Formlabs has just launched two new resin materials for its Form 4 SLA solution: Tough 1000 Resin and an improved Tough 2000 Resin. The new materials expand the company’s Tough Resin family, which already includes the upgraded Tough 1500 Resin, further enabling users to print parts with properties that rival traditional thermoplastic materials.
The three Tough Resin materials—named for their respective tensile modulus—were engineered to match the properties of popular injection molding thermoplastic materials. Tough 1000 Resin rivals high-density polyethylene (HDPE), a thermoplastic known for its strength and high-impact resistance; Tough 1500 Resin rivals polypropylene (PP), a tough material with good chemical resistance; and Tough 2000 Resin, the strongest and stiffest of the three resins has properties in line with acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), known for its durability and impact resistance.
“Formlabs’ goal has always been to deliver any part at the push of a button,” said Formlabs co-founder and CEO Max Lobovsky. “But that mission depends on more than just speed and ease. We need parts that are as tough and resilient as the products we rely on every day. With the new Tough Resin family, SLA printing now delivers the strength and durability of the world’s most trusted thermoplastics.”
Tough 1000 Resin
Tough 1000 Resin is described as the most ductile and impact-resistant material in the resin family with strength, stiffness and durability that closely align with HDPE. In fact, in terms of certain properties, such as elongation at break (180%) and Gardner impact strength (128 in-lb), Tough 1000 Resin actually surpasses HDPE. The resin also offers good wear and fatigue resistance.
A matte, dark grey color characterizes the resin. It is suitable for a range of applications, including parts that require low-friction surfaces and components that can withstand repeated stress and wear, such as hinges. The material is already being used with success at Cool Machines, a manufacturer of insulation machines. The end-use products we offer must be able to withstand our torture testing at freezing temperatures. These parts need to be able to take abuse, and Tough 1000 holds up,” said Adam Warren, Draftsman and Mechanical Designer at Cool Machines.
Tough 2000 Resin V2
The new Tough 2000 Resin is Formlabs’ strongest and stiffest resin to date, boasting properties comparable to those of ABS. This material improves upon the company’s first version of Tough 2000 Resin, offering superior temperature and creep resistance. Other properties include an elongation at break of 79% and a heat deflection temperature (HDT) of 70 °C.
This combination of properties makes the resin suitable for a range of applications, including functional prototypes and end-use parts with good structural integrity that can withstand shattering, deformation and long-term wear. The aesthetics of the new resin have also been enhanced, featuring a darker, matte finish.
Tough 1500 Resin V2
While not a brand new release, it is worth re-mentioning Tough 1500 Resin, a strong, stiff and tough material with properties similar to PP. Thanks to the material’s upgraded properties and the capabilities of the Form 4 platform, users can produce parts with up to 10 times higher fracture toughness than with Tough 1500 Resin V1.
This has led to the resin’s rapid adoption. According to Adam Lang, Materials Product Manager at Formlabs, since the material’s release in spring 2025, it has experienced twice the rate of adoption compared to version one. Tough 1500 Resin V2 is suitable for a range of parts, like rugged enclosures, self-tapping screws, snap fits, jigs and fixtures.
For example, Formlabs customer Viking Yachts is using Tough 1500 Resin V2 in the production of interior yacht components, including bezels, vents and switchgear. As Lang elaborates, these printed parts are indistinguishable from injection-molded parts after finishing, both in terms of appearance and performance.
Form Cure L V2
In addition to expanding its resin portfolio, Formlabs is also introducing an upgraded curing unit, the Form Cure L V2, which can post-cure general-purpose resin parts in under 60 seconds, accelerating post-processing for SLA prints by up to six times. The large-format curing system is designed to process large parts made on the Form 4L and ensures that parts achieve their optimal properties.
The newly upgraded system comes with validated presets for over 45 Formlabs materials, including engineering materials (these do take longer than general-purpose resins to cure, but can be finished in just 15 minutes). Moreover, the system has a smaller footprint than its predecessor (26%), while being able to cure parts up to 19% larger.
“We were shocked by how fast the cure times were across all materials, even the engineering resins, which allowed us to work faster and get finished parts to our engineers in less time,” commented Agostino Lobello, Product Development Engineer at Radio Flyer.
