Bambu Lab teases new A2L 3D printer — June 1 launch hints at a massive, budget-friendly bed slinger

Bambu Lab teases new A2L 3D printer — June 1 launch hints at a massive, budget-friendly bed slinger | Tom's Hardware

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Bambu Lab dropped a teaser Thursday morning, announcing the A2L, a mysterious new 3D printer launching on June 1. Normally, Bambu Lab sends Tom’s Hardware review units well in advance of printer launches, but today we are just as surprised as you to hear about this machine, so let’s engage in a little friendly speculation, shall we?Bambu Lab has been refreshing its original lineup of 3D printers, starting with the popular P2S and most recently the X2D, which we still consider to be the best all-around 3D printer you could buy. It’s a no-brainer that the A1 would be next on the list, which could put to rest concerns over design flaws in a machine that is one of the most affordable entry points for new makers wanting a color 3D printer.I popped over to the Bambu Lab forum to see what fans were saying about the bare bones announcement, which did not show a machine but only a six-color 3D printed “baby announcement” popping out of an envelope, complete with stickers and markers.Latest Videos From

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)Among the wild speculation that the new machine could have a laser, cutter, Vortek, dual nozzles, and even an open frame CORE XY build, was one user, Professional3D, who claimed to have wrung info from the Bambu Lab chatbot.Image 1 of 3(Image credit: Bambu Lab)(Image credit: Bambu Lab)(Image credit: Bambu Lab)We were unable to duplicate Professional3D’s chatbot shenanigans, so it’s unknown if this is an actual leak or just someone feeding the trolls on the forum with hearsay. However, the notion that the L in A2L stands for LARGE, and using a 330x320 build plate similar in size to the H2 lineup, would follow with Bambu Labs current scheme of standardizing parts across various models. For example, the quick swap nozzle currently in use in the X2D, P2S, and H2 lines all started with the original A1 nozzle.

(Image credit: Bambu Lab)Fans of Bambu Lab have long pined for a larger machine, while the H2S’s massive 325x320x325mm build volume soothes that need; it comes with a noticeably larger price tag. The H2S Combo is $1499, $1100 more than the very affordable A1 Combo’s $399. For years, other manufacturers have offered super-sized bed slingers, like Anycubic’s four-color Kobra 3 Max, Elegoo’s Neptune 4 Max, and Creality’s Cr-M4.

Anycubic’s Kobra line up included a Plus and Max in 2022. (Image credit: Tom's Hardware)Some forum users focused on the “creative playground” headline and the animated sticker placement, wondering if this machine could have a laser or cutter like the H2D. A laser would be out of the question for an unenclosed bed slinger, but a plotter-style cutting blade (which the H2D also has) could definitely work. The H2D toolhead, and more importantly, the underutilized Bambu Suite, can easily hold a knife or pen for carrying out Cricut-style crafting.Stay On the Cutting Edge: Get the Tom's Hardware NewsletterGet Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsOther users noticed that six colors were used in the announcement and wondered if the A2L could have a Vortek nozzle swapping system like the H2C. That would be highly unlikely, unless the A2L is also a CoreXY machine. A bed slinger (like the A1) simply has no place to hang the rack needed for a Vortek. It's more likely that the A2L can use two or more AMS systems, which would expand its range to 8 colors and beyond.

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Denise BertacchiFreelance ReviewerDenise Bertacchi is a Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware US, covering 3D printing. Denise has been crafting with PCs since she discovered Print Shop had clip art on her Apple IIe. She loves reviewing 3D printers because she can mix all her passions: printing, photography, and writing.

6 Comments

Comment from the forums

Frankly it doesn't matter. There are other 3D printer makers that are not actively trying to suppress open source firmware for their products, and don't require a cloud connection or authorization just to print from 3rd party software. 1st point is problematic to some users; 2nd point should be problematic to all users, mybe 3D printers wear out quicker than some hardware? But I've seen again and again over the years where hardware tends to outlast company's will to keep their servers going.

This printer very much matters. An affordable large format printer, especially from Bambu, is extremely attractive. Cosplay or functional items work perfectly fine with bedslingers since said use cases don't require complicated materials like fiber infused filaments. If I hadn't just bought my A1, I'd buy the A2L in a heartbeat! ~$400 for just the printer would be a decent price. Spare parts and maintenance guides will be plentiful, and I look forward to seeing what modification people will make for this printer.

Sounds great! Most companies stop supporting the original when the new one comes out. This should make life for those that want to use custom code for the A1 easier as the company moves on and ignores the old product. Less update pushes less changes, as it end of life's and everything goes static

thrus said:Sounds great! Most companies stop supporting the original when the new one comes out. This should make life for those that want to use custom code for the A1 easier as the company moves on and ignores the old product. Less update pushes less changes, as it end of life's and everything goes staticHow can you say this?

Voron, Prusa, really anyone who cares about open source supports their printers effectively indefinitely. Those are the companies you want to be dealing with if you care about your printer's longevity.

Bambu is famous for giving their customers a hard time when it comes to support the moment the warranty expires. Sometimes even before.

Bambu also changes the terms after sale, removes features, locks down their firmware and invents proprietary hardware authentication protocols. And worse, Bambu threatens the very open source projects they themselves have used as a basis for their software with takedowns and cease and desists that blatantly violate those same open source licenses.

Do not buy Bambu.

The shameless coverage from Tom's, writing up this announcement without so much as a mention of any of Bambu's recent actions causing a community uproar is frankly irresponsible. Why would anyone trust and subscribe to your premium articles when you completely fail to do due diligence on such a softball like this product announcement? This reads like a press release.

chaos215bar2 said:Bambu is famous for giving their customers a hard time when it comes to support the moment the warranty expires. Sometimes even before.They al;so have just about the most comprehensive repair wiki for any 3D printer I've owned or seen.

USAFRet said:They also have just about the most comprehensive repair wiki for any 3D printer I've owned or seen.I can't understate how important this is for Bambu Lab. No other 3D printer manufacturer or open source design has a troubleshooting and repair wiki as comprehensive or accessible as Bambu. Video guides, high quality images, an easily navigable website, all of these are extremely important for Bambu users who are likely not experienced with 3D printers(since that's Bambu's target audience).

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