New Bambu Lab flagship 3D printers delayed until 2025 — model aims to add "previously impossible" features

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The upstart company needs to iron out the kinks in this printer.

Bambu Lab
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Bambu Lab has announced that it is delaying the release of its 2024 flagship 3D printer, a product first announced in 2023. Bambu Lab's X (formerly Twitter) account posted the announcement this morning, moving the official release to Q1 2025.

Bambu Lab's announcement states that the delay occurred to ensure the printer will be "fully ready and supported worldwide." It also mentions that "Gold Ticket winners will be able to extend their tickets through 2025." Bambu Lab awarded Gold Tickets, which can be redeemed for the flagship printer once they ship to winners of a 3D printing competition in late 2023.

Bambu Lab has also posted an addendum to the initial delay announcement, sharing further details about the 2025 flagship printer. The printer is expected to dethrone the Bambu Lab X1 series printer, which starts at $1,199 and is Bambu Lab's current most expensive consumer/prosumer model.

In our review, the X1-Carbon received 4.5 stars out of 5, with our reviewer calling it "somehow greater than the sum of its parts." The new printer is promised to integrate technology that "pushes the boundaries" of 3D printing, and current development enables capabilities "previously not possible in 3D printing." Since 3D printing has grown immensely since its commercial dawn, we are interested in what Bambu Lab will bring to the field in Q1 2025.

Bambu Lab has been in the headlines lately as its lawsuit from Stratasys heats up. Stratasys, a U.S.-based industrial 3D printing company, filed suit against Bambu Lab in Texas in August, claiming Bambu Lab has violated ten patents Stratasys holds in 3D printing technology.

Stratasys, which has been in industrial 3D printing since the 1980s and controlled the field with fierce patent lockdowns for decades, is suing Bambu Lab for patent violations, including heated build plates, purge towers for multicolored prints, and automatic bed leveling. Heated build plates especially have become a staple of hobbyist 3D printers.

If Stratasys finds Bambu Lab guilty of patent violation in court, heated build plates and the other patents named in the suit could be in jeopardy across the hobbyist market, from Bambu Lab or any other number of vendors. This lawsuit is unlikely to have contributed to the delay of the 2024/2025 flagship printer release. Still, it is not impossible, as Bambu Lab may attempt to build a flagship printer free of some of Stratasys's claimed patents.

See more 3D Printing News
Dallin Grimm
Dallin Grimm
Contributing Writer

Dallin Grimm is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware. He has been building and breaking computers since 2017, serving as the resident youngster at Tom's. From APUs to RGB, Dallin has a handle on all the latest tech news. 

20 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Heiro78
    What is the new printer they are working on? No info on it? I'm looking to get a Prusa XL due to the build volume. I really wanted to get a X1 but the build volume is lower than my current one.
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    Heiro78 said:
    What is the new printer they are working on? No info on it? I'm looking to get a Prusa XL due to the build volume. I really wanted to get a X1 but the build volume is lower than my current one.
    They've not really given any details on this new flagship.

    I have an X1-Carbon, and love it.
    Reply
  • Conor Stewart
    Heiro78 said:
    What is the new printer they are working on? No info on it? I'm looking to get a Prusa XL due to the build volume. I really wanted to get a X1 but the build volume is lower than my current one.
    The Prusa XL is expensive if all you need is the build volume. If you need the multiple toolheads then it makes more sense but is still very expensive.
    Reply
  • jp7189
    Heiro78 said:
    What is the new printer they are working on? No info on it? I'm looking to get a Prusa XL due to the build volume. I really wanted to get a X1 but the build volume is lower than my current one.
    The Bambu CEO said (in June I think), the design of the Bambu XL had been finalized and they were testing it with an eye on a 2024 release. It is expected to be a larger volume, fully enclosed printer.
    Reply
  • jp7189
    Conor Stewart said:
    The Prusa XL is expensive if all you need is the build volume. If you need the multiple toolheads then it makes more sense but is still very expensive.
    Depends on what you print. I dont think i could ever go back to an open frame/top printer. I print mostly ABS and the X1C does fantastic with that. I chalk that up to the enclosed build chamber. Previous printers resulted in a lot of warping and failed prints with large ABS pieces. Enclosing the XL is possible, but needs a big top with a lot of air volume that I doubt would ever really get passively heated.

