--- title: Formlabs dropped the Raspberry Pi on the way to a $699... description: Formlabs sent a Form Studio 1 resin (SLA) 3D printer for review, priced at $699 ($749 with the flex build platform), far cheaper than the $2,600 Form 4. The... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/formlabs-dropped-the-raspberry-pi-on-the-way-to-a-699-sla-printer-lnc4oz21o twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Formlabs dropped the Raspberry Pi on the way to a $699 SLA printer | daily.dev og:description: Formlabs sent a Form Studio 1 resin (SLA) 3D printer for review, priced at $699 ($749 with the flex build platform), far cheaper than the $2,600 Form 4. The... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/formlabs-dropped-the-raspberry-pi-on-the-way-to-a-699-sla-printer-lnc4oz21o og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/LNc4Oz21O.png og:image:alt: Formlabs dropped the Raspberry Pi on the way to a $699 SLA printer og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Formlabs dropped the Raspberry Pi on the way to a $699 SLA printer **[Jeff Geerling](https://daily.dev/sources/jeffgeerling)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Formlabs sent a Form Studio 1 resin (SLA) 3D printer for review, priced at $699 ($749 with the flex build platform), far cheaper than the $2,600 Form 4. The reviewer, new to SLA after years of FDM printing, shares first impressions of the tedious resin workflow and print quality. Notably, Formlabs dropped the Raspberry Pi Compute Module used in the Form 4 in favor of a different Arm SoM to cut costs, requiring custom camera driver work and new wireless certification. Other cost cuts included a weaker UV light, a cheaper plastic hinge, and removing the resin mixing arm. Open Material Mode, a $875 add-on on the Form 4, is free on the Studio 1. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### Why did Formlabs remove the Raspberry Pi Compute Module from the Form Studio 1 printer? Formlabs switched to a different Arm system-on-module instead of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module used in the Form 4, mainly for cost savings on the $699 Form Studio 1. The change required building a custom camera driver from scratch, since the Raspberry Pi camera stack worked out of the box, and going through a new wireless certification process, since Pi Compute Modules come pre-certified with approved antennas. _Developers weighing custom SoMs against Raspberry Pi modules can track real-world trade-off stories like this on daily.dev._ ### How much cheaper is the Formlabs Form Studio 1 compared to the Form 4 SLA printer? The Form Studio 1 starts at $699 (or $749 with the recommended flex build platform), compared to $2,600 for the Form 4. Cost reductions came from dropping the Raspberry Pi Compute Module, reducing UV light power output, using a cheaper plastic hinge instead of a metal damped hinge, and removing the resin mixing arm needed for higher-end resins. _Anyone comparing hardware cost-cutting strategies can follow engineering teardown stories like this on daily.dev._ ### Is Open Material Mode free on the Formlabs Form Studio 1 printer? Yes, Open Material Mode is included free on the Form Studio 1, while the same feature costs an $875 add-on on the Form 4 printer. This lets users work with third-party or custom resins rather than being locked into Formlabs' own materials. _Makers evaluating printer ecosystems and vendor lock-in can follow hardware reviews like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Getting Back Into Resin Printing: First Results](https://daily.dev/posts/getting-back-into-resin-printing-first-results-fry3tk1pq) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Giving Resin 3D Printers Another Shot After Six Years](https://daily.dev/posts/giving-resin-3d-printers-another-shot-after-six-years-txalqynx5) · Hackaday · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Freeform raises $67M Series B to scale up laser AI manufacturing](https://daily.dev/posts/freeform-raises-67m-series-b-to-scale-up-laser-ai-manufacturing-p4sobp00f) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [LightMake L4 3D printer features four independent heads for simultaneous or multi-color printing \(Crowdfunding\)](https://daily.dev/posts/lightmake-l4-3d-printer-features-four-independent-heads-for-simultaneous-or-multi-color-printing-cr-qfis72vhq) · CNX Software · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#embedded](https://daily.dev/tags/embedded), [#raspberry-pi](https://daily.dev/tags/raspberry-pi) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/formlabs-dropped-the-raspberry-pi-on-the-way-to-a-699-sla-printer-lnc4oz21o) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Formlabs dropped the Raspberry Pi on the way to a $699 SLA printer","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/formlabs-dropped-the-raspberry-pi-on-the-way-to-a-699-sla-printer-lnc4oz21o","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/formlabs-dropped-the-raspberry-pi-on-the-way-to-a-699-sla-printer-lnc4oz21o"},"datePublished":"2026-10-14T13:08:51.068Z","dateModified":"2026-10-14T13:09:13.401Z","description":"Formlabs sent a Form Studio 1 resin (SLA) 3D printer for review, priced at $699 ($749 with the flex build platform), far cheaper than the $2,600 Form 4. 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