But how do we show off this new library of files? Enter Mark Leckey, an artist and curator based in the UK. Mark’s oeuvre has traditionally focused on selecting evocative references — from historic films, sculptures, and miscellaneous interesting objects — and building a new work by remixing media and objects from another era. 3D scanning and printing objects is a new tool in that iterative process.

Mark Leckey’s installations consist of curated objects, videos and sculptures and often take on the look of museum exhibits.

For a recent exhibition, Leckey assembled a number of objects together that would then tour through several museum shows in Europe. But the process left him unsatisfied: “...once the exhibition actually materialised in a physical space I was left with a feeling of, not quite anti-climax, but a sense that this was too final; that these things that had been alive to me for the last couple of years were now just dead media…”

In his latest exhibition, now on display at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise in NYC, Leckey draws on the objects he has been working with for the last three years. With the objects unavailable — on tour in Europe — he turned to Formlabs for help in recreating those artifacts.

As curator Jamie Kenyon puts it, “We are trying to make these objects life-size, 1:1 scale, and from what I seen of other artists working with 3D printing — and designers and others — the medium’s limitations are there to be pushed. The Form 1 seemed to be the best printer out there right now and one that we hoped would give us results...as close to the real-world cousins as we could get.”

Gallery-goers watch a bank of Form 1s replicating ancient, modern, and contemporary artworks, one 125mm cubic section at a time.

A Month of Making, open through June 23, features a quartet of Form 1 printers replicating parts Leckey scanned as he prepared for a touring museum show in Europe. After assembling the parts of the pieces together, the highly detailed copies will then serve as stand-ins for the scanned artworks in future exhibitions.

A Month of Making
Gavin Brown’s Enterprise
620 Greenwich Street
Open 10 am–6 pm Tuesday–Saturday
Through June 23

The pièce de résistance of the HbA1c campaign: a glycated hemoglobin molecular model.

With a background in videogame animation, Casey Steffen of BiologicModels isn’t your traditional health care education advocate. That doesn’t bother him at all, though.

Working with a Form 1 3D printer, a business partner in action figure production, an innovative dyeing technique, and the crowdfunding website RocketHub, Steffen is working to increase awareness of one of the simplest tests for monitoring diabetes and other conditions affecting blood chemistry. Sound like an interesting mix? We thought so, too!

Version 1 of the hemoglobin molecule. Casey Steffen prototypes them on a Form 1, then uses those masters as a basis for cast plastic final products.

Steffen’s masters’ degree in biomedical visualization gives him unique insight into the field of health care. His particular area of interest, in measuring blood glucose levels via the much-used but little-understood HbA1c test, utilizes the Form 1 to produce prototypes of human blood proteins — hemoglobin — in various states of glycation or oxygenation. These models, produced from real X-ray crystallography data sets, showcase the effect that the presence of different molecules can have on blood chemistry.

Three models of incretin analog. Incretins are hormones whose presence causes a decrease in blood sugar levels; analogs can be used to treat diabetic patients.

Most eye-catching about Steffen’s Form 1 prints, many of which can be seen on his website BiologicModels, is their veil of bright, translucent colors. The post-printing dyeing method came about as a matter of practicality: attempting to match up un-tagged printed models, his business partner Michael Gulen described, was like “trying to make sense of how popcorn should fit together”. In educational illustration, color is one of the most important carriers of information, so it was crucial that Steffen find a way to get color into his Form 1 prints.

He hit on success with a combination of rubbing alcohol, food coloring, and RIT dyes, plus an essential UV-blocking coat of clear varnish. The process works on completed Form 1 prints made with Clear resin. The results are breathtaking, not to mention full of useful information! (We're hoping to write up a tutorial based on Steffen's process. Stay tuned!)

“It turns out,” Steffen reflects, “that most of these types of educational products get made by really large companies that distribute them throughout their network of industry contacts” — and that leaves many patients in the lurch, when it comes to understanding their own medical test results. The HbA1c campaign aims to put information with those who can make the best use of it: back into the hands, literally, of patients!

Steffen’s campaign is nearly 75% funded, with four days to go. Want to help change the face of medical education? Check out BiologicModel’s Glycated Hemoglobin campaign!

At Formlabs, we’re big fans of Rawrz Toys, as you may have guessed from our profile of the toymaking duo from California. 

