Bambu Lab (Chinese: 拓竹; pinyin: Tuò zhú) is a consumer tech company that designs and manufactures desktop 3D printers. The company is based in Shenzhen, China, with locations in Shanghai and Austin, Texas.[1] It was founded in 2020 by a team of engineers from DJI.[2]
Founding
Bambu Lab was founded by four engineers led by Dr. Ye Tao. Tao was born and raised in China. Before he founded Bambu Lab, he worked at DJI as the head of DJI consumer drone department.[3]
In 2023, it was revealed that Bambu Lab is partially funded by IDG Capital,[4] a global investment firm. In 2024, IDG Capital was temporarily listed by the U.S. government before being removed later that year.
Products
An A1 with an AMS liteAn A1 mini with an AMS liteAn X1 Carbon model with an AMS
The company manufactures 3D printers, filament, and accessories for personal, commercial, and educational use. The main printers are:
A1 – a Prusa i3-style printer for personal use that supports multi-color printing via a Bambu Labs Automatic Material System (AMS) called "AMS Lite".[5][6]
A1 Mini – a Prusa Mini-style printer: a smaller and less expensive version of the A1, for beginners printing small objects—up to 180x180x180mm.
P1S – a closed-case CoreXY printer with advanced features for professionals. It is functionally similar to the X1 printer, with some omissions or downgrades including a non-touch display, slower processor, simplified control board and no LIDAR scanner for automatic bed leveling and first layer detection. It supports multi-color printing via AMS.
P1P – a cheaper, non-enclosed version of the P1S. Bambu Lab shared files via their website for users to print their own customizable side panels.
X1 – an advanced CoreXY printer targeted at professionals with high-end features, including a built-in lidar scanner.[7] Bambu Lab's initial flagship product, it was replaced by the X1C/X1E for higher-end users (the E representing the enterprise model) and the P1S filling the role of a more budget-friendly machine. The X1 was introduced in 2022 through a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $7 million.
X1 Carbon (X1C) – an iteration of the X1, shipping with higher-end features such as a hardened nozzle, hardened extruder gears, H12 HEPA filtration and activated carbon odor filtration, and an aluminium enclosure. The "Carbon" model name alludes to its ability to print carbon-composite based materials thanks to the hardened nozzle and gears, though not all materials are compatible due to missing active chamber heating and other limitations.
X1E – An upgraded, enterprise-ready version of the X1C that is marketed for manufacturing and educational use, shipping with additional privacy measures for businesses such as support for fully isolated local networking, and some performance upgrades over the X1C such as a dedicated chamber heater.[2]
H2D – A dual-nozzle printer with a heated chamber and larger build plate than the X1 Series. It can also be used as a vinyl cutter or upgraded to the Laser Edition with modules and upgrade components sold separately. It was released with the AMS HT and AMS 2 Pro which both have upgraded motors and active filament dryers built-in. [8]
H2D Laser Edition – Includes laser module (10w or 40w depending on configuration) and a cutting module in the box, along with additional safety equipment for the laser module like emergency stop button and laser proof transparent panels.[8]
H2S - A single-nozzle printer with a heater chamber and larger build plate than the X1 Series. It was announced on the 26th of August 2025. The H2S is a slightly stripped down version of the H2D that offers a more affordable option to people that don't need multi material printing capabilities.
Criticism
Bambu Lab's 3D printers have been criticized for their dependence on the cloud. In August 2023, a Bambu Cloud outage caused some printers to print uncontrollably or cease functioning altogether.[9]
In 2025, a security vulnerability was discovered in the cloud connection.[10][11] Bambu Lab announced in a blog post that future firmware would be equipped with an authorization and authentication protection mechanism.[12] Users feared that basic functions, such as printing over the local area network (LAN), would require authorization via the Bambu Cloud and restrict the use of third-party slicers.[13][14][15] Bambu Lab later edited the original blog post to corroborate a newer post where they dismissed many concerns that users had, claiming they were the target of misinformation and cited their edited post as proof. However, the original unedited post, together with the terms of service, appeared to confirm or imply that these concerns were not unfounded.[16][12][independent source needed]
Some users fear that Bambu Lab intends to force them into a cloud-based subscription model. Louis Rossmann criticized Bambu Lab for restricting device functionality. He also noted that they have changed the terms of service without notice and removed evidence of the changes.[17][18]
See also
Voron 2.4, a CoreXY printer with open source hardware and software
