FormLabs Form 2 Support Info

3D Fabrication
#1

The new Form 3 was announced this weekend, unfortunately we just ordered a new Form 2. I got an email from FormLabs about continued support

**Support for the Form 2 Through 2023

Dear Valued Customer,

On behalf of the Formlabs team, thank you for continuing to trust us with your 3D printing needs. With the announcement of the Form 3 and Form 3L printers, we remain committed to providing industry-leading support for Form 2 customers and partners. We know that many of you have come to depend on the Form 2. Weā€™d like to share with you our plan for supportingthe Form 2 into the future:

Form 2 Consumables (Resin Cartridges, Resin Tanks, Build Platforms, etc.): We will continue to sell Resin Tanks (Standard and LT), Build Platforms, and our current library of materials for the Form 2. We have a dedicated user base, and we want to enable you to print using Form 2s through at least 2023.

Form 2 Support: We will continue to provide you with industry-leading customer support through at least 2023. Customers and partners can continue to contact Formlabs for any questions or help. As always, you can still contact us to learn more about additional services like our Pro Service Plan.

Form 2 Service and Spare Parts: Of course, we will honor warranty terms on any purchased printers. We will continue to supply user-replaceable spare parts into 2022.

Form 2 Printer Availability: We will continue selling the Form 2! In fact, we have reduced the price of the Form 2 by $500 (reductions of ā‚¬465 in EU, and Ā£400 in the UK). We expect to be selling for much of 2019.

Thank you for your loyalty to Formlabs. We look forward to continuing our work with you and your company in the future.

Curious about whatā€™s new for the Form 3? Read our blog post to explore the differences between the Form 3 andthe Form 2.

Sincerely,

Matt Hurley
Customer Experience Lead
Formlabs

If youā€™d like to introduce a Form 3 to your fleet, enjoy $500* off your purchase. Weā€™d like to say thank you for continuing to grow with Formlabs. Confirm your Form 2 serial name in three easy steps to receive your loyalty discount.**

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#2

Instead of repairing our Form 2, what would it cost to trade it for a Form 3?

I know it is not that easy with incompatible tanks and probably resin.

#3

Thatā€™s not an option, the form 2 repairs have been paid for and the machine is being fixed as we speak.

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#4

OK, it didnā€™t hurt to ask.

#5

It would not be an unreasonable ask. We have not had the 2nd Formlabs printer long.

Exchange the 2nd one. I have no idea if that is possible.

#6

ā€œIndustry Leading Supportā€. :unamused:

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#7

Depends on your definition of industry I guess.

Cheap SLA printersā€¦ They probably win. Maybe Prusa will give them a run for their money.

#8

Like Diplomat said, can we exchange/return the new one to get the latest and greatest (Form3)? I would be willing to chip in a bit towards that upgrade if need be. Keep the space updated and on the bleeding edge (of support problems, haha).
Edit: plus, weā€™d qualify for the discount since we already have a Form 2. :slight_smile:

#9

Max ran me through the scenario.

Exchanging a Form labs 2 printer for a Formlabs 3 printer is a bad supply issue for DMS.

At a guess, we have more than $1,000 in resins for the Formlabs 2 printer. If we get a Formlabs 3 printer, it uses a different cartridge. That cascades into 3 issues. We would need to double the storage as the machines use different form factor cartridges. We would need to add a 2nd storage cabinet. We would need to buy another $1,000 of resin cartridges for the Formlabs 3 printer. Then there are the folks who will not get the cartridge difference.

That means we meander along with the Formlabs 2 generation and at some moment in the future designate them as archaic and retire them for the Formlabs 4 (?) printer.

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#10

@maxk68 As far as Iā€™m aware, both printers use the same cartridges. You can see them being used in the videos that Formlabs has published. Additionally, you can order materials that are compatible with the Form 3 without having to order a Form 3 specific cartridge. Some materials are listed as ā€˜coming soon for Form 3ā€™, presumably because they havenā€™t been able to produce good settings for them and get them into PreForm.

#11

There is really no point in speculating, Formlabs will not take back a printer once its been used. They donā€™t owe us any favors and we have the Mink coming back this week sometime.

We discussed at tonight meeting, getting a second doublewide printer for our next p[printer purchase.