Scaling Up with Formlabs Large-Format SLA
One printer, three times the impact: How Additium3D boosted production with the Form 4L
Spanish additive manufacturing service provider Additium3D replaced three entry-level resin 3D printers with a single Form 4L, expanding their production capacity while reducing print failures, manual labor, and workplace safety risks.
Additium3D offers end-to-end digital manufacturing services for businesses, spanning consulting, 3D design, 3D scanning, and 3D printing technologies such as Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), Stereolithography (SLA), and Selective Laser Sintering (SLS).
While their entry-level resin 3D printing equipment initially helped Additium3D expand production capacity and acquire key customers, print failures, resin dust, direct resin contact, and extensive manual post-processing gradually became a burden on their production floor.
From Three Entry-Level Resin Printers to One Form 4L
Resin printing technology allowed Additium3D to acquire important customers, but a print failure rate of around 30% led to wasted resin, increased reprint times, additional labor costs, and resin exposure issues that burdened their staff.
In 2025, Additium3D replaced three of their existing Phrozen Mega printers with a single Form 4L. While the initial investment for the Form 4L is relatively higher, its actual production volume, reliability, post-processing efficiency, and labor-saving effects make it highly competitive in terms of overall production cost.
“Given the production efficiency and reliability of the Form 4L, we were able to achieve the equivalent production volume of our three previous Phrozen Mega printers with just one Form 4L.”
Guillermo Navarro, Director, Additium3D
Hidden Costs of Entry-Level Resin Printers
As an additive manufacturing service provider, Additium3D selects the optimal manufacturing method based on the mechanical properties, aesthetics, lead time, cost, and production volume of the parts.
Ideal for cost-sensitive projects, full-color direct printing, or large-scale prototyping needs.
Best suited for applications requiring high productivity, strong mechanical properties, and isotropic materials.
Optimal for parts requiring high-resolution surfaces, smooth textures, paintable finishes, or specialized engineering materials.
Additium3D initially provided SLA services with three entry-level resin printers, but the low reliability of the equipment, print failures, and frequent resin handling meant that the actual costs far exceeded expectations.
After comprehensively calculating labor hours, material waste, reprints, and post-processing steps, it was determined that implementing one Form 4L could achieve significantly higher production volumes with less effort.
“When customers prioritize the best surface detail and extremely smooth finishes, resin printing, especially the Form 4L, is our first choice.”
Guillermo Navarro, Director, Additium3D
Improved Workplace Safety and Production Environment
Since a severe flood incident in October 2024, workplace health and safety have become a top priority for Additium3D's management. The company decided to prioritize the health and safety of its staff over mere profit-seeking.
According to Additium3D, the traditional low-cost resin workflow presented significant environmental and direct contact concerns. In the past, direct contact with resin led to a staff member experiencing eyelid inflammation, requiring medical treatment.
According to Formlabs, their resin development process does not use Acryloyl Morpholine (ACMO). The resin cartridges, resin tank, automatic resin delivery system, and intelligent sensors are all designed to reduce direct contact and simplify the workflow.
“The cleanliness of our production facility and the health and safety environment have dramatically improved. Furthermore, our customers also highly appreciate the print quality of the Form 4L, and are willing to pay a fair price for higher quality parts.”
Guillermo Navarro, Director, Additium3D
Print Speed Optimized for Shift Work
Additium3D previously used three Phrozen Mega 8K printers to achieve sufficient build area and meet production needs. However, actual print times often did not match software predictions, sometimes preventing them from completing two-shift production plans in a day, leading to an effective production capacity reduction of up to 50%.
While the build size of a single Form 4L is comparable to that of a Phrozen Mega, its exceptional print speed and high reliability have enabled Additium3D to achieve an actual production volume exceeding that of three conventional machines with just one device.
The Form 4L's print rhythm aligns smoothly with daily work shifts, allowing up to three complete print jobs to be finished per day. Additium3D can produce an average of two large parts on each working day, and also handles the production of medium-sized high-end decorative items, figures, functional prototypes, and end-use parts.
“The decisive difference lies in the Form 4L's production efficiency, reliability, and overall performance. The print speed perfectly matches our daily work shifts, allowing us to complete up to three jobs per day.”
