Maker Monday: Bambu's New Tool Changer and Black Friday 3D Printing Deals Start Early
Bambu Lab just dropped a nine tool changer that rewrites what a desktop printer can do in one machine, and Black Friday pricing on Anycubic and Elegoo gear is already live weeks before the actual day. If you have been waiting to upgrade a printer or stock up on resin and filament, this is the week to start watching prices instead of waiting for the last minute. Here is what matters and what I am keeping an eye on.
Bambu Lab's H3C Packs Nine Tools Into One Printer
Bambu Lab launched the H3C on November 3 and it is unlike anything else in their lineup. It is a tool changer with nine tools mounted on a drop down rack, built around a new multi material system Bambu calls SwapTek, and it is priced at 2,499 dollars. The pitch is less waste and faster swaps than the usual IDEX or single nozzle purge routine, so true multi color and multi material parts come out cleaner without babysitting the printer through every change. That is a serious jump up from the X1C and even the newer X2D, and it is built for people running small production runs or heavy multi material work, not a casual home desk. I am not buying one for my own bench, the price and the footprint are overkill for what I print, but it is a clear signal of where Bambu wants to take the hobby next, and it is worth watching even if it stays out of most of our hands for now.
Anycubic's Black Friday Sale Is Already Live, And the Discounts Are Real
Anycubic usually waits until the week of Black Friday, but this year the sale is already running on their own store and the numbers check out when you look at the actual page, not a roundup blog guess. Right now the Kobra X is down to 299 dollars from 399, the Photon Mono M7 Pro resin printer drops from 669 to 489, and the ACE 2 Pro combo is 249 dollars instead of 329. Filament is discounted too, with PETG down to 16.99 dollars a kilogram and PLA Basic at 17.99. Anycubic's own page says this early window runs through November 20 before the actual Black Friday pricing kicks in from the 21st through the 29th, so there is a real chance some of these numbers move again closer to the day itself. If you have been eyeing a resin upgrade or just need to stock filament before the holidays, this is already a legitimate window to buy, just double check the price in your cart before you check out.
Elegoo Joins In With a Sitewide Black Friday Sale Through December 1
Elegoo opened its own Black Friday and Cyber Monday sale on November 2, running all the way through December 1, with the site advertising up to 54 percent off printers and up to 33 percent off bulk resin. The Saturn 4 Ultra 16K is one of the models getting pushed hard this round, and the Jupiter line is in the mix for anyone who wants a bigger build volume. The bulk resin bundles in 5 and 10 kilogram sizes are where the real savings usually show up if you print a lot, since resin does not go bad sitting in the closet, it just gets cheaper per bottle the more you buy at once. Elegoo's sale banner does not always show the exact strikethrough price for every single model up front, so click into the specific printer or bundle you want and confirm the final number before you buy. Worth a look if your Elegoo printer or resin shelf has been waiting on this.
What's On My Bench, Plus the One Resin Safety Habit I Never Skip
My Phrozen Sonic Mini 8K is years old at this point and it is still my most reliable machine for head sculpts and anything that needs real fine detail. If you are shopping the sales above and wondering whether an older model like this still holds up against the newer 16K machines, mine says yes, loudly, and it has earned its spot on the bench. My actual tip this week is not about printers though, it is about resin safety. Every time I pour resin or clean a build plate I am wearing nitrile gloves, not latex, and running a proper respirator with cartridges rated for organic vapors, not just a paper dust mask. Uncured resin is a real skin irritant and the fumes build up fast in a closed room, so if your safety gear has been an afterthought, treat gloves and a respirator as part of the printer budget, not an optional extra you will get to later.
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That's Maker Monday
That's the maker world for this week. If any of this got you thinking about a custom print, paint, or engraving, come see what we make on the commission page. See you next Monday.
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