Milestones
- Fuse 1 announced2017Complete.
- Fuse 1 ships2021Complete.
- Fuse 1+ 30W2022Complete.
- Fuse X1 industrial SLS printer announced9 Jun 2026Complete.
- First Fuse X1 deliveriesTarget Q4 2026Not yet reached.
Most important updates
- 9 Jun 2026
- 13 Jul 2022
- 22 Sep 2021
- 26 Jan 2021
- 5 Jun 2017
Upcoming
- Q4 2026First Fuse X1 deliveries (next)
Current obstacles
- Powder cleanupRemoving and recycling loose powder is manual and messy, which slows output.
Physics limits
- The whole powder bed must heat and coolThe chamber is held just below the plastic's melting point for the whole print, then must cool slowly to avoid warping. Cooling can take as long as printing, which caps throughput.
- Powder ages with every cycleHours at high temperature degrade the unused nylon, so it can't be reused forever and must be blended with fresh powder.
- Surfaces are grainy and slightly porousParts are built from particles tens of microns across, leaving a rough surface and tiny pores. They need finishing to be smooth or fully watertight.
How it works
Laser fuses nylon powder
A laser traces each layer on a bed of nylon powder held just below its melting point, fusing the particles into solid plastic.
Powder holds the parts
Unfused powder supports parts as they print, so no support structures are needed and parts can be packed in 3D to fill the chamber.
Recycle the leftover powder
The Fuse Sift station recovers loose powder and mixes it with fresh powder, so most of each batch is reused.
Bigger batches with Fuse X1
The 2026 Fuse X1 has a 330 x 330 x 565 mm build volume, aimed at factory production runs.
Update log
Tue 9 Jun
- Major: PressHardware
Wed 13 Jul 2022
- Minor: PressHardware
Wed 22 Sep 2021
- Minor: PressCommercial
Tue 26 Jan 2021
- Major: PressHardware
Mon 5 Jun 2017
- Minor: PressHardware
About Formlabs
Formlabs
Desktop resin (SLA) and SLS 3D printers
Formlabs makes professional desktop 3D printers, plus their materials and software: the Form resin printers and the Fuse nylon-powder printers. Founded in 2011 by MIT Media Lab students, it is one of the biggest sellers of professional printers, strong in dental and engineering.
- Put professional resin printing on the desktop with Form 1 (2012 Kickstarter), then powder printing with Fuse 1.
- Form 4 (2024) hardens a whole layer at once with an LCD screen, several times faster than Form 3.
- Last priced round: $150M at $2B in May 2021, led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2.
- Founded
- 201115 yrs
- Headquarters
- United States
- Status
- Private
- Valuation
- private
- Raised
- $153M2 rounds
- Last round
- Series E · $150MMay 2021$2B post
- Works in
- ManufacturingPlastic 3D printing
- Coverage
- 2 programs · 8 updateslatest 9 Jun 2026checked 25 Sep
- Lead investors
- SoftBank Vision Fund 2
- People
- Max LobovskyCo-founder & CEO