Bambu Labs is launching a new multi-functional “personal manufacturing” machine that goes beyond 3D printing.
The new Bambu H2D is a dual nozzle 3D printer and laser cutter all in one. From some of their marketing images, you could also attach a marker for computer-controlled graphics. It looks like this is only included with the laser combo models.
Described as “a hard core laser machine,” the Bambu H2D can be equipped with a 10W or 40W laser, with the latter being capable of cutting up to 15mm (~0.59″) thick plywood.
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The H2D features “laser-proof windows” and they’re also selling an optional air purifier separately.
Bambu says that the new machine features “revolutionary accuracy” with “a motion system that is 10 times more accurate.” This is said to “reduce the hassle of tweaking design and settings” for components that are to be assembled or printed together.
It also features “enhanced motion accuracy” and “special calibration for select Bambu Labs filaments” that are said to provide for “perfect fits with standard parts like steel shaft every time” with “no more tedious gap adjustments needed.”
In their marketing video, Bambu showed off different typical family members using the H2D to print, cut, or fabricate parts for personal projects, include a bicycle seat.
This was also an example of how the dual extruder printer can work with two materials simultaneously for functional parts or for part support scaffolding.
They then show off a 3D-printed bike helmet and quip that the dad shouldn’t go too fast because they haven’t figured out how to 3D print BandAids yet.
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The new AMS (automatic material system) looks to have in filament dryer add-on.
Filament drying, dual nozzles, laser cutting, and more? Bambu says the new machine is “bigger, faster, better,” and that seems like an accurate claim.
I own one of their other machines, and it’s as near a plug-and-play machine as I’ve ever seen. The new model looks to expand upon it, with more filament feeding sensors – 15 instead of just 1 – and even more sophisticated AI checklists and visual monitoring via the built-in camera.
From the spec sheet, it has a live view camera, nozzle camera, birdseye camera, toolhead camera, door sensor, filament runout sensor, tangle sensor, filament odometry that’s supported with the AMS, and power loss recovery.
There’s a lot going on here.
Bambu hypes it up, saying the H2D delivers “industrial-grade accuracy.”
Bambu H2D Pricing
Bambu H2D – $1,899
Bambu H2D with AMS Combo – $2,199
Bambu H2D Laser Full Combo with AMS and 10W Laser – $2,799
Bambu H2D Laser Full Combo with AMS and 40W Laser – $3,499
The AMS allows you to load several spools of filament at once, which can then be selected for use via software controls.
First Impression
It looks to me that Bambu made evolutionary improvements well above and beyond their previous flagship X1C 3D printer.
I’m not sure how I feel about 3D-printed bicycle saddles, but 3D-printed helmets? If they’re recommending you print your own bike helmets, how much attention was given to laser cutter safety outside of the “safety windows” that are found on the H2D Laser Edition models?
I couldn’t find much information about fume extraction or filtration for the laser cutter.
Bambu advertises that the laser modules can work on “wood, rubber, metal sheet, leather, dark acrylic, stone, and more.” A lot of materials – especially plastics – can release very toxic fumes when laser-cut.
They’re hyping this up to be a revolutionary “personal manufacturing hub,” but I have serious concerns about the laser safety.
Bambu machines are not known to be easily repairable. They had a recall not too long ago, and the affected heatbed cable wasn’t user replaceable. The only recourse was to return the entire machine or arrange for replacement of the heatbed and cable by a trained electronics repair technician.
Granted you can’t replace parts of your ink printer yourself, but personal and hobbyist 3D printers have traditionally had accessible hardware.
To their credit, I just checked Bambu’s Wiki and there’s clear and detailed documentation on how to replace certain parts. It seems they have made some progress in a short time.
When I purchased my 3D printer a year ago, I read numerous stories about Bambu’s support not being able to keep up with how many customers they had been gaining, leading to lower quality service. I haven’t had to test Bambu’s support yet, and they might have hired and trained more techs since then.
Bambu seems to be promoting the H2D as a 3D printer and laser cutter for everyone in the family, and I’m not convinced they’re ready for that yet.
Aside from how they show the new machine operating in the middle of a child’s bedroom with no mention of filtration or exhaust, I can’t get over the part about 3D printed helmets. That can’t be very protective, right? Stick with store-bought helmets that are certified to meet safety standards.
There’s a lot of hype, but also a lot of substance.