Fortunately, Ann Sidenblad and Victoria Rose aren’t sick of us yet -- in fact, they have even more they want to share about their fantastic work.

We’re joining forces with them in a webinar next Thursday, May 8th, at 3 PM EDT/noon PDT. Register now!

As if Rawrz Toys didn’t have us excited enough, today, May 2nd, is also opening day for A Month of Making by Mark Leckey at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise in NYC. From 6PM today through the 23rd of June, the gallery’s battery of Form 1 printers will be producing replicas of modern, classic, and even ancient art. The end goal of the exhibit is to generate a retrospective on human civilization, viewed through the lens of 3D printing.

Before Auto-Layout, chaos reigned.

Auto-Layout imposes order and efficiency with one click!

We’ve also adjusted auto-scaling when your model is first imported into PreForm: users now have the option to import .STLs and .OBJs without any automatic re-sizing. Another feature is the ability to re-add supports after undoing a support generation - you won’t have to wait for the supports to generate from scratch again. More time for modeling, less for prep!

Additionally, the latest evolution of our software includes many updates invisible to you -- but they’re paving the way for some pretty dramatic changes down the line. There’s a firmware update bundled with PreForm 1.4 with print improvements and tweaks, so make sure you’re on the latest version to ensure the highest-quality prints!

Let us know what you think, and keep an eye out for the next updates!

Changelog PreForm 1.4

• Automatic model packing
• Improvements to model rendering for clarity 
• Firmware update 
• Updated file format
• Modified the peel cycle for print reliability & surface finish
• Support undo/redo
• Improved initial scaling of models

It’s early, but we can’t wait for Maker Faire Bay Area!

We’ll be at the San Mateo Event Center with dozens of fellow sponsors, hundreds of exhibitors, and hundreds of thousands of makers and friends, on May 17th and 18th. We're going to be at booth 142 in the Expo Hall. We'll post more information soon!

Will you be exhibiting? Bring your Form 1 and tell us about it! That counts for all events and appearances you attend; we'd love to hear your stories!

Sung Woo Choi’s Snowflake in ‘Frozen’

Winter is finally leaving (we hope) but we have one last snowflake for you by Sung Woo Choi. Check out Choi’s recent walkthrough on finishing a printed female figure, too.

Paul Ingram’s First Form 1 print

Meanwhile in engineering-land, Paul Ingram prototyped a gearbox assembly in white resin before generating the toolpaths for CNC milling in aluminum.

Catherine Hajek’s Printer set up and printing!

Between battles with Puerto Rico’s humidity, Catherine Hajek has printed a family of ball-jointed dolls… some with scissor feet.

R. Vincent Erb’s Degu Disc

We had to look up what a degu was, but we’re certain that Vincent Erb’s son’s degu is the envy of the brush-tailed rat community, with this custom printed running disc.

BiologicModels’ transparent HIV-1 Protease model

Casey Steffen, meanwhile, is making the microscopic world of protein structures fit into the palm of a hand with Biologic Models. He’s using his Form 1 to print models of proteins at 18 million times their real-life size, incorporating x-ray crystallography and 3D modeling in the creation of a manipulable model. His innovative techniques for dyeing and marking certain regions of the modeled enzymes are a topic for another post — stay tuned — but right now, check out the HbA1c campaign on RocketHub!

As always, let us know what you're up to in the forums — we love seeing what you're forming.

If you'll believe it, this was Rafael's second Form 1 print.

Rafael Grassetti has been around the digital sculpting world since the early days (2008 saw his first animated collaboration with Pixologic), and he truly amazed us — and a few thousand voters — with his incredible showing in the ZBrush Sculpt-Off at the 3D Printshow World Expo.

A versatile and prolific digital designer, Grassetti moves between 3D Studio Max, ZBrush, Photoshop, Maya, Marmoset, Xnormal, Keyshot, and plain old-fashioned clay. When we saw him in LA, he participated in Pixologic’s live sculpt-off — and took home the Form 1 we provided as a top prize.

Rafael’s first moment with a Form 1! Photo courtesy of ZBrush Sculpt-Off.

With a portfolio including character design for Bioware and SONY — if you’ve played Mass Effect, you’ve seen Grassetti’s work — Grassetti’s favorite aspect of 3D modeling (versus traditional sculpting) is the flexibility of the final product. Being able to try different poses, sizes, and anatomical configurations before locking the design into a physical object is “just amazing”, he says.