    Also, frankly the AMS seems like a simpler, easy to repair solution for material switching. Yeah it's more wasteful, but how much filament would I have to water before I equal the cost of the XL?

    I do sometimes wish for a larger build volume, but there are workarounds for that.
    Reply
  • gggplaya
    jp7189 said:
    The Bambu CEO said (in June I think), the design of the Bambu XL had been finalized and they were testing it with an eye on a 2024 release. It is expected to be a larger volume, fully enclosed printer.

    He also said the XL will need to be a next generation design, not a scaled up version of the current X1. Since this Q1 2025 model will be a next gen printer, it seems plausible it's the XL model.

    jp7189 said:
    Depends on what you print. I dont think i could ever go back to an open frame/top printer. I print mostly ABS and the X1C does fantastic with that. I chalk that up to the enclosed build chamber. Previous printers resulted in a lot of warping and failed prints with large ABS pieces. Enclosing the XL is possible, but needs a big top with a lot of air volume that I doubt would ever really get passively heated.

    Also, frankly the AMS seems like a simpler, easy to repair solution for material switching. Yeah it's more wasteful, but how much filament would I have to water before I equal the cost of the XL?

    I do sometimes wish for a larger build volume, but there are workarounds for that.

    Any printer, even the cheapest printers are relatively trouble free with PLA. But yes, when you get into more exotic materials, Bambu really shines. I have the X1c, and finally I don't need to babysit the printer and there's no more anxiety over a failed print, especially for expensive exotic filament. I've been printing in alot of high temp carbon fiber reinforced materials, the only thing I have to do is make sure I use enough glue to keep it adhered to the plate. All I have to do is dry it with my dryer, then run the auto calibration and auto flow calibration. It just works!!!
    Reply
  • Skramblr
    I came to the article to see what are these "previously impossible" features and the article doesn't talk about that at all. That article needs a link to whatever article talks about this, or it really should be changed. Or was it intentional (click bait)?
    Reply
  • gggplaya
    Skramblr said:
    I came to the article to see what are these "previously impossible" features and the article doesn't talk about that at all. That article needs a link to whatever article talks about this, or it really should be changed. Or was it intentional (click bait)?

    I highly doubt you'll know what these "previously impossible" features are until Bambu makes a formal product announcement in 2025. If I were them, I wouldn't let my competitors know, giving them 4-6 months to catch up.
    Reply
  • jp7189
    gggplaya said:
    He also said the XL will need to be a next generation design, not a scaled up version of the current X1. Since this Q1 2025 model will be a next gen printer, it seems plausible it's the XL model.



    Any printer, even the cheapest printers are relatively trouble free with PLA. But yes, when you get into more exotic materials, Bambu really shines. I have the X1c, and finally I don't need to babysit the printer and there's no more anxiety over a failed print, especially for expensive exotic filament. I've been printing in alot of high temp carbon fiber reinforced materials, the only thing I have to do is make sure I use enough glue to keep it adhered to the plate. All I have to do is dry it with my dryer, then run the auto calibration and auto flow calibration. It just works!!!
    I went from an expensive bcn3d to the x1c. I still remember the first print in ABS, I used all defaults without touching a thing. It was moving so fast on the first layer that I was sure it would fail. On layer 2 it picked up the pace to the point I was sure it would be an epic fail because I *knew* it was impossible to move ABS that fast. Needless to say it printed perfectly with a level of quality I never achieved with bcn after years of tinkering. I just clean the plate with a swipe of acetone from time to time, and lube some parts whenever the machine asks me to. It's the first printer I've never even considered tinkering with or "upgrading" parts.
    Reply
  • Heiro78
    Conor Stewart said:
    The Prusa XL is expensive if all you need is the build volume. If you need the multiple toolheads then it makes more sense but is still very expensive.
    The multiple tool heads only come in handy for me due to the less scrap. My prints are all single color material types. A X1 XL would be amazing
    Reply