the forces of the print process. One of the benefits of Low Force Stereolithography (LFS) is that the flexible tank significantly reduces stress on the part during the peel process. This results in much clearer parts with improved surface finish as shown in these comparison photos of a Form 2 and Form 3 print. See for yourself by viewing the images below. Learn more about the Form [...]

Moldmaking with desktop 3D printing allows engineers and designers to get much more functionality from their 3D printer, beyond prototyping alone. Moldmaking opens a world of production materials and provides the ability to produce short-run batches and test mold designs prior to committing to expensive tooling. Download an educational White Paper from Formlabs to learn about mold making strategies including injection molding, thermoforming and casting elastomers. Just complete the form below and you will gain access to the White Paper.

Formlabs recently announced their latest material – Elastic Resin and this article will take a closer look at it. Soft silicone and urethane parts are typically produced through moldmaking. These materials must be both highly elastic and strong. 3D printing them was once only possible on expensive industrial machine, but with Elastic Resin, companies can now simulate molded silicone, making it possible to print soft, resilient prototypes right on the desktop. Elastic resin is Formlabs' most pliable material with a shore durometer of 50A and an Elongation of 160%. Due to its high elongation excellent tear strength, parts printed with [...]

Formlabs is pleased to announce the latest formulation of High Temp Resin, part of their library of Engineering Resins for the Form 2 desktop stereolithography (SLA) 3D printer. High Temp Resin offers the highest heat deflection temperature (HDT) among Formlabs resins and is suitable for printing detailed, precise parts with high thermal stability. The new formulation, shipping now, has an HDT of 238 °C @ 0.45 MPa and improved elongation to decrease brittleness. Over the course of the last year since Formlabs first released this material, they talked with a variety of engineers and product designers using it to better [...]

Razor manufacturer Gillette is piloting its Razor Maker™ concept—a platform that serves as one of the first examples of direct-to-consumer, end-use 3D printed parts. Using Formlabs Form 2 3D printers as its production engine, Razor Maker™ gives consumers the power to create and order customized 3D printed razor handles, with the choice of 48 different designs (and counting), a variety of colors, and the option to add custom text. “Our partnership with Formlabs, and the power of their 3D printers, enable consumers to have a say on how their razors should look. We are excited to work with our Boston [...]