Form 1 in situ, with, as Rafael describes, “clay, tools, boxes of ink, airbrush, wires, and statues all over the place”.

A progress photo of Rafael’s in-development écorché sculpt.

Currently working on the production of a limited-edition 40cm écorché, Grassetti also has a new SONY game title in the works, as well as a frequently-updated and mindbending digital gallery. We can’t wait to see what happens next!

Get a closer look at how to get the most out of your Form 1.

Some of you caught the first installation in our new webinar series this Monday — and if you weren’t able to, Introducing the Form 1 is available on YouTube!

We’ll be serving up two more installments in the next two weeks, and we can’t wait to see what you think. To reserve a spot for live viewing and participation, you can sign up here. If the timing just doesn’t work out, we’ll be posting recordings on our YouTube channel!

Performing with PreForm, Monday, March 31st, 2PM – Join our software team in learning the tips & tricks in using PreForm, our powerful, free 3D printing software. If you missed it, you can catch the recording here: http://bit.ly/1mFbdTv!  

Finishing your Print, Monday, April 7th, 2PM – Hear from world-class artist & sculptor, Robert Vignone, on how he finished and prepared a completed print for display. RSVP

Got any questions? Let us know!

On the heels of DMNE, Inside 3D Printing New York is approaching fast. Featuring a day of workshops before its two-day conference and exhibition extravaganza, Inside 3D Printing will also host our own Max Lobovsky for the Maker Summit keynote presented on April 4th.

Join us in our hometown of Boston for Design and Manufacturing New England on March 26-27. We’ll have sample parts printed on the Form 1 — as well as invites to our upcoming Design & Manufacturing Meetup, coinciding with the event — so make sure to stop by and say hello! Our team will be at booth 222.

Click here for a full list of upcoming Formlabs events.

From left to right, here’s how your models will look in PreForm 1.3 with Clear, Grey, and White materials settings.

Today, we're rolling out a huge software update with some great features you've been asking for. We’ve kept up with your comments, reports, and requests, and our software team has been working non-stop to make your trip from CAD to real life even easier (and more scenic).

Our latest PreForm update includes multiple selection, realistic materials-based image rendering, and buckets of under-the-hood fixes to improve print reliability, squish bugs, and make PreForm’s user interface that much smoother. Enjoy!

Download PreForm 1.3 now, and let us know what you think!

A cast-polyurethane gator, wearing a classy Form 1 printed hat

You’ve probably seen Ann Sidenblad’s work floating around the forums — her eye-catching prints often appear in our roundups! Aside from her job with Dreamworks, Ann and fellow artist Victoria Rose run Rawrztoys, an indie operation that releases whimsical pocket-sized creatures into the wild.

Recent coverage from MAKE Magazine and Mold3D, plus appearances at trade shows, conventions, and fairs galore, is generating quite the buzz about the two-person company. We caught up with Ann and Victoria about their design process, future directions, and how the Form 1 fits into their workflow.

Notably, Ann and Victoria use the Form 1 as only the first of many positives and negatives of their digitally-modeled toys:

This is the part we recognize!

After both were trained in traditional sculpting, Ann went on to digital animation, and Victoria’s work as a feature film puppet maker gave her experience with...well, nearly everything else. “Those skills,” Victoria stresses, “were imperative in producing multiples of our toys.”

From the Form 1-printed “master” model of their gator, they move on to some pretty interesting materials: silicone molding and injected liquid polyurethane.

Left: A mold form filled with liquid silicone cradles the little gator. Right: Using a jeweler's cut, Ann and Victoria free the gator from its silicone prison, leaving a perfect negative to fill with liquid polyurethane.

Then, when the polyurethane is fully dried, they sand, primer, and paint the final piece! Often, toys get separate accessories — hats and wings are favorites — which are direct Form 1 prints decorated with metallic paints and shiny coatings.

Above, a primered gator sits next to a partially-painted toy. Below, the gator dons a top hat — a direct print coated in glossy paint.

Victoria points out that, while sculpting in polymer clay is great for one-offs, it wasn’t until she combined her skill set with Ann’s and added 3D modeling and printing to the mix that she was able to create five or more identical base toys at a time.

A Viking friend of our classy gator would rather sail the Nordic seas.

This let her and Ann streamline their line’s look, and also focus on the individual touches that makes Rawrztoys truly special. It’s hard to find, for example, an alligator with a viking hat anywhere but in the Rawrztoys store!

