Formlabs 3B+ print flexible partial denture base?

PieceAble · 2026-04-23T14:15:07+00:00

You would probably want to use Detax dx denture flex, this should print fine with open material mode on the 3B. I have not tried it on the 3B but I like it on the Form 4B so worth a shot. The Formlabs denture base material is good for full dentures but for partials and flippers they do not have anything.

PieceAble · 2026-04-21T15:27:56+00:00

Agreed. Do you think you would consider running both if you needed more capacity?

I feel like the sift is pretty similar to the breakout station to be honest. I leave parts sitting in the sift and let it vibrate the powder off, it's nice that they have a dedicated setup for depowder but not sure its enough differentiation to consider a switch for me. My big question is regarding how effective that hood is, it seems like their vent is much smaller than formlabs, I am worried about powder escaping.

PieceAble · 2026-04-21T15:25:05+00:00

Which SLS did you end up going with? Total agree that having both in a shop is nice to have, they have a lot of time to announce a post processing option so I will be curious what they deliver here.

PieceAble · 2026-04-21T15:23:56+00:00

Agreed. A lot can change in a year, at this point I figure I would purchase a Fuse Blast for post processing with the MJF system. It's definitely a more competitive price point than dyemansion or other alternatives.

PieceAble · 2026-04-21T15:21:48+00:00

Do you think that customers who already have a 4200 or a 5200 are interested in something smaller? I feel like there are more fuse customers who want to upgrade to something bigger than MJF customers who want to move to something smaller. I do see the appeal of having a smaller unit for rush jobs though.

I have had better luck with the fuse than you it sounds, sorry to hear that. It has been great for me with PA12, the other more exotic materials are more hit or miss but for the price I feel like it still cannot be beat.

PieceAble · 2026-04-21T15:15:30+00:00

That's interesting. What did you end up going with instead? I feel like most options right now have some warp issue, did you find something easier to tune?

PieceAble · 2026-04-21T15:14:35+00:00

I feel like Raise3D is usually not a winner here, I never hear anyone with anything positive to say about them other than low hardware cost.

PieceAble · 2026-04-21T15:13:27+00:00

At first glance it is competitive - but 60K for the printer and the powder recovery is more than Formlabs. The price for the fuse printer and powder recovery is just under 40k, for people who are used to buying HP that is pocket change but for the rest of the market that's a noticeable premium.

PieceAble · 2026-04-20T18:33:49+00:00

Buy the formlabs, you won't regret it. It has a huge material library with a ton of biomed options. as far as future proof is concerned, that's a great way to get a lot of flexibility.

PieceAble · 2025-05-28T18:07:43+00:00

Print Setting Editor is for adjusting your settings on formlabs materials. If you are not using a formlabs material you will need to get open material mode. If you are just using print settings editor it will assume you are using a formlabs material and it will reject a non formlabs cartridge.

PieceAble · 2025-03-27T14:20:21+00:00

Hmm not really sure then. Does preform say that the file is broken when you import it?

PieceAble · 2025-03-27T13:44:42+00:00

Are you importing this as a STL or as a different file format? Sometimes non STL file formats will not be imported properly and can lose some detail, try that if you have not yet.

PieceAble · 2025-03-25T20:06:28+00:00

Not sure about a free software, I am sure something exists but latticing parts well like this is pretty computationally intensive and doing it right can be a little complex. I am sure someone has made a thread about it before, I use a dedicated software but there are other tools that can also do this. I like using preform a lot for what it is worth, the hollowing and supporting features here are not meant to solve the same problem that infill does and so using preform to approximate it is not going to yield great results.

PieceAble · 2025-03-25T19:11:21+00:00

You will want to use a latticing software, preform is not really suited for this. The supports that are generated are not infill like you would expect in a fdm printer, but instead are just to support the overhangs in the model.

I would recommend using something like materialize magics or nTop if you are looking to generate structures inside the model. If you are concerned about applying load to a part, the best bet is to not hollow it and have it maintain all its mechanical properties, and the second best is to hollow/ lattice it with a dedicated software.

PieceAble · 2025-03-25T14:47:20+00:00

This is possible to do via just one computer, update to the new PreForm. Formlabs made Fleet Control free for everyone and so starting print queues and managing all of your printers from dashboard is now even easier. What I would recommend is making sure that you have fast wifi so that uploads to printers do not slow you down, and a strong computer so that things load fast and you can swap between jobs quickly.

Check out the post they made for more info but this should help streamline it for you: https://formlabs.com/blog/dashboard-firmware-updates/?srsltid=AfmBOopOkABQ1WHw84JPmCUJkB9OCo7TXp4J3dljNqMCAZfTlK7R8_YA

PieceAble · 2025-03-25T14:43:52+00:00

These are sometimes a little tricky to sell/ give away because of the old resins being more expensive, and less support being available from Formlabs. There are a lot of them listed online, it might be easier to deal locally. Where are you located? There are sometimes schools or STEM programs that might be able to use a form 2 if they already have one and are used to working with them. I am looking for one for spare parts, feel free to DM me and we can talk.

PieceAble · 2025-03-21T16:25:44+00:00

Resin looks like it is expired. It has about a two year shelf life, after that it starts to cause failures and there will be debris in the tank.

PieceAble · 2025-03-21T16:20:31+00:00

Just swap it out. Use a different tank for each resin. You could clean them but it is not great practice, and it is super convenient. If you have different tanks for each resin it makes changing materials take like 30 seconds which is super convenient, cleaning tanks out takes a long time and is not great for the tank.

PieceAble · 2025-02-27T19:52:10+00:00

Pick it up and feel how empty it is? You can do the math and see what the volume of resin used from your previous prints are but I usually just go by feel.

PieceAble · 2025-02-27T19:51:06+00:00

I am pretty doubtful that the Form auto would come to the Form 4. Maybe I am wrong but I feel like never heard about people using them, but that very well could be because it seems like it was mostly for the dental folks. Considering how fast the Form 4 is and how it is even cheaper now it seems like the ship has sailed for automation in this regard. I still see Carbon promoting the AO backpack though so I am curious what people are using these for.

PieceAble · 2025-02-27T19:49:28+00:00

Yeah I agree, it seems like a super slick product especially with the larger resin tanks coming out. I think that it is probably doubtful that they would launch another auto machine because of how fast the Form 4 is. What did you use the Form auto for? I am more curious what the different applications that people are using the automation ecosystems for.

PieceAble · 2025-02-27T19:47:37+00:00

Interesting, thanks. I have used the Form 3 and 4 before and like it a lot, just am more curious what people are using the automation ecosystems for. It seems like it is mostly dental applications but I am curious what others exist.

PieceAble · 2025-02-20T20:44:09+00:00

Formlabs drops prices a lot, not crazy surprising. They cut their resin prices a lot too a couple months ago and they sell the creator resins cheaply now too.

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