Bambu Lab just leaked its next printer, then quietly deleted it. It’s called the H3C, it looks like a nine nozzle tool changer, and the teaser gives a reveal date of November 4. This is a leak, so treat it as likely, not official. Here’s what we actually know, what it might be, and what’s still a big question mark, from someone who owns and uses an H2C.
The short version
- The leak: a teaser for the “Bambu Lab H3C” with the line “Tool Changer. Game Changer.” appeared on the Australian Bambu Lab store, was pulled quickly, and was screenshotted to Reddit.
- Reveal date: November 4, 1:00 AM AEDT, which is November 3 in the US and UK. Not confirmed by Bambu Lab.
- What it shows: nine filament lines feeding nine toolheads.
- How it might work: one Redditor’s read of the FCC filings and images is that it swaps the nozzle and the filament path together, so each nozzle stays loaded with its own filament.
- Why that matters: the H2C fixed purge waste but not the time spent retracting and loading. This could fix both.
- My price guess: about $2,900 to $3,400 US. That’s my estimate, not a leak.
What leaked
A teaser image showed up on the Australian Bambu Lab store. It was pulled really quickly, but not before someone grabbed a screenshot and posted it on Reddit. The image shows a date, November 4, which looks like the unveil.
This isn’t coming out of nowhere. Filings for the H3C showed up with the FCC in September (FCC ID 2A6J8-PF008P), so we already knew something was on the way. A lot of people also think Bambu may have leaked this on purpose to build hype. If so, it’s working.
In the image you can see nine filament lines feeding into the toolheads. A patent drawing that’s been going around shows an AMS sitting on top of the machine with two rows of spools, but nothing confirms that drawing is the H3C, so treat that part as speculation.
What the H3C might be: tool changing explained
Think of tool changing as a ladder with three steps:
| Machine | What it swaps | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Bambu Lab H2C | The hotend only | The extruder stays put, so every colour change still retracts the old filament and loads the new one. |
| Bambu Lab H3C (reported) | The nozzle and the filament path | One Redditor’s analysis: each nozzle stays loaded with its own filament, ready to go. |
| Snapmaker U1 | The whole toolhead | Every colour gets its own complete unit. Similar idea, different approach. |
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That’s a big deal. The H2C fixed the waste problem, because there’s basically no purging. But it didn’t fix the time, because of all that retracting and loading. If the H3C works the way it looks, it could fix both. I’m working on a separate Snapmaker U1 video, so I’ll save a proper comparison for that.
Induction heating
I’m hoping Bambu carries over the induction heating from the H2C. Bambu says those hotends reach PLA temperature in about 8 seconds, and independent testing from CNC Kitchen clocked it at under 10, compared with around 40 for a normal hotend. If the H3C can pick up a loaded nozzle and be printing again in a few seconds, multicolour prints could get a lot faster. That’s me hoping, not something confirmed.
Build volume
The H2D gives up some bed area to its dual nozzle, and the H2C gives up some to the hotend rack on the side. The H2S, on the other hand, has the biggest print volume Bambu makes, because it doesn’t give any space up to a hotend setup. That extra room is a lifesaver when a large print just won’t fit on an H2D or H2C.
| Printer | Max print volume, one nozzle (W x D x H) |
|---|---|
| Bambu Lab H2D | 325 x 320 x 325 mm |
| Bambu Lab H2C | 325 x 320 x 320 mm (left nozzle) |
| Bambu Lab H2S | 340 x 320 x 340 mm |
So the question is how the H3C deals with this. If it keeps its tools at the back, it could in theory use the entire bed. My guess is a slightly bigger machine built around the bed, so it matches the H2S. That’s what I’m hoping to see, but it’s pure speculation.
Price: my H3C estimate
Price is the big unknown. The H2C AMS Combo, with the AMS 2 Pro included, launched at $2,399 US. I’m assuming the H3C comes as one complete system with the new AMS built in, so that’s the number to measure it against. My guess is $500 to $1,000 on top of that, which puts it somewhere around $2,900 to $3,400 US. Again, that’s my estimate, not a leak.
The other open questions
- Size: with an AMS on top, it’s going to be tall, and nobody has confirmed any dimensions yet.
- Reliability: more moving parts means more that can go wrong. Idle nozzles also need priming before they print cleanly, so there will still be some waste on the purge tower, just a lot less than on a standard AMS machine.
- The rest of the lineup: the same filings mention a P3C, which looks like it could be a cheaper version with four or five heads, and an X2D Pro. Both are just rumours for now.
My take as an H2C owner
I’m happy with my H2C. It does everything I need. But I’m very interested in anything Bambu Lab brings out, especially when they push the boundaries like this, so I can’t wait to see the details. I’m sure I’ll be tempted, but I don’t have a collaboration with Bambu Lab at the moment, so I don’t see myself buying one right now.
Once Bambu shows the real thing on November 4, I’ll cover it properly. Where do you reckon the tool rack sits, what price do you think it lands at, and would you upgrade from an H2C or wait for reviews? Tell me in the YouTube comments.
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