My biggest hesitations are centered around the safety of this machine, and of Bambu’s support quality. Pushing beyond 3D printing and fabrication hobbyists and into the average consumer territory is a big step. I’ll keep my wallet in my pocket for now.
There’s also the matter of how pricing starts close to $2000 and then balloons to $3500 if you want the full combo with their higher powered laser option.
I’ve been avoiding cheap laser cutters – even when offered to me for review consideration – because I have yet to find one I can trust to be safe. I’m not sure I’d trust Bambu just yet. We’ll see.
Doresoom
It looks like a great printer, but…
I have multiple 3D printers and I also have a 22W laser. I would absolutely not want to have them in the same work volume.
The laser produces smoke and soot, which I imagine will be a nightmare for maintaining the 3D printer components. Plus if a clueless user cuts something like PVC on the laser, they’ve just corroded all their printer components with chlorine gas that will turn to HCl when it comes in contact with humidity.
MM
Speaking of safety, the smoke and fumes are certainly issues that I can see. My old machining business had a 60 watt CO2 laser from Universal. I had it hooked up to a 1.5 HP dust extractor to discharge the fumes outdoors and honestly that was marginal despite the plumbing being very short. I see these tiny little desktop machines and wonder what they are doing to control fumes–the blower I was using was larger than this entire machine! Depending on what you are cutting those fumes can be toxic, corrosive, flammable….not good to have inside a living or working space.
Bonnie
Avoiding cutting anything corrosive is like the first rule of a small laser cutter. Nothing with vinyl, etc. I used an old dayton squirrel cage blower (around 1000cfm) plumbed to both the resin printers and the laser cutter with blast gates.
Doresoom
Stuart, you mention laser safety is a big concern – and you’re absolutely right! The lasers they’re using are 455nm blue wavelength diode lasers, which are blocked best by orange or red panels, not green as is shown in Bambu’s product images.
When I tested Creality’s open frame Falcon 10W laser, I found their safety documentation horribly lacking. A Class 4 10W laser can cause permanent eye damage when viewing the diffuse reflection within 1.8 ft. (That’s just looking at the dot for a while when it’s running.) They also sent green “safety glasses” with no optical density rating on them. I researched what I actually needed and bought CE certified glasses for blocking 190-540nm wavelengths with an optical density of OD6+ (transmits less than 1/1,000,000 of the optical power for those wavelengths).
Since then I’ve emailed quite a few laser companies asking for information about their enclosure wavelength and optical density ratings. Most couldn’t provide any details at all. The best response I got from any company was when Creality sent me their FDA paperwork for the Falcon 2 Pro enclosure showing it was approved as a Class 1 laser safety product, which means the Class 4 laser it contained was sufficiently protected from being observed directly while in use. They still didn’t provide me optical density specs.
Stuart
They have specs for the optional glasses, saying they reach OD5+ for 200 to 450nm, and reach OD6+ for 900 to 1100nm. The product page has a link to a wiki page that doesn’t exist yet.
Going by https://www.thorlabs.com/newgrouppage9.cfm?objectgroup_id=762 , orange-lens glasses and shielding windows would be my pick as well.
I was extremely hesitant and off-put by all of the open-frame “laser engravers” I was pitched. This can be equipped with a 40W laser. They need to be clearer about its safety measures and what precautions should be taken.
Doresoom
Wow, they really didn’t think that through. Their machine specs say 455nm. They’re outside the rated window of the safety glasses. There’s probably some filter roll-off between the stop band and pass band that still blocks quite a bit of the 455nm light, but they should have targeted the center of the band for selecting the glasses.
At least they claim a Class 1 laser safety product with the panels in place, so I suppose they’ve at least had it tested with those.
Stuart
455 nm ± 5 nm.
I haven’t seen specs for the safety windows yet.
TonyT
We had a Han’s Laser professional fiber laser marker, and it came with safety glasses from Thor Labs – which I would trust, although you still need to make sure the glasses are appropriate for the wavelength and power.
Creality and such are an interesting contrast to the Enovasense thermal laser I played with – about 1/3 of the manual was about laser safey! (Enovasense is a French company that makes lasers that can non-destructively measure surface layers such as paint thickness).
On 3D printers, I think the resin printers are a bigger concern than FFF printers – besides any fumes, any skin contact with the resin will lead to major problems.
