3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Formlabs Form 4 vs QIDI Max4
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Formlabs Form 4 comparisonsMore QIDI Max4 comparisons
| Property | Formlabs Form 4RESIN | QIDI Max4COREXY |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Formlabs | QIDI |
| Class | RESIN | COREXY |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[1][2] | QIDI Max4, sold as "Max4 High-Temp 3D Printer"[3][4] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Not documented | Not published on QIDI's product page; the machine is listed as the current replacement for the discontinued X-Max 3 (checked Aug 2026)[3][5] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | 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[2] | $1,099.00 standard on us.qidi3d.com against a $1,149.00 compare-at price, checked Aug 2026. Variants: Polar Cooler bundle $1,249.00 (was $1,348.00), Max4 Combo $1,249.00 (was $1,299.00), Combo + Polar Cooler $1,399.00[3] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | 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[1] | Four variants at the US store: Standard, Polar Cooler bundle, Combo (adds QIDI Box), Combo + Polar Cooler. Direct replacement for the X-Max 3, which it differs from on every headline figure: 390x390x340 vs 325x325x315, 800 vs 600 mm/s, 370 vs 350 °C. Do not carry X-Max 3 specs across[3][5] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Not documented | Current large-format flagship as of Aug 2026; QIDI's X-Max 3 page directs buyers here[3][5] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 200 x 125 x 210 mm (Formlabs quotes 5.25 litres)[1][2] | 390 x 390 x 340 mm advertised[3][4] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[1][2] | 558 x 578 x 612 mm[4] |
| Net weight (kg) | 18.3 kg[1][2] | 46.5 kg net[4] |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | Enclosed CoreXY chassis; QIDI does not publish a frame-material breakdown[3] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Enclosed cabinet with a hinged UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[1] | Fully enclosed with a 3-in-1 air filter (G3 pre-filter + H12 HEPA + coconut-shell activated carbon)[4] |
| Passive chamber temperature reached (if enclosed; measured values preferred) | Not documented | 65 °C, independent active chamber heating (manufacturer claim), with a 4-pin PWM chamber fan with RPM feedback[4] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Masked stereolithography (MSLA). Formlabs brands the engine Low Force Display; straight-lift peel[1][2] | CoreXY[4] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Not documented | 2 mm lead Z screw with an anti-backlash nut[3] |
| Stepper motors (frame size, step angle, brand if known) | Not documented | FOC closed-loop stepper motors[4] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | Not documented | 800 mm/s (manufacturer claim, maximum)[4] |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | Not documented | 30,000 mm/s2 (manufacturer claim, maximum)[4] |
| Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s) | Not documented | 40 mm3/s rated flow (manufacturer claim)[4] |
| Vibration Compensation / Input Shaping | ||
| Input shaping supported? Implementation (Klipper IS / Marlin ZV / proprietary) | Not documented | Input shaper listed as a feature[4] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Not documented | Direct drive, dual hardened-steel gears, 8.9:1 reduction[4] |
| Gear ratio & drive gear material | Not documented | 8.9:1; drive gears hardened steel[4] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Not documented | Multi-metal hotend with a ceramic heater and a 0.4 mm bimetal nozzle; ceramic throat[4] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | Not documented | <=370 °C claimed[3][4] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | Not documented | <=120 °C claimed on a 390 x 390 mm bed QIDI markets as ultra-uniform (no thermal imaging published)[3][4] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | Aluminium plate with silicone heater; double-sided magnetic PEI build plate[4] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Not documented | Automatic levelling; probe technology not named by QIDI[4] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Not documented | Filament run-out sensor and filament tangle detection (tangle mechanism not described), plus a filament cutter[4] |
| Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade path | Not documented | QIDI Box multi-colour unit supported; sold bundled as the Max4 Combo[3][4] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | Toolhead, model and auxiliary fans are all 4-pin PWM with RPM feedback; mainboard and chamber fans are closed-loop, chamber fan high-power turbo[4] |
| Chamber/exhaust fan & filtration (activated carbon / HEPA) | Not documented | 3-in-1 filtration: G3 pre-filter, H12 HEPA, coconut-shell activated carbon[4] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | 100-240 VAC, 4.8 A, 50/60 Hz, 480 W[1] | 110 V / 220-240 V AC, 50/60 Hz[4] |
| Total rated power draw | 480 W[1] | Not documented |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Proprietary. Print preparation is PreForm; fleet management is Formlabs Dashboard[2] | Not stated on the product page; QIDI Studio, PrusaSlicer and Orca are the supported slicers[4] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[1] | 5-inch touchscreen, 480 x 800[4] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit), USB-C 2.0[1][2] | Wi-Fi, LAN, USB[4] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Not documented | AI camera with print-failure detection[3][4] |
| Power-Loss & Interruption Recovery | ||
| Power-loss recovery: mechanism (how is state saved? capacitor / eeprom / file on shutdown?) | Not documented | Power-loss recovery listed; mechanism not published[4] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | 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[1] | PLA, ABS, ASA, PETG, TPU, PA, PC, and glass- and carbon-fibre-filled polymers[4] |
| Reliability, Support & Ecosystem | ||
| Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes) | Not documented | 1-year coverage, lifetime tech guidance, 14-day no-reason return[3] |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | XY dimensional tolerance +/-0.15% — a manufacturer specification, not an independent measurement[1][2] | Not documented |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | 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[1][2] | Not documented |
| Light source | Backlight unit with 60 uniform-wavelength high-power LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[1][2] | Not documented |
| Vertical print speedmm/h | 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[2][1] | Not documented |
| Layer height range | 25-200 um per Formlabs' own tech-spec page; GoEngineer's listing for the same machine says 25-300 um. Unresolved[1][2] | Not documented |
| Resin vat & feeding | 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[1][2] | Not documented |
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
- 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
- QIDI Max4 product page (US store) us.qidi3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- QIDI Tech Max4 technical data table 3djake.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- QIDI X-Max 3 product page (US store) us.qidi3d.com · 2026-08 · vendor