- Bambu Lab H2C increases nozzle capacity and reduces pressure drop through better wash handling
- The Vortek system changes nozzles quickly, but only on the right side
- US buyers will have to wait due to unresolved logistical complications affecting availability.
Bambu Lab presented the H2C, its new 3D printer equipped with seven nozzles based on magnetic accessories and inductive heating elements.
The nozzles are housed in a Vortek hotend change system installed on the right side of the room, where two racks move vertically to change tools at high speed.
Currently, only four nozzles are connected to the company’s AMS unit, while the remaining slots store options that can be changed during printing.
Design offset and hardware conversion requirements
Initial evaluations indicate that Vortek’s design only replaces the right nozzle, deliberately leaving room for tool insertion before removal.
The assembly takes up internal space, resulting in a narrower print bed of 340 millimeters, compared to the 350 millimeters available in the H2D and H2S systems.
Users upgrading from previous models will need a new base, a compatible tool head and the Vortek module, raising the cost of entry above the standard purchase price.
Material handling during washing is improved by reducing filament spillage, although a wash tower is still required for multi-color jobs.
To handle multi-material changes, the system still relies on the AMS queue, which causes delays when switching between four or more colors.
Preliminary tests showed that H2C produced a five-color Maker’s Muse lock in 11 hours using a 43-gram cleaning tower.
The same print on the H2D took twice as long, produced twice the capacity of the purification tower, and created an additional 279 grams of residual filament outside the tower.
By comparison, Prusa’s five-tool XL changer took the same model in 6 hours with a 41-gram exit tower and no extra waste.
Based on these ratings, H2C is twice as fast as H2D, but still twice as slow. Prusa XL under current test conditions.
The Bambu Lab H2C tool head derives from previous H2 designs and features a fixed left hand nozzle, while allowing automatic switching from the right.
The current firmware requires consistent nozzle sizes for all active sites, meaning buyers need five matching parts to run without manual intervention.
The base package starts at $2,399 with an AMS 2 Pro, while configurations with additional coil handling or laser modules cost $4,199.
Copies of the journals are already in circulation, but commercial availability varies by region.
The company confirms that US sales will not begin until December 2025, citing logistics restrictions that appear to be related to ongoing import complications.
Interest remains strong following recent market optimism that the easing of trade restrictions would speed up access to new Chinese-made machinery.