Another member of the Rawrztoys lineup, this cast shark wears a Form 1 pirate hat. Yarrr.

In the future, they’re planning to expand the Rawrztoys zoo to include lions, sea turtles, pandas, and more. They’re also intrigued by the idea of working in other materials — for instance, larger vinyl models that could be customized by their purchasers, like the popular Kidrobot Munny figures.

A heart-covered cast giraffe has Form 1-printed wings.

They’ll be attending WonderCon Anaheim 2014, April 18-20, if you want to see some of the lineup in person! And of course, their website is packed with wonders.

Ann gives her Form 1 a hug at Comikaze Expo.

We’re honored to have played a part in Rawrztoys’ process, and we can’t wait to see what they do next!

Formlabs is heading out to Association of Professional Model Makers this weekend — and we’d love to see you there! We’ll have a team out in San Jose this weekend, demonstrating the Form 1 in a series of workshops, and showing you what an incredible tool it can be in creating fantastic models.

Call for Models

If you'll be at the show, and would like us to print out one of your models -- submit it below! We can't promise we'll get to all of them, but we'll see what we can do. 

Process lineup from Ann Sidenblad’s Custom Action Figure Head

With the sheer variety of stuff that shows up in the forums, sometimes it seems like the only thing we’ve got in common is that we’re all into 3D printing. Of course, that’s a pretty good common trait to have. Our forums this month showed the Form 1's capabilities for everything from customized superheroes to medieval recreations, from medical training equipment to integrated-electronics jewelry.

Based off a 3D scan of the head of Ann's friend Kyle, we present… Red Kyle and Kyle Lantern!

One frequent poster, Ann Sidenblad, recently customized some superhero action figures with prints based on a scan of her friend’s head.

Outside of the forums, Danny Choo posted an extensive review of the Form 1 and how he’s used it for prototyping the Mirai Suenaga Smart Doll. Check out his review for a glimpse into the world of industrial-scale mold-making for specialized parts — the Form 1 is just one small part of the process!

Chessmen [WIP] by Kathryn Webster

To travel back in time a bit, Kathryn Webster is working on a chess set inspired by the twelfth-century Uig Chessmen discovered on the Isle of Lewis: high tech meets High Middle Ages.

Medical uses for FormLabs by Salvatore Vilardi

Model of a human jaw for medical training

The company Engineering4Life uses the Form 1 to print anatomical models from medical imaging data. The models currently get the most use as training pieces and for surgical prep purposes. We’re honored to be a part of the startup’s process.

First few successful prints — small custom parts by Marc Liyanage

Marc Liyanage’s collection of printed parts runs the gamut from custom fittings for Dremel tools (the photo above is a vacuum adapter) to sculptures of cats — because why not?

PixelMatter’s Cuddling Cats, printed by Marc Liyanage

LED Bracelet by Marcus Olsson

Marcus Olsson ventures into integrated electronics with a light-up LED bracelet. Check out his write-up for an extensive process breakdown, as well as the next chapter over on Hackaday.

Finally, we end this interdisciplinary round-up with a piece that isn’t printed at all. Want to coddle your Form 1? MechaMother understands. Check out this Etsy shop's Form 1 organic cotton transport covers, as well as cases and covers for a variety of other technological gadgets.

Thanks to everyone for keeping the forums so active — we’re looking forward to seeing what you print!

Animated slicing in PreForm 1.2.

The right-hand scrollbar in PreForm is a powerful tool for assessing your models’ printability. When activated, the slicer tool scrolls through each layer that makes up your scene in PreForm, support structures and all, and lays out the path that the Form 1’s laser will trace through the resin tank. In PreForm 1.2, we’ve improved the clarity of the operation by visually “slicing” the model as you manipulate the layers, making it easier to see how your print will build!

We’ve incorporated a number of other under-the-hood updates in PreForm 1.2. Users on mid-range computers will notice a major increase in performance. On OS X, we’ve added compatibility with the Notification Center, so you’ll be alerted to status changes with your Form 1.

OS X notifications from PreForm keep you up to date on your print's status.

We’ve also added some powerful new tools that will let you tweak your Form 1’s performance and increase your print reliability.

All this and more is now available for download. Let us know what you think! As always, head over to the forums to discuss, and if you'd like help with a specific problem, please drop us a line.

