3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
FlashForge Guider 3 Plus vs Formlabs Form 4
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore FlashForge Guider 3 Plus comparisonsMore Formlabs Form 4 comparisons
| Property | FlashForge Guider 3 PlusINDUSTRIAL | Formlabs Form 4RESIN |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | FlashForge | Formlabs |
| Class | INDUSTRIAL | RESIN |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | FlashForge Guider 3 Plus[1] | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[2][3] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | Not documented | Starting at $2,625.00 at GoEngineer, in stock, checked Aug 2026. Formlabs sells the printer as part of packages (Form 4 Complete Package etc.), so package prices are much higher than the printer-only figure[3] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Larger sibling of the Guider 3 (300x250x340) and distinct from the Guider 3 Ultra, which is dual-extruder, 330x330x600 and 350 °C. Guider 3 Plus is single-extruder and quoted at 250 mm/s[1][4][5] | Three machines share this platform and are constantly conflated. Form 4: 200 x 125 x 210 mm, 50 um pixels, 18.3 kg, 480 W, one resin cartridge, NOT biocompatible. Form 4B: identical hardware but validated for 38 Formlabs materials including 15 biocompatible. Form 4L: 353 x 196 x 350 mm, 46 um pixels, 58.5 kg, 900 W, two cartridges[2] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | 3DJake shows it sold out and no longer stocked[1] | Not documented |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 350 x 350 x 600 mm advertised[1] | 200 x 125 x 210 mm (Formlabs quotes 5.25 litres)[2][3] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | Not documented | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[2][3] |
| Net weight (kg) | Not documented | 18.3 kg[2][3] |
| Frame construction & material | Fully assembled professional chassis. Z axis runs on 16 mm guides with 16 mm TBI ball screws on both sides; the platform is rated to carry 30 kg[1] | Not documented |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Enclosed, with HEPA 13 air filtration and two sealed filament chambers of 1 kg each[1] | Enclosed cabinet with a hinged UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Not documented | Masked stereolithography (MSLA). Formlabs brands the engine Low Force Display; straight-lift peel[2][3] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Double Z-axis ball screw, 16 mm TBI on both sides, on 16 mm guides[1] | Not documented |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 250 mm/s maximum (manufacturer claim)[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct-drive extruder, single[1] | Not documented |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Stock nozzle size & sizes included in box | 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mm nozzles available[1] | Not documented |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Spool holder location & max spool size; drybox compatibility | Two sealed filament chambers, 1 kg per chamber[1] | Not documented |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Chamber/exhaust fan & filtration (activated carbon / HEPA) | HEPA 13 filtration[1] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | Not documented | 100-240 VAC, 4.8 A, 50/60 Hz, 480 W[2] |
| Total rated power draw | Not documented | 480 W[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Not documented | Proprietary. Print preparation is PreForm; fleet management is Formlabs Dashboard[3] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | Not documented | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | USB, Wi-Fi, LAN[1] | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit), USB-C 2.0[2][3] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, ABS, HIPS, nylon, PETG, PC, ASA, and glass/carbon-fibre reinforced grades[1] | Formlabs resins across rigid, tough, general purpose, flame retardant, silicone, elastic, ceramic and castable families. Biocompatible resins require the Form 4B, not the Form 4[2] |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | Less than 50 dB claimed by the manufacturer. No independent measurement; distance and method not stated[1] | Not documented |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | Not documented | XY dimensional tolerance +/-0.15% — a manufacturer specification, not an independent measurement[2][3] |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | Not documented | Low Force Display masking LCD with a 50 um pixel size and pre-tuned anti-aliasing. Formlabs does not publish the screen diagonal or pixel count[2][3] |
| Light source | Not documented | Backlight unit with 60 uniform-wavelength high-power LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[2][3] |
| Vertical print speedmm/h | Not documented | Maximum 100 mm/h; average 40 mm/h at a 100 um layer height (manufacturer figures — GoEngineer publishes both, which is unusually explicit about the basis). Formlabs separately claims most prints finish in under 2 hours[3][2] |
| Layer height range | Not documented | 25-200 um per Formlabs' own tech-spec page; GoEngineer's listing for the same machine says 25-300 um. Unresolved[2][3] |
| Resin vat & feeding | Not documented | Single next-generation resin cartridge; Formlabs claims 5-10x faster filling and 63% less waste. Resin tank rated for 75,000+ layers with any Formlabs material. No vat capacity published[2][3] |
Manufacturer claims, independent measurements, packages and test conditions retain their source wording. FDM linear speed and resin vertical speed use different units and are not directly comparable. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.
Sources for this comparison
- FlashForge Guider 3 Plus technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Formlabs resin printer technical specifications (Form 4 / 4B / 4L) formlabs.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Formlabs Form 4 3D printer listing store.goengineer.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- FlashForge Guider 3 technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Flashforge Guider 3 Ultra product page (refurbished listing) flashforge.com · 2026-08 · vendor