This post is only for knowing your opinion or “ideas” for more modules for the H2D i think a cnc module will be great!
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If you think the laser makes a mess, wait until you see what a CNC milling machine does. Mine only stays clean when it’s turned off — just milling a couple of PCBs is enough to make it look like a war zone. So yeah, not exactly a great idea.
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I had visions of this ultimate lazy maker’s plastic CNC device
Imagine a toolchanger that could, for every layer:
- make the layer. purposely overextrude outer walls
- swap to a cnc mill bit
- clean up the edges of every outer wall to absolute dimensional accuracy
3a) added bonus: the walls are now sheer instead of a stacked 0.2mm bulges - repeat
4a) “ironing” would be badass and violent
Seems cool, bits-on-plastic probably would last forever and have very little risk of break, yay accuracy, etc…
but then, what Lordsatan referenced broke that idea, as it would be a terrific horrible mess and all the problems and tricks seen in CNC machines to keep clean would be in play, so the thing’s BOM would make even stratasys’ bean counters blush never mind the maintenance/cleaning…
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It won’t work, full stop.
The H2D’s structural stiffness is not designed to withstand what is required for a proper CNC machine, according to their CEO. Link to source YouTube interview
And yes it’ll also be a complete mess.
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I was thinking of this lately. It seems people are somewhat unhappy with the mess laser cutting makes, and almost seems like you would want separate units for printing and cutting
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It seems people are somewhat unhappy with the mess laser cutting makes, and almost seems like you would want separate units for printing and cutting.
I’m not sure what people expect. Laser cutting is setting your material on fire. In a controlled and precise manner, but still: Fire. Smoke.
Machining is another level entirely. Chips and/or shavings are thrown all over the place, and a pretty serious setup is needed to contain them. Even the cheap little wood CNCs you can buy on Alizon Timubay make a big mess. I don’t think it’s at all a good fit for Bambi’s “it just works” approach.
I would be delighted to be proven wrong. I’d love to have a cute little desktop CNC as easy and reliable as BL’s printers.
Stop this “one machine to do it all” mentality. As already mentioned, the machine is not build to handle the forces of milling. Perhaps some kind of plastics, but nothing more. And the motors, belts and linear guides are not build to handle the mess produced by milling.
I already doubt that the lasercutter-module is a good idea…
If you want to pursue the approach of a machine that features all kind of tool heads, you have to turn it around a build a milling machine, that has the option of a 3D-printing toolhead (and all other things you fancy). This will leave you probably with a ball screw drive, which is usually way slower than the belt drive we have in our printers. Anyway, it has been done, have a look at Snapmaker.
Bambu lab is by far not the first company going down the road of different toolheads in one machine, and there is a good reason why their success is limited. Better buy several machines that are good in their limited range, than asking for a jack of all trades, master of none!
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3D printing, engraving, and cutting are all parts of making. So if one day Bambu Lab decides to push further the idea of “bringing personal manufacturing to the masses”, there could be a division or subsidiary to handle the non-3D printing parts.
I would prefer each has its own product line, a laser engraving/cutting line, a CNC machine line, etc. What makes them stand out from the competitions will be Bambu Lab’s innovation spirit to make them easier and more reliable to use, and be parts of a highly integreted ecosystem, so the masses can use them, instead of only a few makers.
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Terrible idea.
Now if Bambu made a stand alone CNC machine I bet it would be a great machine but they are a 3D Printer company.
For even a lightweight metal like Aluminum, the printer’s mechanics are not going to be strong enough. I own a “benchtop” CNC (Taig 3018) that cuts metal. It weighs about 10x what a H2D weighs, all of it going in to the structure of the machine to keep it stiff enough for what it needs to do (not flex when cutting in to something hard). Stepper motors are 3x bigger than what’s in the printer, too. You need a lot of torque to push an endmill through a block of Steel. And the steppers drive ball screws. Belts also wouldn’t be strong enough for metal.
CNC foam or wax or plastic? That’s a possibility. Metal? No way.
If you want CNC, there are tons inexpensive gantry-style (like a Cartesian or CoreXY type mechanics for softer materials like wood) CNCs on the market (laser cutters, too). There’s nothing particularly special about any of them. When it comes to CNC, all the good ideas have long since been thought of. BBL was successful with printers because they offered feature sets that no one else offered. That’s not going to be very easy to replicate in the CNC space. BBL would, IMO, be stupid to spend R&D on this class of product.
