#HTE

Formlabs’ Draft Resin “Prints 3-4 Times Faster Than Other Standard Resins”

Formlabs has had their Draft Resin on the market for about a year now, and the feedback they’ve collected looks pretty good.

As the name suggests, Draft Resin is what you use when you’re trying to quickly crank out a bulky part. You can get a 300-micron layer height, which they reckon is “acceptable,” and artist Lance Winkel speculates that “Draft Resin can replace my internal structural modeling on large scale projects, while still printing thin outside shells in high resolution resins for detail.” (I say “speculate” because it’s not clear, in the Formlabs white paper touting the material, whether Winkel has actually accomplished this yet.)

The other feedback contained in the paper is a little more concrete: Will Hilgenberg of Albatross Bikes says prints that took “most of the day” to finish now take “only a few hours.” Architect Ryan Hier of TACK Architects says they can now print 10-hour models in just two hours.

For their part, Formlabs says Draft Resin “prints 3-4 times faster than other Standard Resins.” It’s compatible with the Form 2, Form 3 and 3B printers, and it’s $149/liter.

If any of you have experience with the stuff, please do let us know: Does it live up to the hype?