Guillermo Navarro, Director, Additium3D
High Reliability and Consistent Quality Reduce Actual Costs
Print failures not only waste resin but also increase the need for reprints, equipment cleaning, schedule adjustments, and manual labor. No matter how fast a machine's specifications might be, if parts need to be re-manufactured, the actual delivery time doubles.
According to Additium3D, conventional equipment had a failure rate exceeding 30% due to issues like parts detaching from the platform, firmware errors, and inconsistent output. While entry-level resins were about half the price of Formlabs resins, considering material loss and time wasted due to failures, the actual cost per finished part was almost comparable.
| Comparison Item | Entry-Level Resin Printer | Form 4L |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment Configuration | 3 Phrozen Mega units | 1 Form 4L unit |
| Print Failure Rate | Over 30% | Less than 1% |
| Equipment Operation/Management | Requires individual management of multiple units | Centralized management with a single large platform |
| Post-processing | Many surface defects and tedious support removal | Minimal support marks, extremely simple process |
| Actual Cost | Lower material cost, but increased reprints and manual labor | Higher initial investment, but excellent effective production volume and reliability |
For mass production, maintaining uniform quality across all batches is crucial. Surface defects such as pinholes, resin cracks, layer shifts, warping, and delamination become particularly noticeable after painting.
Additium3D's data shows that parts printed with the Form 4L have a defect and error rate of less than 1%. This result aligns with the 98.7% print success rate achieved by the Form 4 in third-party tests.
PreForm Simplifies Print Preparation and Quoting Process
Every step in the production workflow affects the efficiency of contract manufacturers. Formlabs' print preparation software, "PreForm," automatically optimizes part orientation, nesting, and support generation.
Additium3D noted that with typical slicer software, critical support locations were often overlooked, or supports were generated in places that negatively affected aesthetics or post-processing.
- Automatic part placement and collision detection between models.
- Generates more compact, lightweight, and easily removable support structures.
- Efficiently places more parts on the same build platform without waste.
- Provides accurate estimates of print time and material consumption.
- Strongly supports quick quote generation and production scheduling.
“PreForm's design is simple and smart, making support structures more compact, lighter, and easier to remove. Compared to our previous solution, we can now place twice as many parts on the same platform.”
Carlos Navarro, CTO, Additium3D
Diverse and High-Performance Formlabs Engineering Resins
“For teams working on large-scale prototyping and wanting to experiment with various high-performance materials, Formlabs' technical resins offer an unparalleled range of application possibilities for machines in the same price range.”
Guillermo Navarro, Director, Additium3D
Ideal for realistic aesthetic display prototypes or parts intended for later painting and surface treatment.
Best suited for visual models and functional parts that mimic glass or transparent plastics.
Flexible and highly transparent elastic material. Ideal for test parts requiring high flexibility.
Additium3D initially focused on using Clear Resin V5 and White Resin V5, versatile materials suitable for display models, clear parts, and prototypes intended for painting, which were frequently ordered.
Later, the company collaborated with customers to introduce Elastic 50A Resin. This highly transparent elastomer, with a Shore hardness of 50A, is used for verification parts requiring high flexibility.
Furthermore, durable resins with mechanical properties similar to polyethylene are proving effective for producing squeezable prototypes, low-wear parts, and jigs and tools that experience significant impact.
Expanding Additive Manufacturing Services with Form 4L
“Whether for small-batch production or high-end functional prototypes, the Form 4L is an extremely powerful and versatile tool. It can create physical parts from concept in just a few hours, validate complex geometries, and efficiently produce quantities from single units to medium-sized batches.”
Guillermo Navarro, Director, Additium3D
Next Stage: Expanding SLA, SLS, and Biomedical Material Services
With the increasing number of project commissions, Additium3D is expanding its overall 3D printing solutions, including the installation of a Fuse SLS printer and post-processing ecosystem, to strengthen its nylon part manufacturing capabilities.
Additionally, the team is considering introducing the Form 4B to add biocompatible resins to their service lineup, and also plans to purchase a second Form 4L to further increase large-format SLA production capacity.
By combining FDM, SLA, SLS, and a variety of engineering materials, Additium3D will continue to provide more comprehensive digital fabrication solutions tailored to part performance, appearance, quantity, lead time, and budget.