3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Formlabs Form 4 vs Rat Rig V-Core 4
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 Rat Rig V-Core 4 comparisons
| Property | Formlabs Form 4RESIN | Rat Rig V-Core 4COREXY |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Formlabs | Rat Rig |
| Class | RESIN | COREXY |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[1][2] | Rat Rig V-Core 4, sold in the US as "RatRig V-Core 4 3D Printer Kit"[3] |
| 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] | $2,319.99 at Fabreeko for the fully-specified US kit (price includes shipping and duty in the continental USA), Batch 4, checked Aug 2026. 300 mm ABS-parts variant in stock, 400 mm down to one unit. Rat Rig's own base kit is priced separately in EUR[3][4] |
| 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] | Three sizes (300, 400, 500 mm cubes) and three motion configurations: Standard CoreXY, Hybrid CoreXY (+$149.99, adds two motors to Y), and IDEX with two independent toolheads (+$450.00). Superseded by the V-Core 4.1. Raspberry Pi and enclosure panels are not included[3][4] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Not documented | Superseded by the V-Core 4.1, which adds a steel X gantry, a full-metal toolhead, improved part cooling, 8 mm beds on the 400 and 500 sizes and pre-made cables. Rat Rig sells a 4.1 upgrade kit for existing V-Core 4 owners[4] |
| 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] | 300 x 300 x 300, 400 x 400 x 400 or 500 x 500 x 500 mm. Sortable value is the 300 mm kit[3][4] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[1][2] | Not documented |
| Net weight (kg) | 18.3 kg[1][2] | Not documented |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | 30-series aluminium extrusion with printed ABS structural parts[3][4] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Enclosed cabinet with a hinged UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[1] | Open by default; enclosure panels sold separately[3] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Masked stereolithography (MSLA). Formlabs brands the engine Low Force Display; straight-lift peel[1][2] | CoreXY, or Hybrid CoreXY, or Hybrid CoreXY IDEX depending on the configuration ordered[3] |
| Stepper drivers (exact model e.g. TMC2209; UART/SPI; sensorless homing?) | Not documented | TMC2209[3] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Not documented | LDO Orbiter 2.0 direct-drive extruder[3] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Not documented | Phaetus Rapido 2.0 UHF[3] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | Keenovo silicone bed heater[3] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Not documented | Beacon eddy-current probe[3] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | Nidec 4028 part-cooling fan[3] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Mainboard model & MCU (exact chip markings if teardowns exist) | Not documented | BigTreeTech Octopus[3] |
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | 100-240 VAC, 4.8 A, 50/60 Hz, 480 W[1] | Not documented |
| 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] | RatOS, Rat Rig's Klipper distribution[4] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit), USB-C 2.0[1][2] | Not documented |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Not documented | Self-assembly kit; Raspberry Pi and enclosure panels sourced separately[3] |
| 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] | Not documented |
| 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
- RatRig V-Core 4 kit (US distributor listing) fabreeko.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Rat Rig V-Core 4.1 product page ratrig.com · 2026-08 · vendor