r1laser.com

Independent launch coverage
not affiliated with Bambu Lab

The Bambu Lab R1 lands on Tuesday.

The R1 is the first standalone laser engraver and cutter Bambu Lab has made — a CO₂ machine, not a module that bolts onto a printer. The date is locked. Almost nothing else about it is. This page tracks what has actually been confirmed, separates it from what the internet is guessing, and lists what you would want ready before one arrives.

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22 September 2026 — the launch date came from the teaser published on 14 September. The 10am US Eastern start time is reported rather than officially confirmed, so treat the last hour as soft.

That store link is a referral link. If you buy through it, I may receive a referral credit at no extra cost to you, and you may get a first-order discount. It does not change what this page says.

What's confirmed, and what people are filling in.

Every specification below that sits in the right-hand column is unpublished as of today. Anything you read quoting a wattage, a bed size or a price right now is a guess wearing a confident font.

Confirmed by Bambu Lab

  • It's a CO₂ laserNamed in the 14 September teaser, which showed the tube lighting up.
  • Engraving and cuttingBoth, not engraving only. The first teaser cut clean through a wood sheet.
  • A standalone machineNot a module that bolts onto a printer. It runs on its own.
  • 22 September 2026Shown as 2026.09.22 at the end of the teaser animation.
  • A new product linePositioned next to the printer range, not inside it.

Still unpublished

  • Laser powerNo wattage has been stated. CO₂ tube ratings span a wide range.
  • Work area and pass-throughNothing on bed size or whether long stock can pass through.
  • Price and regional pricingNo figure anywhere, in any currency.
  • Extraction and enclosureNo detail on filtration, ducting or interlocks.
  • CoolingGlass CO₂ tubes need water cooling. Whether it's built in is unknown.
  • Australian availabilityLaunch day availability and shipping dates for AU are not announced.

Where the beam actually goes.

A CO₂ machine doesn't move a laser diode around on a gantry. It fires a fixed glass tube at the back of the case and then walks the beam to the work with mirrors. That single design difference is behind most of what owning one involves — the alignment, the cooling, the tube being a consumable rather than a component.

Diagram of a CO₂ laser beam path from tube through three mirrors and a focusing lens down to the workpiece CO₂ tube fixed, glass, water-cooled mirror 1 mirror 2 mirror 3, in the head lens focuses the beam workpiece
The beam itself is invisible. At 10.6 µm it sits deep in the infrared, so everything you see in a running machine is the material burning, not the laser. Knock the machine hard enough to shift a mirror by a fraction of a degree and the cut quality goes with it.

How the drip-feed has gone.

  1. The H2D ships with an optional diode laser module — engraving and cutting bolted onto a printer, and effectively the market test for all of this.

  2. A teaser page appears showing a beam cutting a logo out of light timber, with a September window and no specifications.

  3. A seven-second animation lights a CO₂ tube and ends on the launch date. The page picks up the line "Big job. Light work."

  4. Launch. Expect the full specification sheet, pricing per region, and whatever pre-order or add-on bundle structure they've built.

Six things to sort out before one turns up.

A CO₂ laser is a different animal to a diode module on a printer, and to a 3D printer generally. None of this depends on the specifications, so you can deal with it now while everyone else refreshes the store page.

Somewhere for the smoke to go

Cutting produces real smoke, not a wisp. Plan a duct run to outside air, or a filter unit rated for the job. Decide where the hole in the wall goes before the box arrives.

Heat, in a Queensland summer

Glass CO₂ tubes want coolant in the roughly 18–22°C band. If the machine doesn't include active cooling, a chiller is not optional here in January.

The right eyewear

CO₂ runs at about 10.6 µm. Glasses bought for a 455 nm blue diode do not protect you from it. Buy eyewear rated for the actual wavelength.

A materials rule

Never cut PVC or vinyl. It releases chlorine gas that wrecks your lungs and corrodes the machine from the inside. Know what your mystery offcuts actually are.

Fire, treated seriously

Flame-ups happen on cuts. Keep the machine attended, keep a blanket and an extinguisher within arm's reach, and clear the bed of scrap between jobs.

Consumables budget

A CO₂ tube is a wear item with a rated lifetime in hours, and mirrors and lenses need cleaning and eventual replacement. Price the second year, not just the first.

Comparison of a 455 nanometre blue diode wavelength against a 10,600 nanometre CO₂ wavelength, drawn to scale 455 nm — blue diode, the module on the printers 10,600 nm — CO₂, the R1 Drawn to scale. The CO₂ wave is about 23 times longer.
This is why eyewear doesn't carry over. Glasses rated to block 455 nm are transparent to 10.6 µm, and ordinary polycarbonate lenses happen to stop it — which is exactly the sort of coincidence you don't want your eyesight resting on. Buy eyewear rated for the wavelength in the machine.

Buying in Australia on the day

Launch stock on a first-of-its-kind machine tends to move fast, and the Australian store runs its own pricing, GST and shipping. If you already know you're in, have an account created and an address saved before the clock hits zero — the checkout is where launches are lost.

Set up at the Australian store

Referral link. Using it may get you a first-order discount and credits me a referral.

Reasonable questions.

Is this the official launch page?

No. This is an independent site with no affiliation to Bambu Lab. For official information, go to bambulab.com. Everything here is drawn from public reporting and Bambu Lab's own teasers, with sources named where it matters.

Should I wait for this, or buy a laser now?

If you want a laser this month and already own a compatible printer, the existing diode module is a known quantity you can buy today. If you specifically want a dedicated CO₂ cutter, waiting a couple of days to see real specifications costs you nothing.

Why does CO₂ matter versus a diode laser?

Different wavelengths suit different materials. CO₂ generally cuts thicker organics — timber, acrylic, leather, card — more cleanly and faster, and it handles clear acrylic, which blue diodes largely can't. It also brings a tube, mirrors and usually water cooling into your life.

What's the referral link about?

It's a store referral link. Buying through it may give you a discount on a first order and gives me a referral credit, at no extra cost to you. This page is free to run because of it. Nothing on this page is softened to sell a machine nobody has seen yet — hence the column of unknowns above. The link is here if you'd like to use it.

Will you update this after launch?

Yes. When the specifications are published, the unknown column moves across and the page turns into a plain-English read of the actual machine: power, bed, extraction, cooling, price in Australian dollars, and how it stacks against what else is on the market here.

Launch day is closeHave your store account ready before the clock hits zero

Open the store