Ethan Sherbondy, MIT '14, spent his January term interning with our software team. Here's what he had to say about the experience!

Over the month of January, I spent my weekdays interning on the software team at Formlabs. In four short weeks, I had the chance to contribute to internal calibration tools and begin work on new functionality for PreForm, the desktop application for interacting with the Form 1.

Since day one, I have been astounded by:

• How much I've learned in a single month.
• The engineering-driven culture.
• How everyone here is focused on making the product as good as it can be and fostering an ecosystem. We are floored by what customers are doing with the Form 1, and the whole team is constantly striving to improve the experience: even greater precision, faster printing times, better supports, and so on down the list.
• How Formlabs truly feels like one big team. I was able to interact regularly with people throughout the whole company. By talking with others at our biweekly family lunches, Thursday night gatherings (dubbed Foamlabs), and so on, I learned a ton about the manufacturing, design, mechanical and electrical engineering thinking that went into making the Form 1 a reality. Cross-disciplinary teams are truly magical. If you want to learn a lot in a short amount of time, I recommend you find a place where people are actively collaborating and sharing knowledge across fields, be it Formlabs or elsewhere.
• The company's flat hierarchy. Your input here really matters. An intern can take on a real project, implement it, and ship it. You can even propose the project, and if others think it is a good idea and will help the company deliver on its mission, then nothing is stopping you from making it real. Heck, the reason I'm writing this blog post right now is because I proposed that we do intern blog entries!
• The sheer lack of friction. Despite all of the moving parts that go into making desktop 3D printing a reality, I always felt like I could just dive into a project and get going. Everyone else on the team was incredibly open and receptive to answer any questions I had.
• How the team actively encourages everyone at the company to shape and refine the underlying vision and how we present ourselves to the outside world.

Over the past year, whenever I had an opportunity to speak to entrepreneurs from technical companies or listen to them deliver talks, I consistently received two complementary pieces of advice:

1. "Find a rocket ship."
2. "Find a place where you can learn a lot."

Well, Formlabs feels like building rocket ships inside a rocket ship. The team is growing at a steady clip, and the progress we make each week toward our goals is remarkable.

As the month of February arrived, I realized I couldn't leave. I have so much more to learn from the people around me. A few days ago, Manuel from the software team sent out a fantastic list of book recommendations, and I'm looking forward to reading every one of them.

And I can't stop printing. I have a (growing) list of about a hundred ideas for things to fabricate, so I'll be keeping our print farm mighty busy.

And there is so much to be done. I've never felt more strongly that I could make a meaningful impact on the lives of creative individuals than I have here at Formlabs. So I'll be continuing work part-time during my final semester as an undergraduate, and I'm looking forward to joining the team full-time this Fall.

A few weeks ago Sam Jacoby was sitting at the lunch table and asked others from the team what we thought would be a nice tagline for the company. Here's a belated suggestion that sums up my feelings for what Formlabs does, and where we are going: "Render your dreams into the world."

Today is Thursday. Classes at MIT have officially started. But I'm spending this afternoon at Formlabs, because I've been learning just as much here, if not more, than I have been at school. Frankly, I'm hooked.

If any of this sounds even remotely appealing, I strongly encourage you to apply for an internship or full-time job with the team. I hear we're hiring.

UV light shows a Sensoree Form 1 piece in otherworldly colors

The Formlabs team is heading to New York this coming weekend, as an exhibitor at 3D Printshow NYC. We’re particularly excited to showcase our collaboration with Sensoree & MACHINIC (details still under wraps), which we’ll unveil at the show. Don’t miss it.

We’ve been busy at HQ — so make sure to stop by between February 12–15 and check out what we’ve been up to.

Will offers a breakdown on designing to print.

Iteration is key to successful 3D printing, and the class was built around this idea. Having never used a Form 1 before, each student brought a print-ready file to the first class. After a brief introduction to PreForm, setting up prints, and post-processing, students printed their own pieces on the Form 1. Craig and Will also discussed each model and gave design critiques in the context of stereolithographic 3D printing, allowing the students to improve their designs for the next day.

Our 'cat' printer (decorated with black vinyl adhesive) prints in white. 

After cleaning their prints and examining the parts, students discussed their results and how their designs could be improved further. Most students found that their parts printed better than expected, and added further complexities to their models. Through this iterative process, the students were able to understand the design conditions of stereolithographic printing and how to design for more efficient prints.

