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Manufacturing · head to head

Formlabs PreForm vs SKF Enlight Centre

Formlabs PreForm logo

Formlabs PreForm

Manufacturing

Free print preparation software that only drives Formlabs printers, because the money is in hardware and resin

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
SKF Enlight Centre logo

SKF Enlight Centre

Manufacturing

Asset-based machine health monitoring platform from SKF, tying wireless sensors, route collection and remote diagnostics together

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Formlabs PreForm has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Formlabs PreForm preForm only drives Formlabs printers, so the free software is really an entry cost to a closed hardware and resin ecosystem rather than a tool you can keep if you change machines.; SKF Enlight Centre no pricing is published for the software, the sensors, the gateways or the remote diagnostic services, so the total cost of a deployment only emerges after a site survey and a quotation.
  • They diverge on capability: Formlabs PreForm covers Automatic orientation, SKF Enlight Centre covers Asset-based interface.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Formlabs PreForm and SKF Enlight Centre actually diverge.

Attributes where Formlabs PreForm and SKF Enlight Centre differ
AttributeFormlabs PreFormSKF Enlight Centre
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree with a Formlabs printerquote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, macOSWeb, iOS, Android

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Manufacturing).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Formlabs PreForm

  • Automatic orientation
  • Support generation
  • One-click print
  • Material presets
  • Dashboard
  • Fleet Control

Only in SKF Enlight Centre

  • Asset-based interface
  • Enlight Collect IMx-1
  • Enlight ProCollect
  • Remote diagnostic services
  • Marine deployment
  • Root cause tooling
  • Dashboards
  • Hazardous area sensing

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Formlabs PreForm

  • A dental laboratory preparing surgical guides on a validated resin and printer combinationnot SKF Enlight Centre
  • A prototyping team running several Form printers that needs job queueing and usage trackingnot SKF Enlight Centre
  • A jewellery workshop laying out castable patterns to maximise parts per buildnot SKF Enlight Centre
  • An education lab that needs software with no per-student licence costnot SKF Enlight Centre

SKF Enlight Centre

  • A shipowner monitoring auxiliary engines, purifiers and pumps across a fleet without a vibration analyst on each vesselnot Formlabs PreForm
  • A plant already standardised on SKF bearings that wants failure-mode diagnosis from the bearing manufacturernot Formlabs PreForm
  • An operator replacing paper-based handheld routes with ProCollect while keeping the same measurement pointsnot Formlabs PreForm
  • A site in a hazardous classified area needing certified wireless sensing rather than manual data collectionnot Formlabs PreForm

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Formlabs PreForm

  • PreForm only drives Formlabs printers, so the free software is really an entry cost to a closed hardware and resin ecosystem rather than a tool you can keep if you change machines.
  • Formlabs resin is sold in proprietary cartridges, and the ongoing consumable cost over a printer's life dwarfs anything a paid slicer would have charged.
  • Third-party resins can be used only through open material settings that step outside validated profiles, which affects print reliability and the comfort of warranty support.
  • Parameter-level control is deliberately limited compared with open slicers, so advanced users cannot tune exposure and layer behaviour the way they can on an open platform.
  • It is Windows and macOS only with no Linux build, which is awkward for research groups and labs standardised on Linux workstations.

SKF Enlight Centre

  • No pricing is published for the software, the sensors, the gateways or the remote diagnostic services, so the total cost of a deployment only emerges after a site survey and a quotation.
  • The platform is built for SKF sensing hardware, so third-party sensors are poorly served and you are effectively committing to SKF for the life of the installation.
  • Remote diagnostic services are a separate ongoing contract, and without them the platform gives you data rather than verdicts, which most buyers of Enlight Centre do not have the staff to interpret.
  • SKF has run overlapping condition monitoring products including @ptitude Observer and Enlight AI, and the boundaries between them have shifted over time, which makes long-term product roadmap commitments hard to read.
  • Battery-powered wireless sensors on shipboard or high-vibration installations need periodic replacement, and that maintenance burden falls on crews who were the reason you automated collection in the first place.

Pricing, plan by plan

Formlabs PreForm

Free
  • PreFormFree
    • Free download with no licence fee or subscription
    • No installation or seat limit
    • Works only with Formlabs printers

SKF Enlight Centre

On request
  • SKF Enlight Centre$undefined/year
    • Software subscription quoted per site or per vessel
    • Enlight Collect IMx-1 sensors and gateways purchased separately
    • SKF remote diagnostic services contracted per asset or per fleet

Which should you pick?

Choose Formlabs PreForm if

  • You need automatic orientation.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, macOS.
  • You also want support generation.
Formlabs PreForm review

Choose SKF Enlight Centre if

  • You need asset-based interface.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want enlight collect imx-1.
SKF Enlight Centre review

Questions people ask

Is Formlabs PreForm or SKF Enlight Centre better?
Neither clearly leads. Formlabs PreForm starts at Free and SKF Enlight Centre at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Formlabs PreForm or SKF Enlight Centre?
Formlabs PreForm has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Formlabs PreForm and On request for SKF Enlight Centre.
Does Formlabs PreForm or SKF Enlight Centre run on more platforms?
Formlabs PreForm runs on Windows, macOS. SKF Enlight Centre runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Formlabs PreForm for free?
Yes. Formlabs PreForm has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. SKF Enlight Centre starts at On request.
What is Formlabs PreForm best used for?
Formlabs PreForm is most often used for a dental laboratory preparing surgical guides on a validated resin and printer combination, a prototyping team running several form printers that needs job queueing and usage tracking, a jewellery workshop laying out castable patterns to maximise parts per build, an education lab that needs software with no per-student licence cost. Of those, a dental laboratory preparing surgical guides on a validated resin and printer combination and a prototyping team running several form printers that needs job queueing and usage tracking are not what SKF Enlight Centre is typically brought in for.
What can Formlabs PreForm do that SKF Enlight Centre cannot?
Formlabs PreForm covers Automatic orientation, Support generation, One-click print, Material presets. SKF Enlight Centre covers Asset-based interface, Enlight Collect IMx-1, Enlight ProCollect, Remote diagnostic services.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Formlabs PreForm: Is PreForm free?

Yes, with no licence fee, subscription or installation limit. It is free because it only prepares jobs for Formlabs printers.

SKF Enlight Centre: Is Enlight Centre a single product or a family?

SKF Enlight is a family. Enlight Centre is the web software; Enlight Collect IMx-1 is the wireless sensing hardware and Enlight AI is a separate analytics product.

Formlabs PreForm: Can PreForm drive a non-Formlabs printer?

No, and it never will. It is the front end for Formlabs hardware, which is where the revenue is.

SKF Enlight Centre: Can I use non-SKF sensors?

Not meaningfully. The platform is designed around SKF sensing hardware and SKF service delivery.

Formlabs PreForm: Can I use third-party resin?

Only via open material settings, which take you outside validated profiles and the reliability those profiles are tuned for.

SKF Enlight Centre: Does SKF analyse the data for me?

Only under a remote diagnostic services contract with an SKF Rotating Equipment Performance Centre, priced separately.

Formlabs PreForm: Does it run on Linux?

No. Builds are provided for Windows and macOS only.

SKF Enlight Centre: Is it suitable for ships?

Yes, marine is one of its primary segments and it is designed for intermittent satellite connectivity.

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