It does seem like Bambu has put a lot of thought into the system, and it will probably be easy to use. However, I’m skeptical about how big the market is for such a combo machine, especially at those price points.
Finally, I have a pet peeve about “industrial grade accuracy”; it’s about as meaningful as “aircraft grade aluminum”. I’ve been involved with industrial metrology, and 50 micron resolution (I doubt that’s the accuracy, and who knows what the repeatability is) is not high grade at all. (Then again, consumer enthusiasts think Hi-win is top grade).
Oarman
I agree with other posters, the workspace of a 3D printer and a laser cutter isn’t a wonderful match for several reasons.
Also, Bambu recently had a serious PR fiasco regarding hardware and software interoperability, and continues to raise questions about use of 3rd party parts or even filament / consumables, as well as questionable IP practices about mandating having to funnel your files through Chinese cloud software. They’ve backed off on some of this for now but it’s clearly baked into their business plans. To some people this is no big whoop but for many it’s a deal breaker, and I wouldn’t ever recommend their hardware again, since they’ve demonstrated the willingness to potentially change user service agreements and lock you out of a working printer post-sale.
Stuart
There’s been drama about how Bambu does things for a while.
Prusa recently followed suit with the Core One, which wasn’t available when I purchased my Bambu.
Lance
Anyone curious about this drama should check out Louis Rossman’s breakdown of how Bambu treats their customers and what hoops you need to jump through to play by their rules.
There are LOTS of companies I’d rather deal with for additive manufacturing.
Troy H.
I wish people got just as worked up about US companies doing the kind of thing they get upset about Chinese companies doing. Its bad in both cases.
People make a big deal about the CCP “getting your data” when your data is available on the open market and any nefarious state actor could just buy it, possibly directly but certainly through a mediary. In reality, no one is looking to steal proprietary IP in the form of designs from your printer. Aggregated demographic information that can be used to advertise to you is more valuable and zero effort.
It would be great if we got serious about privacy and right to repair and the like, but it only seems to come up with farm equipment and when people need to be made to freak out about a foreign threat.
Max
Troy, my man.
I work and tech and am befuddled by this very same thing.
Dennis
Back in January Bambu updated some of their printer’s firmware to include mandatory authentication for certain operations. If they did for some printer models, they can do it for all their printer models. I have no interest in a printer manufacturer forcing me to run my prints through their cloud, so I won’t be spending my money with Bambu. I wouldn’t put up with any other tool manufacturer monitoring and putting limits on what I do with my tools. Imagine buying a drill, and some time down the road the drill manufacturer comes along and says we’re going to update the way your drill works, before you do any drilling, we’re going to run it through our servers to make sure we approve of what and how you’re going to drill.
Mark
You aren’t forced to run your prints through the cloud. You can operate it completely locally with zero internet connection.
Dennis
So far.
Jake w.
So far? So what you’re saying is that you were blatantly lying.
Nathan
Plus 1 on the laser especially the 40w needs controls for fumes and you don’t want that with the same volume of air box you spray melted plastic in. And fine venting with a shroud and enough volume and external ducting etc
Seems a terrible idea
More accurate 3d printer great aren’t there cheaper alternatives. Just how accurate and how repeatable is it?
Frank D
Interested in some of the features but running a laser engraver / cutter in a 3d printing enclosure and no direct to outside venting leaves me not even interested.
As far as the conspiracy thinking commenters … you can print locally over your network without the cloud features if you want. Nothing is taken away for probably 99.9% of users. And, BL is doomed if they do or don’t. If a manufacturer does not secure things / patch holes on a smart device … there is bound to be trouble. I think it is all vastly blown out of proportion. There are people running entire print farms on their hardware. I like the features and trust that they’re on the up and up.
db11
They have developed a pretty sophisticated adaptive airflow system along with an optional external smoke purifier / extractor unit (for those that can’t vent to the exterior) to address the fumes and particulates.
https://ca.store.bambulab.com/products/smoke-purifier
There’s no doubt that a standalone laser is a far superior solution for those that are doing continual laser cutting (especially of wood), but for makers with limited workspace that will only do light lasering a few hours a month, I can see this being an interesting option (especially with the inclusion of the drag knife for vinyl / leather cutting).
The best review I’ve seen from a maker that shows the use cases for all the functions of the H2D is from M.M’s Prop Shop:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFmEvUPTmgI
S
3d printers are an area that I’m probably the most skeptical of new products in.