On the third day, students had one last opportunity to print their third part iteration. After just two days of working with the Form 1 and PreForm, they were 3D printing superstars. Check out some of the pictures below to see their final prints!

We're really impressed by all of the great work and we're looking forward to more!

Craig Broady & Will Walker collaborated on writing this post. 

We're going to be at the 3D Printer World Expo in Burbank, CA next week! If you'll be there (January 31–February 1), come give us a high five.

Better yet, if you're attending, you could win a 3D printer. Hourly drawings during the event will give all attendees a chance at winning a printer from any one of fifteen companies — including one of our own Form 1s. There's also the Pixologic Sculpt-Off, where eight contestants will compete for another Form 1. Good luck, and see you there!

Lastly, whether you'll be at the Expo or not, check out Mold3D, Robert Vignone's new venture for 3D digital artists. Vignone has been a fixture of the Form 1 community since we got started, and this site looks like an amazing source for artists and sculptors with an interest in 3D printing.

The hinge side and front of the build platform are labeled in PreForm 1.1's grid, to make orienting your models easier.

It seems like just last week we were cheering on PreForm’s exit from the beta stage… well, two weeks. Our software team has been busy fielding feedback, and today’s PreForm 1.1 release incorporates several under-the-hood tweaks to make the software experience even smoother.

The tweaks are mostly under-the-hood, anyway — one big change you’ll notice is the addition of build platform orientation indicators (we’ve heard you asking!).

Other changes include:

• A firmware update
• Improved accuracy in print time estimation
• Better bug reporting
• Some invisible tweaks with visible results — improved surface finish, for one!

Make sure you update soon, and let us know what you think! If you run into any issues, you know how to get in touch with our support team, or post in the forums to discuss with other users.

Many of you have wondered what these sounds are. To give you a better idea of what’s going on inside of your Form 1, we’ve recorded a machine as it starts up and gets ready to print.

Take a listen!

Form 1 Start-up Sequence

Here's a breakdown of exactly what you’re hearing during the printer startup cycle:

• Button click - Power on [0:00]: A single button click wakes up the Form 1.

• Motor hum and click - Resin tank reset [0:02]: To initialize the position of the resin tank, the peel motor first drives the resin tank up to the horizontal position. The clicks, caused by the motor overdriving the tank carrier up, ensure the tank is in the proper position.

• Lower pitched motor - Resin tank peel [0:08]: The peel motor then drives the resin tank down to the tilted position to ensure the build platform and any cured parts can be safely lifted out of the resin without damaging the tank or silicone.

• Motor hum -  Build platform reset  [0:17]: The Z-motor drives the build platform up to the top of the tower, moving it clear of the resin tank, so that the build platform can be easily removed.

• Motor hum and click - Resin tank reset [0:19]: The peel motor resets the resin tank to the horizontal position so that the tank can be refilled or removed.  The Form 1 is now ready to print.

The Inevitable Remix

Of course, once we made the recording, inspiration struck. One of our engineers, Adam, couldn’t resist creating Form 1 (The Remix). Dim the lights and start grooving.

We've also added an article to our growing storehouse of online documentation.

Medusa Print by Tim Lamb, Mickaël Riciotti, and Ann Sidenblad

Ann Sidenblad prepped and printed this Medusa-inspired character print, conceptualized by Tim Lamb and modeled by Mickaël Riciotti. Make sure you also check out her creepy creature model, designed by Michael Conelly and modeled by Anastasios Gionis. Her forum posts are full of process shots!

Giuseppe Sirtori statue by Mattia Mercante

Mattia Mercante shows off the combined powers of 3D scanning and 3D printing with this model of the Guiseppe Sirtori monument in Milan.

Hollow model print by Kristof Vandebroeck

Kristof Vandebroeck experimented with weighting and hollowing out different portions of this little dude; in the end, he’s self-supporting and stands up on his own. Check out the forum post for Kristof’s process shots and more details on the weight distribution of the figure.

For a brief and glorious few weeks, Porsche (yes, that Porsche) provided a full-sized .STL of the Porsche Cayman S. After some tweaks, our users (and one of our Formlings) proved that you, too, can download a car.

Dylan Jackson's version in grey

Formling engineer Adam Lebovitz's model in white

Finally, David Clark designed a custom iPhone dock for his wife’s LifeProofed phone.

