Bambu Lab is becoming the Apple of desktop manufacturing

Recently, Bambu Lab has dropped two major bombshells.

First, it officially announced that it will launch its first laser engraving device next month — marking Bambu Lab’s first real step outside its core 3D printer industry. Then, it revealed plans to enter the UV printing space and is currently recruiting talent.

Seeing this, we can’t help but reflect: Bambu Lab will not just be a 3D printer company.

This brings Apple to our mind.

Today, few people would simply describe Apple as a “phone company.” The iPhone is just its largest foundational product — beyond that, there’s the Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, and a whole ecosystem of products.

And Bambu Lab today seems to be following a similar path. If the 3D printer is Bambu Lab’s “iPhone,” then laser engraving, UV printing, and possibly desktop CNC, 3D scanners, and more could become its new product lines.

So, rather than calling Bambu Lab “the Apple of 3D printing,” it’s more accurate to say:

It is becoming the Apple of desktop manufacturing.

01

3D printing is just the beginning — Bambu Lab is no longer holding back

Over the past few years, Bambu Lab’s most important task has been to round out its 3D printer lineup. From the entry-level A-series, to the mid-range P-series, to the X-series and flagship H-series, Bambu Lab has built a product matrix covering different price points and user needs.

With that foundation in place, the 3D printer business has become relatively stable. Moving forward, it will be about continuous iteration — one generation per year or every two years, steadily moving forward. But a company that wants to sustain high growth can’t rely on 3D printers forever.

And so we saw laser engraving. Then UV printing. Looking further ahead, desktop CNC, 3D scanners, and even more desktop manufacturing devices could all potentially enter Bambu Lab’s product ecosystem.

Why is Bambu Lab doing this? The answer is actually quite simple.

Because the users buying these devices are largely the same group. Someone who loves 3D printing, loves DIY, and loves creating things with their hands is likely to also need laser engraving, CNC, scanning, and UV printing.

For Bambu Lab, the hardest part over the past few years has already been accomplished: finding users, building a brand, and getting that user base willing to pay for “creation tools.”

Now, all it needs to do is put more products in front of these users.

It’s like how someone who buys an iPhone also needs a computer, a tablet, a watch, and earbuds. Apple didn’t go out looking for a completely different set of consumers — it kept meeting more needs of the same user base.

That’s exactly what Bambu Lab is doing now.

The 3D printer is clearly just its first core product. The real Bambu Lab, in the future, is likely a company that provides a full suite of hardware products around personal creation and desktop manufacturing.

02

Opening offline stores, ultimately to sell more products

If you only look at products, you won’t fully understand what Bambu Lab is trying to do next.

You also need to look at its channels.

In overseas markets, Bambu Lab has always placed great emphasis on its official direct-to-consumer channels, rather than relying entirely on third-party platforms like Amazon. This is a detail worth noting.

Because only when a brand has enough product appeal — when consumers are willing to proactively visit the official website and make a purchase — does it have the confidence to gradually take control of its own sales channels.

Offline, Bambu Lab is also expanding rapidly.

Currently, Bambu Lab has opened flagship stores in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Nanjing, and other cities. A Hangzhou store is about to open, and a Beijing location is also in the works.

In addition, it has entered more than 60 Apple authorized resellers, partnered with 64 Sam’s Club locations, and expanded into more consumer scenarios such as JD Home, Shangpin Zhaipei, and Meland.

It’s also worth noting that Bambu Lab’s store expansion isn’t limited to China — it’s also growing overseas.

Many people view offline stores as brand marketing. But at the end of the day, stores exist to sell products.

In fact, for 3D printing, offline presence is especially important.

Because today, many ordinary consumers still think of 3D printing as something they’ve “heard of but never actually seen.” Many still picture 3D printers as expensive, complex devices reserved for engineers and geeks.

But when a real machine is placed right in front of them, everything changes.

They can see the machine working in real time, watch a model being printed layer by layer, and even try operating it themselves. Then they check the price and discover that entry-level devices are now under 1,000 yuan, and mainstream models are only two to three thousand yuan.

It’s not as expensive as they imagined. Nor as difficult.

This shift in perception is critical.

When we visited Bambu Lab’s Shenzhen flagship store, we noticed many family consumers making purchases on the spot after experiencing the devices. Some bought one as a birthday gift for their children. Others felt that since their kids were already learning to code, adding a 3D printer would allow them to bring their digital ideas into the physical world.

And some adults simply bought one for themselves — because creating things is inherently enjoyable.

So Bambu Lab’s rapid offline expansion is really about bridging that knowledge gap to really become commodity — on the path to bringing 3D printing to the masses. Let more people see it, touch it, and use it — and then they’ll buy it.

More importantly, today these stores sell 3D printers, but that may not be the case in the future.

As laser engravers, UV printers, and even CNC machines enter the product lineup, the same store will be able to sell a broader range of “desktop manufacturing tools.”

By then, Bambu Lab’s offline stores will no longer be just 3D printer experience centers — they will resemble Apple Stores for the personal manufacturing era.

That’s the true value of these channels.

03

Bigger than Bambu Lab is the era of desktop manufacturing

If we zoom out further, we believe Bambu Lab’s expansion today is not an isolated event. Behind it lies a larger trend:

Manufacturing tools are moving from the factory floor to the desktop.

In April 2012, The Economist featured “The Third Industrial Revolution” as its cover story. One of its key arguments was that digital manufacturing technologies — represented by 3D printing — were transforming traditional manufacturing.

More than a decade later, that direction has become increasingly clear.

If the first half of this journey was “manufacturing digitization,” then the next chapter is likely something else:

The democratization of manufacturing.

In the past, many things could only be produced in factories. You needed expensive machinery, professional engineers, molds, production lines, and a minimum volume to make production economically viable.

But now, that barrier is dropping rapidly.

3D printers have moved to the desktop. Laser engravers are moving to the desktop. CNC machines are shrinking. UV printing equipment is becoming consumer-grade. A desk is becoming a small factory.

For the first time, ordinary people can complete the entire process from design to manufacturing at home