Somehow every new printer from any brand is supposed to magically solve every single problem better than any other current printer from any brand, and also never introduce new problems…
What we’ve got instead is a new solution to the same problem.
I’ll definitely wait to see what the 6month-1yr reviews look like before even considering it. A lot of printers fail in some respect by that time on living up to even a fraction of what they promise at the initial hype release.
S
Forgot the other part I was going to say.
Despite that, this new printer really doesn’t interest me all that much. I don’t see a personal need for a larger build volume.
I would really much prefer to see the vinyl cutting and dual extruder tech make it’s way down to at least the X1 model, though trickling down to the P1 series would be really cool as well, but likely unrealistic for the current price point. Laser cutting doesn’t interest me all that much.
When they had promised a better/newer unit, I had been hoping for an X1 gen 2 that kept the same build plates, but added some of the features other printers have grown to have like active enclosure heating for different materials.
Albert
I’m very happy with my X1C but have mostly been printing in single color to reduce filament waste. I’m going to let early adopters find the bugs (if any) and buy when the holiday sales start. I’m skipping the laser though. I know powerful lasers are popular among hobbyists but I have always been leery of having something in my home that could so easily cause permanent eye damage.
Julius Rosen
The only thing I trust to be a combo is either a Big Mac meal my HiFi stereo system with cassette and CD player all built in as well .
It makes no sense to put both of these together and you can buy a very nice 3D printer for well under $200 and you can buy a regular 10 watt laser for two or $300 these days
Ben
FYI, The recall on the Bambu A1 heatbed and cable was user replaceable, they sent me a new one for the recall and I changed it myself with no issues. You could either send the printer back or they would send you the bed and cable.
Stuart
Hmm, that’s not what it says in the recall form. Did it take you a long time?
Ben
It took about 15 minutes to replace it. The recall just says they will send the bed and cable and “ask” that a trained electronics technician replaces it, what ever that is? LOL Probably legal speak to cover themselves but everybody replaced them their self. They provided a video on how to do it as well. It just plugged in after removing some screws.
Luke
I have and highly recommend the Bambu X1C printer. That said, I’d never touch a combo unit like this that combined the messiness of laser cutting with the precision of 3D printing. I have a 60w laser and the inside is constantly filthy. It’s generally not an issue, as long as you occasionally clean the lens and mirrors. The glue in plywood just creates a terrible soot that’s sticky and hard to remove – definitely not something you’d want chambered with your 3D printing parts.
FWIW, I also highly recommend Thunder Laser. I have the Nova 24 and that thing is a workhorse: https://www.thunderlaser.com/laser-machines/laser-cutter/
Greg
As many people above have said, the combo idea seems like a bad idea for a number of reasons, but just looking at the 3D printer version, it’s nice to see a larger build area, and the two print heads sound interesting.
Jared
I thought the advertisement was pretty impressive. If the machine can genuinely do all that – isn’t that kind of exciting?
That doesn’t mean I’m rushing out to buy one. I have no illusion that I’ll be affordably, quickly or easily printing my next pair of sneakers. The prospect still seems fun though.
3D printing a bike helmet though – and a company apparently endorsing that as a legitimate activity you should undertake with their product – how did that get past the legal team? Must be some extensive disclaimers when you try to download that file (and even then, it doesn’t preclude someone designing one themselves since Bambu apparently thinks that’s a legitimate and reasonable use of their machine).
db11
There’s a lot of mis/disinformation flying around about Bambu Lab, propagated by Prusa fan-boys and the open-source advocate/tinkerer crowd.
In light of the H2D announcement (i.e. frickin’ lasers), the security requirement for an internet-connected device to prevent hacking risks is irrefutable. Bambu bumbled the communication around their firmware upgrade announcement and triggered waves of wild and unsubstantiated speculation. They have also since modified and clarified the aspects of their policies that triggered the freakout.
To counter some of the misinformation:
> the printer can operate completely locally (LAN/USB) for fully off-grid printer control, file transfer and firmware updates.
> In addition there is a developer mode that enables MQTT port access for third-party components and software integration.
> while buying Bambu Lab filament enables the AMS RFID read function (that automatically loads print parameters based on the filament type) there is neither the capability (outside of the AMS) nor demonstrated intent to prevent people from using 3rd party filaments.
