A potential Bambu Lab killer
The Atomic Layers: S8E16 (00222)
Atomic Layer of the Day:
Yesterday, I briefly told you about the new—but still unconfirmed—3D printer from Bambu Lab, the H2D. Tomorrow, you’ll be able to read more about it in my weekly LinkedIn newsletter, 3DP War Journal. But for now, a few words about a company and a 3D printer I came across while gathering material for these articles.
In tomorrow’s LinkedIn article, I’ll discuss the shifting user sentiment toward the Chinese leader in desktop 3D printing, which became glaringly evident in the discussions following the leaked photo of their new 3D printer.
Besides the long list of complaints and gripes (too small, unnecessary laser, expectations not met), there were also a few voices calling for Bambu Lab to copy yet another Prusa Research printer—the XL. Specifically, they wanted an automatic tool-changing system, which seems far more appealing than the slow and material-consuming AMS.
If H2D is the only new thing coming, then tool-changing won’t be part of it. But that only applies to Bambu Lab—because someone else just decided to make it happen!
Ladies and gentlemen—meet the WonderMaker ZR Ultra—the potential (no longer so beloved) Bambu Lab killer.
WonderMaker is yet another Chinese company that has set out to create a clone of the X1 & P1 series. But with one dramatic difference—instead of just repackaging the same design, they added a four-tool automatic tool-changing system, similar to Prusa Research’s XL.
In addition, the printer promises the same blazing-fast speeds we know from Bambu Lab:
600 mm/sec speed
32 mm³/sec flow rate
20,000 mm/sec² acceleration
The build volume is 300 x 240 x 290 mm, with a hotend temperature of 300°C and a heated bed up to 100°C—allowing it to print with standard materials like PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, and TPU.
Price?
$399 for the single-tool version
$549+ for additional tool heads (not sure where the price tops out)
The Kickstarter launches in April, and early bird sign-ups are now open.
As always in these situations, only one of two things can be true:
This printer will be a huge success, and user sentiment will immediately shift to the new company.
This printer will flop, and nothing will really change.
The question is—who is behind WonderMaker?
Is it just an unknown startup out of nowhere? Or is this another Bambu Lab situation, where DJI was secretly backing them?
We’ll find out in the coming months. For now, it looks intriguing…
Atomic Layer from the Past:
03-16-2021: Wayland Additive introduced the Calibur3 electron beam metal 3D printer.
Join AM World Map and fill your country or region with Additive Manufacturing!
News & Gossip:
After significant growth came substantial declines. On Chinese stock market BLT is still valued at $3 billion, but Farsoon's valuation has already dropped to $2.5 billion. However, these numbers are still enormous, considering that the former generated CNY 1.3BN (USD 171.4M) in 2024, while the latter only RMB 491.97M (USD 68M).
Zortrax CEO Mariusz Babula sold 1,125,000 shares at the end of February 2025 for 0.08 PLN per share (around 0.02 EUR), and on March 10, another 1 million shares, this time for just 0.1 PLN per share (around 0.025 EUR). I could be wrong, but it seems he has around 2 million shares left, while the total number of shares stands at 120,422,500… He is certainly below the 5% threshold. What's also interesting is that someone is buying these shares from him.
And wrapping up the Bambu Lab topic—on Kickstarter, there is an ongoing campaign where the company is raising funds for its CyberBrick project, which involves building electronic models and toys using 3D printing. At this moment, nearly 5,000 backers have already pledged $317k.
Looks promising and with the backing of Xiaomi they will probably scale fast too. However from my own past experience of attempting to bring a 3D printer to market the pricing is a bit too aggressive by even Shenzhen standards and seems purely like an endeavor in burning money to capture marketshare.