PRECISION RESIN PRINTING
Ultra-fine detail. Mirror-smooth surfaces. Layers down to 0.025mm. Printed on the Formlabs Form 4 — a professional SLA platform trusted by engineering teams worldwide — with 14 engineering, optical and flexible Formlabs resins, quotable online in seconds.
LIVE SPEC
FORMLABS FORM 4
0.025 MM
0.05 MM
±0.15% (MIN ±0.05MM)
MIRROR-SMOOTH
200 × 125 × 210 MM
14 FORMLABS
1–3 DAYS
WHAT WE PRINT
Single SLA parts start from around £12. Upload several parts together and they share one build plate — the plate's machine time, wash and cure are charged once, so multi-part orders price from £3.60 per part. A squad of fifteen 28mm miniatures comes to about £58, around £3.90 each.
We hold the most-used resins in stock and order specialist resins in per job, with any special-order surcharge shown upfront in the quote tool before you pay.
HOW SLA PRINTING WORKS
SLA (stereolithography) builds parts by curing liquid resin with light, one ultra-thin layer at a time — as fine as 0.025mm, roughly a third the thickness of a human hair. We print on the Formlabs Form 4, which cures entire layers at once using a masked light engine. The result: parts with smooth surfaces, sharp edges and fine detail, printed faster and more reliably than older laser-based SLA.
Unlike FDM printing where you can often see and feel the individual layers, SLA parts come off the printer with surfaces that look and feel injection-moulded. This makes SLA ideal for anything where appearance, fit accuracy, or fine features matter.
Every part is washed and UV-cured as standard. We print Formlabs resins exclusively — engineering-grade materials with published datasheets, so you know exactly what your part can do before you order. Fourteen resins are quotable online, from standard black and tough engineering resins to true silicone, optically clear and castable wax.
XY RESOLUTION 0.05 MM
LAYER HEIGHT 0.025–0.1 MM
SURFACE FINISH NEAR-INJECTION MOULD
TOLERANCE ±0.15% (MIN ±0.05 MM)
BUILD VOLUME 200 × 125 × 210 MM
RESIN TYPES 14 FORMLABS
SLA VS FDM PRINTING
| SPECIFICATION | SLA RESIN | FDM FILAMENT |
|---|---|---|
| SURFACE FINISH | Smooth, near injection-mould quality | Visible layer lines, requires post-processing |
| DETAIL RESOLUTION | 0.025mm layers, 0.05mm XY | 0.1–0.2mm layers, 0.4mm nozzle |
| BEST USE CASES | Miniatures, jewellery, optics, precision parts | Functional parts, brackets, enclosures, jigs |
| MATERIAL OPTIONS | 14 Formlabs resins — standard, tough, rigid, flexible, silicone, clear, castable | PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, TPU, Nylon |
| MAX BUILD SIZE | 200 × 125 × 210mm | 340 × 320 × 340mm |
| IDEAL QUANTITIES | 1–50 parts per run | 1–500+ parts, scales well |
| STRENGTH | Moderate — resin dependent | High — engineering thermoplastics |
| COST PER PART | Higher for a single part — parts printed together share a plate, from £3.60/part | Lower — efficient material use |
NOT SURE WHICH TECHNOLOGY?
Tell us what you need and we'll recommend the best approach.
SPECIALIST RESINS
Formlabs Black V5 — deep matte black, smooth finish. Presentation models, miniatures and display pieces.
Polypropylene-like toughness — resilient, bends back into shape. Snap-fits, jigs and functional prototypes.
Glass-filled, stiff and precise — thin walls, brackets and parts that must not flex.
ABS-like impact resistance (Tough 2000) and polyethylene-like slip (Durable). Enclosures, living hinges and low-friction assemblies.
Flexible 50A/80A and true Silicone 40A. Gaskets, grips, overmoulds and soft-touch parts.
Optically clear casting resin — light pipes, lenses, display cases and clear end-use parts.
20% wax-filled for investment casting — ring masters, pendants and dental patterns with clean burnout.
High Temp for tooling and thermal work, UL 94 V-0 Flame Retardant, and static-dissipative ESD for electronics fixtures.
SEE THE QUALITY FIRST — FREE SAMPLE
Not sure resin printing is right for your project? We'll post you a free SLA sample part so you can judge the surface finish and detail in hand before you order.
GET YOUR SLA QUOTE TODAY
Upload your files and see your price in seconds — no waiting for a quote by email. Most orders dispatched within 1–3 working days with free tracked UK delivery.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is SLA 3D printing?
SLA (stereolithography) builds parts by curing liquid resin with light at layer heights as fine as 0.025mm. It produces parts with smooth surfaces, sharp edges and incredibly fine detail — ideal for miniatures, jewellery casting, prototyping and architectural models.
What printer do you use?
We print on the Formlabs Form 4, a professional SLA platform. Every part is washed and post-cured as standard, and every resin has a published Formlabs datasheet.
How long does SLA printing take?
Most SLA orders dispatch within 1–3 working days, with tracked delivery UK-wide. Free tracked UK delivery on every order.
How does pricing work for multiple parts?
Resin printers cure a whole layer at once, so parts uploaded together share one build plate — you pay the plate's machine time, wash and cure once, plus a small per-part cost for resin and finishing. Each part is priced from £3.60 including VAT, and the quote tool shows the per-part breakdown and the saving against printing separately. Parts need to share the same resin and layer height to share a plate.
What materials are available for SLA printing?
We quote 14 Formlabs resins online: Standard (Grey, Black, White or Clear), Tough 1500 and 2000, Durable, glass-filled Rigid 4000 and 10K, Flexible 50A and 80A, Silicone 40A, Castable Wax, High Temp, Flame Retardant, ESD and a draft-speed Fast Model resin. The most-used resins are held in stock; specialist resins are ordered in per job, with any surcharge shown in the quote tool before you pay. Transparent parts use Standard Clear.
What is the difference between SLA and FDM printing?
SLA offers much finer detail (0.025mm vs 0.1–0.2mm layers) and smoother surface finish than FDM. SLA is ideal for visual models, miniatures and precision parts. FDM is better for larger functional parts, brackets and higher-strength engineering applications.
What tolerances can you hold on SLA parts?
On the Formlabs Form 4 we hold ±0.15% of the nominal dimension (minimum ±0.05mm) on parts up to 30mm, widening to ±0.2% from 31–80mm and ±0.3% from 81–150mm — the measured Formlabs tolerance bands. A 20mm feature lands inside ±0.05mm; a 120mm feature inside about ±0.36mm. Real-world accuracy depends on geometry, orientation and post-cure, so flag tolerance-critical parts and we'll advise.
What's the minimum wall thickness for SLA?
The Formlabs Form 4 Design Guide gives a minimum wall of 0.2mm, embossed detail down to 0.1mm high, engraved detail to 0.15mm, and holes from 0.5mm across. Treat those as floors, not targets — for parts that get handled we recommend walls of 1mm or more. Upload your model and we'll flag anything too thin before it prints.
Do resin parts need special handling or ventilation?
No. Every part is washed and fully UV-cured before it leaves us, so you receive a solid, handleable part with no special ventilation or handling needed — treat it like any other plastic part. Our Formlabs resins need no volatile solvents in processing. If a part faces heat, chemicals or outdoor UV, tell us and we'll recommend the right resin.