Best 3D printer overall: the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon
Every so often there are companies that push an industry to a new level. These companies are rare and such innovation only happens every few years. Examples include Apple, with the introduction of iPhone, and Tesla with the introduction of the Model S. These companies change how we see an industry. Because of how abrupt the change can be, it can causes rifts and divides in the industry. With phones, there are people who love Apple and people who love Android. Rarely are there people in the middle who love both. Some people love Tesla and others think Tesla is a fad with over-excited Elon Musk fanboys. Either way, it is difficult to not attribute substantial innovation by these companies.
Bambu Lab appears to be one of these companies. For 2-3 years a team of ex-DJI engineers secretly developed their ground breaking 3D printer: the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon. This printer is extremely fast, smart, and requires essentially no assembly. It is 2-3x faster than any other production 3D printer on the market and it boasts features such as multi-color/multi-material 3D printing, remote monitoring, automatic flow calibration, automatic bed leveling, and much more.
As of 2024 Bambu Lab currently has 5+ 3D printers on the market:
1. The X1 Series Carbon (roughly $1500 USD)
2. The P1P (roughly $700 USD)
The Bambu Lab X1-Carbon Combo printers are ultra fast and high-tech. Here is a full list features:
- 16 Multi Color Printing
- 7 μm Lidar Resolution
- CoreXY 20 m/s² Acceleration (extremely fast)
- Dual Auto Bed Leveling
- All Metal Hotend
- Hardened Steel Nozzle (Carbon version only)
- Fully Enclosed
- Auxiliary Part Cooling Fan.
- Prints Advanced Materials (PA-CF, PA, PC, Polymers)
- AI Error Detection
- Filament Runout Sensor
- Remote Camera Monitoring
- First Layer Error Detection
- 500 mm/s Print Velocity
The Bambu Lab P1P is essentially a stripped down version of the X1 Series. It has many of the same benefits of the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon, but lacks remote monitoring, Lidar, full enclosure, hardened steel nozzle, auxiliary cooling fan, and a few other features.
Bambu Lab 3D Printer are currently available for purchase on their website:
(Bambu Lab Founder pictured above)
Bambu Lab is still in its early stages and these printers have not experienced the test of time like the Creality Ender 3 or the Prusa i3 MKS+. However, it appears the Bambu Lab is positioned in a way to take significant market share.
