3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Formlabs Form 4 vs UltiMaker S5
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 UltiMaker S5 comparisons
| Property | Formlabs Form 4RESIN | UltiMaker S5INDUSTRIAL |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Formlabs | UltiMaker |
| Class | RESIN | INDUSTRIAL |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[1][2] | UltiMaker S5 3D Printer[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] | Starting at $6,950 at MatterHackers, in stock, checked Aug 2026[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] | Three generations share the same 330 x 240 x 300 mm envelope and are easy to confuse: S5 (280 °C nozzle, glass bed to 140 °C, 4.7-inch screen), S7 (PEI-coated flexible plate, Wi-Fi 5 GHz added, $5,999) and S8 (340 °C, 500 mm/s, 50,000 mm/s2, PEI plate to 120 °C). Build-volume figures alone will not tell them apart[3][4][5] |
| Market position: superseded? successor announced? | Not documented | Superseded by the S7 and then the S8, but still sold[3][4][5] |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] | 330 x 240 x 300 mm[3] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[1][2] | 495 x 585 x 780 mm assembled with the spool holder[3] |
| Net weight (kg) | 18.3 kg[1][2] | 20.6 kg[3] |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | Fully assembled professional chassis[3] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Enclosed cabinet with a hinged UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[1] | Not documented |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Masked stereolithography (MSLA). Formlabs brands the engine Low Force Display; straight-lift peel[1][2] | Dual-extrusion gantry with an articulating nozzle-lifting print head. UltiMaker does not publish the kinematic layout in this spec table[3] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s) | Not documented | Build speed under 24 mm3/s (manufacturer figure)[3] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Not documented | Dual-geared feeder rated for advanced composites; dual extrusion with swappable print cores[3] |
| Filament diameter | Not documented | 2.85 mm[3] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | Not documented | 180-280 °C nozzle temperature range; heat-up under 2 minutes[3] |
| Stock nozzle size & sizes included in box | Not documented | 0.4 mm standard; 0.25, 0.6 and 0.8 mm available[3] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | Not documented | Heated glass bed, 20-140 °C[3] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | Heated glass build plate[3] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Not documented | Automatic advanced levelling; probe technology not stated in this table[3] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| 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] | 500 W maximum power output[3] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Proprietary. Print preparation is PreForm; fleet management is Formlabs Dashboard[2] | Not published; print preparation is UltiMaker Cura and UltiMaker Essentials[3] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[1] | 4.7-inch colour touchscreen[3] |
| 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, Ethernet, USB[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 |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | Not documented | Under 50 dBA operating sound, manufacturer figure. No independent measurement; distance and method not stated[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] | XYZ resolution 6.9 / 6.9 / 2.5 micron (manufacturer specification, not an independent measurement)[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
- UltiMaker S5 3D Printer listing matterhackers.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- UltiMaker S7 product listing shop3duniverse.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- UltiMaker S8 3D Printer listing matterhackers.com · 2026-08 · vendor