Formlabs, a leading 3D printing company, launched the Formlabs Automation Ecosystem, which includes Form Auto for back-to-back throughput, Fleet Control for advanced fleet management, and the High Volume Resin System for high-capacity printing.
With 24/7 printing, the Automation Ecosystem reduces operator labour and idle printer time, allowing users to efficiently produce end-use parts, prototypes, and customizable products at a lower cost-per-part.
Formlabs Automation Ecosystem for Automated 3D Printing
Formlabs made 3D printing affordable and accessible to leading companies in the dental, manufacturing, consumer products, automotive, aerospace, medical, product design, and other industries, allowing them to innovate new product designs, test prototypes, manufacture purpose-built tools, and customise products. The Automation Ecosystem will usher in a new era of innovation by making it simple to scale from a single Form 3+ or Form 3B+ 3D printer to a scalable fleet of 3D printers.
The Automation Ecosystem eases the transition from one to multiple 3D printers as users scale their 3D printing production from one to multiple printers. The Automation Ecosystem’s ability to manage multi-user, multi-material printer fleets enables continuous production, allowing users to send multiple prints to run overnight and into the weekend. The Ecosystem, when combined with Formlabs 3D printers, provides a three-fold increase in productivity while saving up to 80% on labour, 40% on cost per part, and 96% on packaging waste.
The Formlabs Automation Ecosystem consists of the following components:
Form Auto
Form Auto enables automated 24/7 printing with automatic part removal, allowing users to increase production while decreasing labour. When parts are finished, Form Auto uses the patented Quick Release Technology to seamlessly remove them from the Build Platform 2 and begin the next print in the queue as soon as possible. The hardware extension is compatible with Form 3 and Form 3+ 3D printers.
Fleet Control
Fleet Management simplifies advanced 3D printer fleet management by optimising workflows to maximise fleet productivity. It’s a collection of new features in Formlabs’ Dashboard and PreForm software that includes centralised queue management and automatic printer assignment to improve production, performance, and printer efficiency with Form 3+, Form 3B+, Form 3L, and Form 3BL printer fleets.
High Volume Resin System
The High Volume Resin System expands resin capacity to five litres, which is five times the standard cartridge size, allowing users to produce more parts with fewer interruptions for cartridge replacements. This system streamlines workflows by dispenseing consistent resin with a Resin Pump while reducing downtime, user intervention to change cartridges, and packaging waste. This works with the Form 3+ and Form 3B+. Forms 3L and 3BL.
“The Formlabs Automation Ecosystem is a seamless solution for ramping up production with 3D printer fleets, staying true to the ease of use of all Formlabs products, so anyone can make anything. These solutions will enable companies such as dental labs, service bureaus, and internal job shops to ramp up production without increasing labor requirements, or expensive capital investment, making 3D printing for production more cost-effective.”
Dávid Lakatos, Chief Product Officer, Formlabs
Lakatos added, “Formlabs users have recently achieved a major milestone, with more than 100 million parts printed on our 3D printers, and by adding this ecosystem, Formlabs is increasing the capacity so users can deliver further 3D printing innovation.”
The Formlabs Automation Ecosystem launched to enable automated 3D Printing has debuted at the recent CES 2023, where attendees could get a first-hand experience on the new system’s ability to produce back-to-back prints non-stop without an operator.
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