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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Other 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.

Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News, or add us as a preferred source, to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.