Formlabs announces that 100 million parts have already been printed on its 3D printers

Formlabs announced that 100,000,000 parts have already been printed on its 3D printers in the company’s 10 years of existence. The vast majority of them concern production made on photopolymer devices from the Form series operating in the SLA technology, however, the manufacturer also includes parts made with the SLS method on devices from the Fuse series.

The American manufacturer also announced that hundreds of thousands of prosthetic models were also printed using its 3D printers, including models for thermoformed orthodontic appliances, reconstructive work for creating permanent crowns and resin substitutes for dentures and denture bases. Laboratories and dental offices were among the first users of 3D technology, and they continue to steer the prosthetic industry towards faster and more precise 3D printers.

The number of parts produced grew exponentially throughout the company’s lifetime. Formlabs claims that it has so far sold over 100,000 SLA 3D printers (3D printing from laser beam-hardened resins), which is to account for over 80% of installations of this type in the world. Although the remaining 15% are mainly industrial, much more expensive 3D printers, with relatively higher productivity and throughput, such a huge difference in the number of devices sold overall exceeds all other industrial systems combined.

Initially, users used Formlabs 3D printers mainly for prototypes, but over the years and more and more repetitive and efficient versions of devices, they also increasingly produce end-use parts with them. The Fuse series will have a large share in this, because thanks to the SLS method and polyamide powders, the efficiency and functional range of details is greater than in the SLA method.

Source: www.formlabs.com via www.3dprintingmedia.network