At 3 PM on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, Bambu Lab nearly filled an entire section of Hall 12.1 at the Formnext exhibition. With a countdown clock ticking, several machines shrouded, and tension in the air, Bambu Lab Europe CEO Cedric Mallet finally unveiled the new H2C 3D printer.
A few days later, after the exhibition's buzz had settled, interviewer Matthew Mensley visited a media room within Bambu Lab’s two-story booth for an in-depth conversation with co-founder and CEO Ye Tao. The company now holds a highly significant position in the industry. It has transformed the structure of the 3D printer industry, establishing a strong presence even among companies in seemingly less competitive sectors.
However, Tao seems largely unconcerned with such external evaluations. "We are a vision-driven company... We believe that 3D printing, or personalized manufacturing, can have a huge impact on the world. We want to reach millions of customers, the general consumer. We want to create greater added value here, rather than focusing on providing solutions for specific vertical industries."
The H2C's main feature, of course, is its ability to swap one of two nozzles for five spare nozzles as needed. This allows for printing with up to seven different materials with virtually zero waste. "The smoothness of the entire nozzle-changing operation exceeded my imagination. Even I sometimes find myself watching it for a long time."
The H2C is the result of three years of research and development, design, and engineering, born to solve a problem Bambu Lab had anticipated. "You quickly realize that single-nozzle solutions have their limitations. Especially with multi-color printing, everyone feels pain and guilt about wasting so much material. In fact, even before we completed the X1C project, we were brainstorming how to solve this problem."
"For the H2C, even though we assigned more engineers, it still took us 36 months to finalize it." Two years into the three-year development period, hundreds of prototypes were already running and undergoing print tests. However, it still took more time to see the Vortek. Tao explained, with a smile, that quality standards and optimization of the manufacturing process were the causes of the delay, saying, "This is actually a soft way of saying 'delay'."
The H2C was unveiled at the Formnext exhibition, where three competing multi-material printing solutions vying for attention were showcased. The H2C employs the Vortek nozzle swapping mechanism, sharing multiple nozzles for material paths supplied by the AMS system. Prusa's upcoming INDX upgrade for the Core One uses similar induction-heated nozzles but features a tool-changing configuration with dedicated INDX material paths. The U1, on the other hand, adopts a nearly complete toolhead swapping system, closer to the "conventional" approach.
Together, these signify the dawn of a very exciting era in consumer desktop 3D printing. "You see them everywhere. That's the fun and exciting part of this industry—the competition. We were never 100% sure that [Vortek] was the absolute best. I don't think anyone can draw a definitive conclusion at this point. This industry is constantly changing. With every solution, new advantages and disadvantages are found. Ultimately, only customers and time will prove which is best."
Early reports indicated that nozzle exchange speeds were not as fast as expected, but Tao's response did not provide strong expectations for significant future improvements. "There is always room for improvement. However, that doesn't mean there's an infinite scope for improvement. You can only push it to a certain limit."
Given this point and the "delay" in optimization, the question arises whether the Vortek we see now is already the final version. Looking at its development schedule, it seems Bambu Lab may already be fully dedicated to developing the next-generation solution to replace Vortek. On the other hand, from our experience using this system in the All3DP lab, we feel that Vortek achieves sufficiently good speeds, even considering the structural constraint that all nozzles share a single material path.
While much is said about material reduction through multi-color printing, the frequent nozzle changes during printing might overlook the true value of the H2C as a "3D printer for reducing tedious work." "I'm probably a typical Bambu Lab user," Tao explains. "I basically throw anything I have on my computer or smartphone at this printer. Sometimes it's a simple task, and sometimes I want to print a HueForge model using a 0.2mm nozzle."
Even apart from the specific hardware, Bambu Lab's influence is felt everywhere. Even in informal conversations with key figures from larger, industrially focused companies, the topic invariably turns to Bambu Lab and its achievements.
At the same time, as an emerging tech company from China, Bambu Lab has also stirred up concerns, as is often the case. The "elephant in the room" is the issue of safety. However, Bambu Lab views this as an artificially created debate. "Of course, we know our printers can be useful in some vertical industries, and we're happy that they adapt and use them. But ultimately, we position ourselves as a consumer brand. We are focused on making the highest quality mass-market products."
Bambu Lab provides a simple explanation for the safety of its printers. "If you really look at the facts—not speculation, predictions, or assumptions—you'll see we have a very good track record. Indeed, issues with firmware caused a big debate. But all of them were based on assumptions. It was like, 'Bambu might do something in the future.'"
"I don't like the idea that 'Bambu Lab is a bad company because it might do something bad in the future.' Every electronics manufacturer has the same risk. Apple could do something bad to you. Google too."
The company's true point—a statement that strongly resonated with the three participants present. "We have already sold millions of printers. If there were really a problem, why hasn't anyone revealed it yet?"
Expanding the discussion beyond the 3D printer sector to the resistance that Chinese electronics and infrastructure companies face at the government level—especially considering Tao's significant role in DJI's growth in the drone sector—this perspective is highly relevant. The company's strategy is clear: to be serious about product development and let consumers prove its quality.
"I think third-party certifications are more convincing. They have more specialized capabilities to evaluate and assess. I believe that's the path we should take."
Finally, Tao concluded, "Ultimately, it's not up to us, is it? All we can do is strive to be trustworthy. Everything else is beyond our control."
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