Formlabs: Difference between revisions

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{{InfoboxCompany

{{StubNotice}}{{InfoboxCompany

| Name = {{PAGENAME}}

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The company provides software and consumables as well as entire machines, and has branched into the industrial sector providing full machine service as well as a "Pro Service Plan" that includes training videos and prioritized customer support options.

Initially championed as an underdog fighting to bring 3D printing to the hobbyist, the company has since changed their business model and have taken a live service approach to their machines as well as choosing to make their systems more proprietary, as well as including a paid "Open Material Mode". {{Placeholder box|An introductory paragraph starting with "'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a ...<ref name":0">ref goes here</ref>". When writing the article, insert text in the space below this box, and then delete this tip box (and the other tip boxes below). In the visual editor, just click on a box and press backspace to delete it. In the source editor, simply delete the double curly brackets, and the text inside them.}}

Initially championed as an underdog fighting to bring 3D printing to the hobbyist, the company has since changed their business model and have taken a live service approach to their machines as well as choosing to make their systems more proprietary, as well as including a paid "Open Material Mode".

==Consumer-impact summary==

~~{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):~~

3D printing has always been a consumer first field, with many of the first printers available for home use were RepRap machines, a printer created with the express purpose of being able to replicate itself with minimal external hardware that is commonly available. Much like coding bases such as Github, being open source and creating communities that work together to further 3D printing for the home user as a method to fight back against anti consumer practices has been a key tenet of 3D printing for home users.

* User freedom

* User privacy

* Business model

* Market control}}3D printing has always been a consumer first field, with many of the first printers available for home use were RepRap machines, a printer created with the express purpose of being able to replicate itself with minimal external hardware that is commonly available. Much like coding bases such as Github, being open source and creating communities that work together to further 3D printing for the home user as a method to fight back against anti consumer practices has been a key tenet of 3D printing for home users.

Formlabs has been accused of many negative business practices that harm their initial goal of creating a low cost way to create high precision parts , however these will require more research to confirm before addition. Listed below are verified anti-consumer practices.

==Incidents==

{{Placeholder box|Add one-paragraph summaries of incidents below in sub-sections, which link to each incident's main article while linking to the main article and including a short summary. It is acceptable to create an incident summary before the main page for an incident has been created. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.

~~If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}~~

This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].

===Open Material Mode (''November, 2024'')===

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https://formlabs.com/store/materials/open-material-mode/?srsltid=AfmBOoooEm4ZLVUdLqd0mcpV7l5SNh81dgHLQpUnv5b5nOSz0p1dtjMj

=== Purchase of Micronics ''(July, 2024)'' ===

===Purchase of Micronics ''(July, 2024)''===

In July of 2024, Formlabs announced that they had purchased Micronics, another small Kickstarter powered 3D printing startup. In a video released by Formlabs the co-founder of Micronics Henry Chan, he admits that they will be canceling their Kickstarter and moving to Massechusets in order to work for Formlabs directly, offering a $1000 credit to anyone who supported the original campaign as well as refunding all donations. The Micron was immediately canceled, and subsequently the

https://formlabs.com/blog/formlabs-acquires-micronics/?srsltid=AfmBOoolvJMRly8Ibc0KdBvAGKRVHmfxbB4C9d7GMyV_Ifdq5mlTZ92z

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https://forum.formlabs.com/t/formlabs-spring-2025-product-announcement-coming-march-24th/43884/14

=== Deprecating support for the Form 2 ( ) ===

===Deprecating support for the Form 2 ( )===

Soon after the release of the Form 3 product line, Formlabs announced that they would be ending updates for the Form 2. Deprecating machines is expected over time, but because the Form 2 uses proprietary resin cartridges you can only use Formlabs provided materials, that notably are only optimized for their newest machines.

https://forum.formlabs.com/t/what-formlabs-offers-when-form-2-is-dead/30572/15

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https://formlabs.com/blog/formlabs-acquires-micronics/?srsltid=AfmBOor3O8NKchgjxAUCyx7YHbDv-fxHGBbckZ6oRjKaz2oByCq8O-xi

=== Build Quality concerns (2015-2025) ===

===Build Quality concerns (2015-2025)===

https://forum.formlabs.com/t/debilitating-issues-with-formlabs-despite-investing-20-000/35322

~~==Products==~~

~~{{Placeholder box|This is a list of the company's product lines '''with articles on this wiki'''.~~

* [[Example product line one]] (release date): Short summary of the product's incidents.

