Formlabs Unveils Fuse X1

Formlabs, a supplier of professional SLA (stereolithography) and SLS (selective laser sintering) 3D printing systems, unveils the Fuse X1, an industrial large-format selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing ecosystem. The solution is built to enhance accessibility of high-throughput additive manufacturing specific to manufacturers, engineering teams, product developers, and service bureaus.

Early-access customers across automotive and consumer products—including Tesla, Radio Flyer, and Autotiv Manufacturing—are now using Fuse X1 for product development and to scale production to print more than 30,000 parts in a few months. 

“Since the beginning, Formlabs has worked to build the tools that make it possible for anyone to bring their ideas to life,” says Max Lobovsky, co-founder and CEO of Formlabs. “With Fuse X1, we’re bringing industrial-scale SLS printing to a much broader market, making it competitive with traditional mass manufacturing.”

Starting at $84,999, Fuse X1 delivers production-quality parts in under 24 hours, the company reports. The ecosystem combines large-format printing, AI-powered features, automated powder handling, and an intuitive workflow in a compact system that can fit through a standard door, installs in approximately 1 hour, and operates on standard single-phase power without specialized HVAC requirements. 

Key specifications and capabilities include:

• 330×330×565 mm build volume, with 30%+ packing density

• Same-day large parts

• AI-powered Print Intelligence failure prevention

• 1-hour installation, 5-minute print changeovers, intuitive workflow requiring no dedicated operators

Adaptive Thermal Control, AI-Powered Intelligence

With Fuse X1, Formlabs is also introducing Adaptive Thermal Control and AI-Powered Print Intelligence, two new SLS technologies.

Adaptive Thermal Control allows for unlimited packing freedom in large-format SLS with a new thermal architecture designed to maintain stable print conditions across the build chamber. It collects and processes 700 times more thermal data per second than the Fuse 1+ 30W, driving 13 independent thermal zones that deliver, maintain, and sinter powder at a precise, stable temperature from the first layer to the last.

Print intelligence is an AI-powered failure prevention system using computer vision to monitor each layer with real-time thermal imaging to detect anomalies before a build fail. Print Intelligence detects part defects in real time, selectively removing the affected part from the following layers. 

The Fuse X1 ecosystem includes the Fuse X1 printer and modular Build Unit, Fuse Sift X1 for powder recovery, Fuse X1 Vacuum Conveyor for automated powder transport, and a new high-capacity configuration for Fuse Blast for media blasting and polishing. 

Customer Validation

Tesla has adopted the Fuse X1 for product development and to produce end-use parts and tooling for its manufacturing line. “With the increased throughput and decreased costs, Fuse X1 has completely changed our perspective on what kinds of projects our lab can support versus what we would have traditionally moved to an injection mold,” says Cody Jepson, engineering technician, Additive Manufacturing, Tesla Giga NV.

Radio Flyer, the iconic American toy and electric bike brand, cut prototype lead times for its Flyer Loop cargo ebike frame. “With Fuse X1, we can now print an entire Flyer Loop cargo ebike overnight and be gluing it together the next day. So we went from two months to two weeks to a couple of days. I can iterate three times as often with nine times less labor,” says Agostino LoBello, product development engineer at Radio Flyer.

Autotiv Manufacturing operates more than 200 printers and delivers 10,000 printed parts across the country each week. "Thanks to about half the upfront cost and about double the throughput, you can get a return on investment extremely quickly," says Evan LaBelle, CEO of Autotiv.

In the 4 months before the announcement, Formlabs customers printed over 30,000 parts on Fuse X1 units. Fuse X1 parts are also now available to order in the United States on Formlabs’ new online 3D printing service, Form Now. Fuse X1 will be first showcased in public at the Reindustrialize Summit on June 16 in Detroit, MI.

Sources: Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.