3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Formlabs Form 4 vs Stratasys F270
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 Stratasys F270 comparisons
| Property | Formlabs Form 4RESIN | Stratasys F270INDUSTRIAL |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Formlabs | Stratasys |
| Class | RESIN | INDUSTRIAL |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[1][2] | Stratasys F270, part of the Stratasys F123 Series[3] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Not documented | The F123 series spec sheet carried is revision 0721a (July 2021). Stratasys does not print a launch date on it[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] | Not documented |
| 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] | Middle of the full-cabinet trio. Same materials as the F170 but a larger build size; the F370 adds ABS-ESD7, PC-ABS and Diran 410MF07 and is the only model with Insight and DoD STIG compliance. All three full-cabinet models share the same 1,626 x 864 x 711 mm footprint and 227 kg weight[3] |
| 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] | 305 x 254 x 305 mm (12 x 10 x 12 in)[3] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[1][2] | 1,626 x 864 x 711 mm (64 x 34 x 28 in)[3] |
| Net weight (kg) | 18.3 kg[1][2] | 124 kg (F120) or 227 kg with consumables (F170, F270, F370)[3] |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | Fully enclosed office/classroom-grade cabinet, factory assembled[3] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Enclosed cabinet with a hinged UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[1] | Enclosed build chamber[3] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Masked stereolithography (MSLA). Formlabs brands the engine Low Force Display; straight-lift peel[1][2] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | 100-240 VAC, 4.8 A, 50/60 Hz, 480 W[1] | 100-132 V / 15 A or 200-240 V / 7 A, 50/60 Hz[3] |
| 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] | Proprietary Stratasys firmware; print preparation is GrabCAD Print. The F370 additionally carries an Insight software licence and DoD STIG compliance powered by Red Hat Enterprise Linux[3] |
| 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] | Wired TCP/IP at 100 Mbps minimum, 100base-T Ethernet, RJ45. Wireless-ready IEEE 802.11 n/g/b with WPA2-PSK or 802.1x EAP, CCMP/TKIP encryption[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] | PLA, ABS-M30, ASA, FDM TPU 92A, ABS-CF10, with QSR soluble support[3] |
| Safety | ||
| Certifications (UL/ETL/CE/FCC — verify, don't assume) | Not documented | CE (low-voltage and EMC directives), FCC, EAC, cTUVus, KC, RoHS, WEEE, REACH, RCM[3] |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | Not documented | 46 dB maximum during build, 35 dB idle — manufacturer specification, no distance or method stated, and not an independent measurement[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] | Parts produced within +/-0.200 mm or +/-0.002 mm/mm, whichever is greater. Manufacturer figure derived from statistical data at 95% dimensional yield; Z accuracy carries an extra -0.000/+slice-height tolerance[3] |
| 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
- Stratasys F123 Series product specification sheet (PSS_FDM_F123Series_0721a, PDF) stratasys.com · 2026-08 · doc