He’s planning on making the design available on Thingiverse — let him know if you want it now!

The future holds wonders for Formlabs and for you — keep printing and posting! Users waiting for their Form 1s to ship, please feel free to get in touch and we’ll send you an update.

Shedding the beta suffix, as well as that pesky leading zero, PreForm 1.0 brings model preparation for the Form 1 to a new level of maturity and performance. It’s been a long time coming!

A clean interface and a new viewing tool shows off virtox's Binary Roots

This major update includes hundreds of fixes and features, along with a slick interface overhaul. We've made substantial improvements in how your model’s supports are generated and printed.

Altogether, we’re incredibly proud of PreForm’s latest incarnation. There are some real stand-out features.

Quick Release Tabs

To make removing a freshly-printed model from the build platform easier, PreForm’s support generation algorithm now includes handy quick release tabs — small notches on the side of your model’s base that help it lift easily off the build platform. Wedging a narrow tool into the notch will give you some leverage to pop the model right off.

The triangular gap between the build platform and the model's base makes it easy to get your model off the platform.

More File Types

PreForm 1.0 supports .OBJ files. For those of you working in SketchUp (along with a number of other CAD programs), you can now export your models directly into PreForm, without having to generate an .STL.

Native Mac OS X Menus

We’ve been squashing Mac bugs since version 0.8.4, and now we’ve got the graphical interface to support it fully.

Re-Engineering

We know you want to be printing, not troubleshooting our software or waiting for models to render. An under-the-hood overhaul of PreForm dramatically increases the program’s speed and versatility, while decreasing the amount of computing power it needs. We’re excited to see what you do with the newest version.

Download PreForm 1.0 now and let us know what you think!

We'll be updating our support site over the rest of this week — if you run into any problems or bugs, please let us know, either in the forums or by filling out a support request. 

If you’re in Vegas, come visit us at CES Booth 31520. We’d love to see you!

The Form team is getting geared up for CES 2014!

You can find us in the 3D Printing Tech Zone, in the Las Vegas Convention Center, booth 31520, so stop-by and say hello if you'll be visiting the show. We'll have a fantastic array of prints on-hand, the Form 1 (of course), and our latest materials.

We'll  be making some exciting announcements during the course of the show (January  7-10), so keep an eye on our blog and twitter for the latest updates.

You'll also be able to see the Form 1 in the Innovations Showcase in the Venetian as well — as the Form 1 is a 2014 Best of Innovations Honoree! 

A festively-posed and expertly-balanced Form 1 print.

By the Numbers

It's been a big year for Formlabs.

Here are some key numbers as we look towards 2014:

• We shipped the 1,000 and-then-some printers pledged in our record-breaking Kickstarter campaign.
• There are now Form 1s at work in more than 30 countries.
• We've grown to a team of over 35 engineers, designers, and customer support pros. 
• We raised over $19 million to bring you better customer support and research new materials and technologies. 
  
• We've moved offices (twice). Write us a letter.

Thanks to all of our earliest backers and customers for making it happen. 

First Night Boston

To help celebrate, visit us at First Night Boston tomorrow, New Years Eve.

We'll be in the Hynes Convention Center (room 204) as part of the Family Festival, which will be featuring a number of technology-oriented displays. Festivities include a large-scale projection on the facade of the Boston Public Library, a parade, and many other events. We'll be on hand with our printers, fantastic parts, and team-members to answer any questions you might have. 

CES Las Vegas

The team will also be at CES Las Vegas from January 7 - 10. As always, check out our upcoming events page to see where we'll be next. Want to see us in your neighborhood? Let us know!

Our own Jason Livingston's snow-flurry

Just in time for winter, we're thrilled to announce White Resin.

White isn’t just another color in our growing resin library; it’s been designed to produce parts that are exceptionally smooth and color-stable, for when the look and feel of your printed model is essential. We’ve been printing up a snowstorm to match Boston's  weather and we're excited for you to do the same.

Formlabs' White Resin: we'll be shipping this week.

White is available now in the Formlabs store for $149 per liter. We've updated our PreForm software too — so download the latest version to get support for White.

If you’d like to change what resin you’ll be receiving with an order you've already placed, use the following form and we’ll process your change before your order is shipped: Resin Change Form.

Will Walker's flowers are ghostly in White.

Next Directions

We’re excited about materials to come. Our team is working on a variety of new resins for specialized applications. Stay tuned — we’ll let you know when they’re ready. In the meantime, we want to hear from you! What kind of resins do you need? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and G+.

