Formlabs

Formlabs develops professional 3D printing systems intended to make industrial-quality production tools more accessible. The company’s official history traces its start to 2011, when three MIT graduate students built a printer designed to deliver professional part quality at an affordable price. Its first product, the Form 1, helped establish a focus on powerful, affordable, and easy-to-use technology. Formlabs is headquartered in Somerville, Massachusetts, and operates locations across North America, Europe, and Asia.

The company’s portfolio includes stereolithography (SLA) and selective laser sintering (SLS) printers, alongside equipment for post-processing printed parts. Its printer range serves applications spanning prototyping and product development through to production of functional components. Formlabs describes its systems as combining hardware, software, and materials, with products for general professional use and specialized workflows such as dental applications.

Materials are a significant part of the Formlabs offering. The company sells proprietary resins for SLA printing and powders for SLS printing, with material options developed for different optical, mechanical, thermal, and application requirements. Its product information also describes support for compatible third-party materials on eligible systems through Open Material Mode. Together, printer platforms and materials allow users to select workflows according to the properties and use of the parts they need to make.

Formlabs also provides software and related workflow tools. PreForm is its print-preparation software, used to prepare models and create print jobs for Formlabs printers. The company’s Dashboard supports remote oversight of printers, materials, and teams. Post-processing equipment and software complement the printing process, helping customers move from digital models to finished parts within an integrated system.

Formlabs identifies customers across medical research, footwear design, automotive and aerospace manufacturing, as well as entrepreneurs and small businesses. The company says these customers use its technology to create custom products, reinforce supply chains, and expand operations. Its broader customer base also includes engineers, designers, manufacturers, healthcare providers, and decision-makers. The combination of printers, materials, and software is intended to serve both professional prototyping and production needs across multiple industries.

The company’s stated purpose is to build tools that make it possible for anyone to bring ideas to life. Its founding goal—to create powerful, affordable, easy-to-use technology—remains part of its current description of the business. Formlabs also describes initiatives around access, education, and equity as ways of sharing resources and tools with its community. These commitments place product development within a broader aim of enabling more people to make things.

Formlabs describes its operating approach as relying on collaboration, communication, and teamwork across its global locations. Its company materials present a workforce spanning hardware, software, materials, and customer-facing functions, reflecting the cross-disciplinary work involved in developing and supporting its products. The company invites prospective employees to join a growing international team and emphasizes teamwork as a part of continuing its product and manufacturing work.