3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Formlabs Form 4L vs Snapmaker U1
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Formlabs Form 4L comparisonsMore Snapmaker U1 comparisons
| Property | Formlabs Form 4LRESIN | Snapmaker U1TOOLCHANGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Formlabs | Snapmaker |
| Class | RESIN | TOOLCHANGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Formlabs Form 4L[1] | Snapmaker U1 3D Printer[2] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | Not documented | $849.00 against a $999.00 compare-at price on us.snapmaker.com, but the listing is marked Unavailable, checked Aug 2026[2] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Same Low Force Display engine as the Form 4 but a different machine on every physical figure: 353 x 196 x 350 mm vs 200 x 125 x 210, 46 um vs 50 um pixels, 58.5 kg vs 18.3 kg, 900 W vs 480 W, two resin cartridges vs one. Formlabs lists Basic, Premium and Complete packages, whose prices are not printer-only prices, and no printer-only USD figure was found on a live listing[1] | An optional top cover changes what the machine can print: without it PLA/PETG/TPU/PVA/PCTG; with it ABS, ASA, PA, PC and PET are added; with the top cover AND a hardened-steel nozzle, carbon- and glass-fibre grades. A stated material list for the U1 is therefore meaningless without saying which configuration it refers to[2] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 353 x 196 x 350 mm (Formlabs quotes 24.2 litres)[1] | 270 x 270 x 270 mm[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 664 x 528 x 794 mm[1] | 584 x 499 x 730 mm[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 58.5 kg[1] | 18.2 kg[2] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Enclosed cabinet with a UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[1] | Open as sold; a top cover is an optional accessory that raises the supported material range[2] |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | Masked stereolithography (MSLA) with the Low Force Display engine; straight-lift peel[1] | Four independent toolheads on a changer; Snapmaker quotes a 5-second swap[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | Not documented | 500 mm/s maximum toolhead speed (manufacturer claim)[2] |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | Not documented | 20,000 mm/s2 maximum (manufacturer claim)[2] |
| Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s) | Not documented | 32 mm3/s maximum hotend flow (manufacturer claim)[2] |
| Vibration Compensation / Input Shaping | ||
| Input shaping supported? Implementation (Klipper IS / Marlin ZV / proprietary) | Not documented | Input shaping with an accelerometer, run as a calibration routine[2] |
| Extrusion Pressure Control | ||
| Pressure advance (Klipper) / linear advance (Marlin) supported? | Not documented | Pressure advance, with automatic flow compensation calibration[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | Not documented | 300 °C maximum (manufacturer claim)[2] |
| Stock nozzle material (brass / hardened steel / plated copper / composite tip) | Not documented | Stainless steel as standard; hardened steel needed for fibre-filled grades[2] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | Not documented | 100 °C maximum (manufacturer claim)[2] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | Flexible steel sheet with a PEI surface[2] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | Not documented | Mesh bed levelling. Automatic toolhead offset calibration is done by coordinate measuring[2] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Not documented | Filament run-out detection, plus air-printing detection and RFID filament recognition[2] |
| Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade path | Not documented | Four toolheads with auto-feed and a backup mode; toolhead swap error detection, build-plate presence and obstruction detection[2] |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | Main plus auxiliary part-cooling fans[2] |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | 100-240 VAC, 9 A, 50/60 Hz, 900 W[1] | Not documented |
| Total rated power draw | 900 W[1] | Maximum input power 1150 W at 220-240 V, 400 W at 100-120 V; maximum input current 6 A / 4 A respectively[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Proprietary; print preparation is PreForm[1] | Klipper[2] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[1] | 3.5-inch, 320 x 480 touchscreen[2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet, USB-C 2.0[1] | Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz (802.11b/g/n) and USB flash drive. No Ethernet listed[2] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Not documented | 2 MP built-in chamber camera for live view[2] |
| Power-Loss & Interruption Recovery | ||
| Power-loss recovery: mechanism (how is state saved? capacitor / eeprom / file on shutdown?) | Not documented | Power-loss recovery supported; mechanism not published[2] |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | Formlabs resin range as for the Form 4; biocompatible materials require a B-series machine[1] | Base: PLA, PETG, TPU, PVA, PCTG. With the optional top cover: adds PET, ABS, ASA, PA, PC. With top cover and a hardened-steel nozzle: adds carbon- and glass-fibre-reinforced polymers[2] |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | XY dimensional tolerance +/-0.15% — a manufacturer specification[1] | Not documented |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | Low Force Display masking LCD with a 46 um pixel size. Formlabs does not publish the screen diagonal or pixel count[1] | Not documented |
| Light source | Backlight unit with uniform-wavelength LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[1] | Not documented |
| Layer height range | 25-200 um[1] | Not documented |
| Resin vat & feeding | Two next-generation resin cartridges. No vat capacity published[1] | 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
- Snapmaker U1 product page us.snapmaker.com · 2026-08 · vendor