For an up-to-date listing of all of our upcoming events, see our listing here.

3DPPVD 3D Printing Meet-up in Providince, RI

On the other coast, we'll be heading to Providence, Rhode Island on December 11 next week, for the monthly meet-up of the 3D-printing group, 3DPPVD.  Come by AS220 at 7PM to hear about the Form 1, our R&D process, and see the Form 1 at work. For more details, see the full event listing here: Formlabs 3DPPVD Meet-up.

We’ve got something exciting to announce today. By the end of this week, we’ll have completed shipping our Kickstarter Form 1 printers.

Thank you. We’re here because of you, our first believers and first backers. Thanks for all of your patience, encouragement, and feedback.

What began as an idea and a break-out Kickstarter campaign has grown into an all-star team and a fantastic community.

Over 1,000 printers have left our warehouses. Today, there are Form 1s in the USA, Poland, Singapore, Hong Kong, and 30 other countries. A handful of printers are still in transit — we’re navigating various country-specific customs and importation processes — so if you don’t have your shipping notice yet, not to worry. Our growing logistics team is on it. As always, if you have any questions, make sure to email us at support@formlabs.com.

For our gyrocube backers — we haven’t forgotten you. These little gems have been shipping steadily. If you haven't received yours yet, you will soon. We’re shipping them out as fast as we can print them!

The conclusion of our Kickstarter campaign means that we’ll be shipping printers to our pre-order customers starting this week. We expect to make rapid progress on our backlog. We will fulfill orders by the date in which they were received -- and we're on target to meet our latest estimates. Keep an eye on your inbox.

Pre-order customers, we know you've been waiting. You've kept us moving forward and helped us keep the lights on. Look for a note with a little surprise from us when you receive your printer. Thanks for having helped us launch this 3D printing revolution.

We’ll have examples of our latest prints — and a sneak peek at our newest resin at Euromold in Frankfurt, Germany, this week. Stop by Hall 11.0 to say hello to our team and see the Form 1 in action. As always, visit our forums at http://forums.formlabs.com and follow us on twitter.

The Formlabs Menurkey, primed for action.

Whatever mashup name you’d like to give it, the turkey menorah is undeniably festive. It’s a holiday for us in the US, so for this post, we’re going to kick back and let you do the work. Which is to say, we’re going to show off the great prints you’ve been posting in the forums — there’s been a lot!

• - Colus’s elephant head sculpt shines after a thorough finishing.

• - Zac Wollons’s walking robots are ready to march.

• - Alex Friderici didn’t let twenty-four hours pass after Smithsonian X 3D opened their model archives for public perusal — he modified a mammoth skeleton so it’s primed to print on a Form 1. The Laser Cowboys at Smithsonian X 3D were super impressed!

• - Luca Perencin at NoLabs posted a great time-lapse video of a five-hour build.

Euromold 2013

We’ve got an exciting couple of weeks ahead. Next week we’re going to be visiting Euromold 2013; Frankfurt locals, come say hello in Hall 11.0 / Stand FN02a, in the Digimold section. For an upcoming roster events, see here: upcoming Formlabs events.

Happy Thanksgiving to our US supporters, Happy Hanukkah for all those celebrating, and to everyone else, have a great Thursday.

Keep posting your prints! Let us know if you have any questions, and if you come up with a better name for the menorah turkey, share in the comments.

We'll have some updates for you on our shipping and Kickstarter status next week — as well as some other exciting announcements — so stay tuned.

The button circled above limits rotation so that your model only spins about the z-axis.  With this type of rotation, you don't need to re-generate the support structures each time you move the model. This especially helps when you’re placing multiple models on the build platform — packing is a lot less time-consuming!

For those of you who print large models, we’ve added a feature that automatically pauses the print when we’ve estimated that you’ll need to top off your tank.

PreForm 0.9.2 Changelog

• Z-only rotation for faster layout and packing manipulation
• Automatic pause for refilling your resin tank
• Less cross-linking between support structures, allowing easier removal
• Cutouts on internal supports to reduce material usage
• Improved OS X Mavericks compatibility
• Assorted bug fixes and stability improvements

For all our customers out there still waiting for their Form 1 — we hear you, and we promise we’re working hard. If you have a question about a specific order, please drop a note to our team, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.