Like Apple, Bambu Lab’s ambition is to turn 3D printing from an enthusiast’s hobby (mostly consisting of building, upgrading and repairing the printers themselves) to an everyman’s capability — by turning the printers into high-quality appliances instead of ongoing projects.
It’s a legitimate position to advocate for open-source / right-to-repair etc, as is the desire to tinker, but if that’s you then this isn’t the company or printer for you.
Ben
Agree. Bambu bungled their response. They also seem to suck at actually implementing security (the keys were extracted from their packages within weeks). However the response has been effectively rage baiting while ignoring the fact that all of the local modes are unaffected.
S
That’s always been “the battle within” in 3d printing though. The most vocal but minority audience wants a veritable Swiss army knife of a machine that is fully user customizable and can be entirely self-replicated.
But as apple has well documented, there’s a far larger but more silent majority of users that want the same end result without all the adjustment and fiddling hassle.
It’s no different than the manual transmission car crowd. Manual transmissions account for less than 1% of vehicles sold, yet it’s all we ever hear about…
It’s not some accidental mistake that bambu has taken over a market by using Apple’s playbook to sell a product that more consistently ‘just works’ out of the box compared to their competitors.
I was ready to pull the trigger in an X1 right as the drama unfolded. I decided to wait a little while and let the hotheads vent until the less vocal rational consensus appeared.
I’m very much open to any printer from any brand, but I very specifically and adamantly don’t want “Yet Another Hobby”. I’ve got enough of those for untold lifetimes. On the money/time/ effort spectrum, I’m absolutely willing to contribute more money to a closed ecosystem if it means it won’t take more effort or time away from my other projects. I need a printer that “just works”. And despite the recent bad press, I haven’t really found another brand that fits that bill any better.
Doresoom
I’ve had really good results with my Anycubic Kobra 3 Combo. Other than the initial hot end recall, I have had no problems with the printer after 640 print hours and 16+ kg of filament through it.
My Ace Pro color changer that came with it was a different story, but Anycubic customer support is fantastic. After one defective unit was returned, the replacement also had a defective filament bay (different problem than the first). I probably could have gotten another replacement, but instead I described the problem and they sent replacement parts. After fixing the unit, it’s been 500+ hours without problems.
CMF
3D printers have come down substantially since they first started and are no longer in their infancy. But I personally believe there is still a lot of room for new tech, better performance and costs less.
Along with printing with more diverse materials, this machine looks to be another approach also. Maybe it will continue improving and sell well to the point competitors will come out with competing versions. Or it might never catch on and be a bust.
We’ll see how it goes. I am a firm believer that anything 3D printer and related has lots of room to improve and go in different directions on how they can be used.
Maybe not a Star Trek replicator anytime soon, but still a lot of room to grow
TonyT
I’ve seen a gear shift knob printed by a Stratasys J750 (a >$200K full color jetting 3D printer), and it was very impressive – the part had simulated wood grain and simulated leather. On the other hand, I’ve heard that the J750 is finicky to maintain, the supplies are costly, and the parts aren’t that strong.
Flashforge is working on a similar consumer 3D printer https://full-color-solution.flashforge.com/ that would be really interesting if it works well. It does have a very small build area. I’m very interested, but I wonder about the reliability and the cost of supplies.
Overall, I think the 3D printer market is like the interchangeable lens camera market, the photo printer market, wood working tools market, RC aircraft market, etc, NOT the cell phone market: mainly enthusiasts and companies will have them, not everyone.
CMF
Your last paragraph is probably why advancements in technology, lower pricing, speed of printing and all other advancements take longer 3D, than say regular PC printers, which just about everyone has.
So more sold, more market share for the brands to gain, and so on versus somewhat of a niche product, today. When they become very advanced and very inexpensive, they could become something everyone will have (at least 10 + years).
Albert
I remember when only enthusiasts and companies had cell phones. I think the X1C was a substantial step forward in making 3D printers common. I will wait and see on how this H2D is received.
TonyT
Some devices become mainstream, some stay niche.
Having a printer is common. Having a photo printer is not – most people use a service if they need a high quality print.
I think 3d printing is likely to stay a hobby for individuals, with the bulk of the market being companies (including people selling on Etsy and such).
Maybe if the full color jetting technology becomes as cheap and easy as a regular printer then everyone will have one.
Brad J
I have a Bambu X1-C. Its an invaluable tool for the shop.