Bambu Labs has announced a teaser for an upcoming 3D printer and it seems 3D printing fans have played detective and learned the name and some details ahead of the December 14 announcement.  The Bambu Lab A1 is an i3 style "bed slinger" design with a similar hot end to its counterpart, the Bambu Lab A1 Mini.

With the announcement set for next week, we're not certain when the printer will be available for sale or even just pre-order. So far, the only information we’ve have for the release is a picture of the printer stating "Big bro is coming for the holidays...". The date is confirmed as December 14th, 2023 with a specific time of 9am EST. Bambu Lab has already started to send units to makers for testing and early review.

We’ve come across a couple of makers in the online space who have gotten their hands on the new Bambu Lab A1 including Uncle Jessy and Nathan Builds Robots . Unfortunately, they are under NDA and unable to share too many specifics about the new printer. You can get a look at the box for the Bambu Lab A1 Combo set which includes both the printer and Automatic Material System (AMS) which aids in printing in multiple colors and materials.

Looking at the leaked image we can see that the hot end looks to be the same as the A1 Mini. The additional Z-axis on the gantry will add stability and we guess a little speed to your prints. A1 Mini is already a quick printer, largely thanks to a Klipper firmware and input shaping. The A1 will most likely enjoy these same features.

Details are scant about the new Bambu Lab A1 but the same can’t be said for the A1 Mini. We published our review of the Bambu Lab A1 Mini in October of this year and were overall very impressed with its performance. Although it’s a bed slinger, it was able to reach notably fast speeds that rival some of Bambu Lab’s Core XY printers. Our biggest gripe was the lack of build volume which is alleviated by the release of the Bambu Lab A1.

We don’t know how much the new printer will cost but Nathan from Nathan Builds Robots puts an estimate of around $100 more than the A1 Mini. The base A1 Mini model is $299 (this does not include an AMS) which would put the A1 at potentially $399. We will share more information about the price when it’s officially confirmed.

You can currently pre-order the Bambu Lab A1 Mini if build volume isn’t a huge concern for you. If you want to hold out for the A1, follow Bambu Lab and check back on December 14th to see what it brings to the table.