3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
FlashForge Guider 3 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 comparisonsMore Formlabs Form 4 comparisons
| Property | FlashForge Guider 3INDUSTRIAL | 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[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) | Base of a three-model series: Guider 3 (300x250x340), Guider 3 Plus (350x350x600, 250 mm/s, <50 dB, twin sealed 1 kg filament chambers) and Guider 3 Ultra (330x330x600 single-head / 300x330x600 dual-head, two extruders, 350 °C, 7-inch screen, 70 kg). Volumes and extruder counts differ across all three, so series-level spec boxes are unreliable[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| Market position: superseded?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; the current FlashForge store carries the Guider 3 Ultra[1][5] | Not documented |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 300 x 250 x 340 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[1] | Not documented |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Enclosed with a heated chamber; 3DJake's table records "Heated chamber: Yes". Chamber temperature not published for this model[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] |
| 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 |
| 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 | 1.75 mm filament; 3DJake does not publish a per-material list for the base Guider 3[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] |
| 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 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 Plus technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Flashforge Guider 3 Ultra product page (refurbished listing) flashforge.com · 2026-08 · vendor