* [[Example product line two]] (release date):}}

==See also==

~~{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}~~

==References==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{InfoboxCompany
+{{StubNotice}}{{InfoboxCompany
 | Name = {{PAGENAME}}
 | Type =
@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 The company provides software and consumables as well as entire machines, and has branched into the industrial sector providing full machine service as well as a "Pro Service Plan" that includes training videos and prioritized customer support options.
-Initially championed as an underdog fighting to bring 3D printing to the hobbyist, the company has since changed their business model and have taken a live service approach to their machines as well as choosing to make their systems more proprietary, as well as including a paid "Open Material Mode". {{Placeholder box|An introductory paragraph starting with "'''{{PAGENAME}}''' is a ...<ref name":0">ref goes here</ref>". When writing the article, insert text in the space below this box, and then delete this tip box (and the other tip boxes below). In the visual editor, just click on a box and press backspace to delete it. In the source editor, simply delete the double curly brackets, and the text inside them.}}
+Initially championed as an underdog fighting to bring 3D printing to the hobbyist, the company has since changed their business model and have taken a live service approach to their machines as well as choosing to make their systems more proprietary, as well as including a paid "Open Material Mode".
 ==Consumer-impact summary==
-{{Placeholder box|Overview of concerns that arise from the company's conduct regarding (if applicable):
+D printing has always been a consumer first field, with many of the first printers available for home use were RepRap machines, a printer created with the express purpose of being able to replicate itself with minimal external hardware that is commonly available. Much like coding bases such as Github, being open source and creating communities that work together to further 3D printing for the home user as a method to fight back against anti consumer practices has been a key tenet of 3D printing for home users.
-* User freedom
-* User privacy
-* Business model
-* Market control}}3D printing has always been a consumer first field, with many of the first printers available for home use were RepRap machines, a printer created with the express purpose of being able to replicate itself with minimal external hardware that is commonly available. Much like coding bases such as Github, being open source and creating communities that work together to further 3D printing for the home user as a method to fight back against anti consumer practices has been a key tenet of 3D printing for home users.
 Formlabs has been accused of many negative business practices that harm their initial goal of creating a low cost way to create high precision parts , however these will require more research to confirm before addition. Listed below are verified anti-consumer practices.
 ==Incidents==
-{{Placeholder box|Add one-paragraph summaries of incidents below in sub-sections, which link to each incident's main article while linking to the main article and including a short summary. It is acceptable to create an incident summary before the main page for an incident has been created. To link to the page use the "Hatnote" or "Main" templates.
-If the company has numerous incidents then format them in a table (see [[Amazon]] for an example). }}
 This is a list of all consumer-protection incidents this company is involved in. Any incidents not mentioned here can be found in the [[:Category:{{FULLPAGENAME}}|{{PAGENAME}} category]].
 ===Open Material Mode (''November, 2024'')===
@@ Line 33: / Line 24: @@
 https://formlabs.com/store/materials/open-material-mode/?srsltid=AfmBOoooEm4ZLVUdLqd0mcpV7l5SNh81dgHLQpUnv5b5nOSz0p1dtjMj
 <!-- I will get back to writing this article to give more information, when I do I will link it here --><!--  Comparison between printed parts is difficult to do, so I will request a sample from Formlabs to compare against my own machines and materials as a point of reference -->
-=== Purchase of Micronics ''(July, 2024)'' ===
+===Purchase of Micronics ''(July, 2024)''===
 In July of 2024, Formlabs announced that they had purchased Micronics, another small Kickstarter powered 3D printing startup. In a video released by Formlabs the co-founder of Micronics Henry Chan, he admits that they will be canceling their Kickstarter and moving to Massechusets in order to work for Formlabs directly, offering a $1000 credit to anyone who supported the original campaign as well as refunding all donations. The Micron was immediately canceled, and subsequently the
 https://formlabs.com/blog/formlabs-acquires-micronics/?srsltid=AfmBOoolvJMRly8Ibc0KdBvAGKRVHmfxbB4C9d7GMyV_Ifdq5mlTZ92z
@@ Line 39: / Line 30: @@
 https://forum.formlabs.com/t/formlabs-spring-2025-product-announcement-coming-march-24th/43884/14
-=== Deprecating support for the Form 2 ( ) ===
+===Deprecating support for the Form 2 ( )===
 Soon after the release of the Form 3 product line, Formlabs announced that they would be ending updates for the Form 2. Deprecating machines is expected over time, but because the Form 2 uses proprietary resin cartridges you can only use Formlabs provided materials, that notably are only optimized for their newest machines.
 https://forum.formlabs.com/t/what-formlabs-offers-when-form-2-is-dead/30572/15
@@ Line 45: / Line 36: @@
 https://formlabs.com/blog/formlabs-acquires-micronics/?srsltid=AfmBOor3O8NKchgjxAUCyx7YHbDv-fxHGBbckZ6oRjKaz2oByCq8O-xi
-=== Build Quality concerns (2015-2025) ===
+===Build Quality concerns (2015-2025)===
 https://forum.formlabs.com/t/debilitating-issues-with-formlabs-despite-investing-20-000/35322
-==Products==
-{{Placeholder box|This is a list of the company's product lines '''with articles on this wiki'''.
-* [[Example product line one]] (release date): Short summary of the product's incidents.
-* [[Example product line two]] (release date):}}
 ==See also==
-{{Placeholder box|Link to relevant theme articles or companies with similar incidents.}}
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}