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I’d like to see a lead smelter and asbestos grinder module.
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The chips become a nightmare inside the printer when milling. I don’t even want to think about metal chips on the lead screw. I would rather convert a bedslinger printer (e.g., Anycubic Kobra Plus) into a milling machine, because it’s easier to clean.
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My CNC machine has a really powerful vacuum system connected, but even that external setup isn’t enough to keep things clean enough for 3D printing after a milling session. Whether I’m cutting epoxy or Delrin, chips end up everywhere and nowhere — definitely not an ideal environment for 3D printing.
In this case, the only real solution is to have two separate machines.
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Printer isn’t designed to deal with all the mess CNC makes, it’s pretty epic levels of wood or metal particles and would soon destroy the z-axis bearings.
That’s before you get into the lateral loads on the cutting head and the printer just isn’t designed to deal with those either.
I’m sure given Bambu were trying to produce an all in one machine as far as they could it was looked at in the prototype stage for the H2D but quickly ruled out.
Wow didnt expected all this answers thanks guys, you all are right, the chips from the metal can ■■■■ a lot the machine, but the thing is posible is to have diferent types of laser to perform cuts for not making that mess, right know the laser of the h2d is a blue light laser so acrilic and metal is not being able to be cutted, if they use one who is cappable of cutting with laser metal probably we have a chance
It is not technically possible to convert the H2D with a diode laser into a metal-cutting machine. Cutting metal requires entirely different hardware, including much higher laser power, different wavelengths (such as fiber or CO₂ lasers), active cooling, assist gases, and full safety enclosures. A 40W blue diode laser simply cannot deliver the energy or absorption needed for metal. Even with modifications, the H2D cannot meet the safety, thermal, or structural requirements for this application. A dedicated fiber laser system is the only realistic option for cutting metal.
I want a vacuum module to clean out the mess from your CNC one 
Please don’t be offended, but you never worked with metal, right? The amount of power needed, and thus the requirements to the machine and it’s environment, are just something else. Let’s put it like this: If the football world cup is metal working, home 3D printing is playing football with your friends after school, where 4 schoolbags form the goal.
We’re talking of way upwards of 1000W lasers here for cutting through metal. Nothing that fits on your desktop or should be around in your home.
If you have project where you need metal parts, there are plenty of options around, which we all know from sponsoring on youtube…
I performed a stress test using the 40W laser module on my Bambu Lab H2D, and it was unable to even mark uncoated aluminum—there was no visible evidence of any engraving or cutting taking place. However, the material became extremely hot, indicating that the laser did interact thermally with the surface, albeit without any effective ablation.
My smallest desktop CNC weighs just over 40 kg and is quite capable for its size. However, if you were to combine that with full 3D printing functionality, you’d end up with an extremely large machine. Now, add a 250 W+ fiber laser for cutting or engraving metals, and you’re looking at something even larger and significantly more industrial. Not to mention the hazardous fumes produced when processing metals and composites—fumes which the current smoke purification system (the Bambu Lab Smoke Purifier) is not rated to handle. Such a setup would clearly not be suited for use outside of a properly equipped workshop.
Unless you have a clear need for 24/7 access to CNC and high-power laser capabilities, I would—as you mentioned—recommend outsourcing those specific tasks to professional services equipped with the appropriate tools. While the 40W diode laser from Bambu Lab is relatively low-powered, it does perform well for its intended applications such as engraving wood, acrylic, and other soft organic materials.
What I personally wish for with the H2D laser setup is a better base platform for securing materials—specifically for engraving PCBs. At the moment, the default ribbed aluminum plate does not offer sufficient clamping or fixture options to hold circuit boards firmly in place. Being able to use the H2D for this task would allow me to retire the very underpowered 5W diode laser on my CNC and improve overall productivity in PCB prototyping.
This discussion is about CNC, milling machines, not Laser Cutters.
The machine itself is not structurally designed for the mechanical loads it’d have to deal with when cutting metal. The loads on the motion stage when extruding or lasering are basically NIL, just the mass of the printhead. In stark contrast to that, it takes a lot of force to push an end mill through a metal, even Aluminum.
The 40W laser module will mark Stainless Steel, but it has nowhere near enough power to cut metal.
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