This week kicks off with two major launches on the same day: Bambu Lab unveils the A2L, its new large-format bedslinger with a 330 mm build volume and a Cricut-style cutting module, while Creality reveals the KliTek, a modular architecture with 5-second nozzle swaps. Plus: a Japanese resin that recycles 10 times over, EPFL 3D prints a human ear using holographic light, and Stratasys acquires Markforged's FFF business for $42.5 million. Let's go. 🔥
🔥 Featured
🖨️ Bambu Lab A2L: the large-format bedslinger launching today at $469
Today, June 1, 2026, Bambu Lab officially launches the A2L worldwide: a large-format bedslinger with a 330 × 320 × 325 mm build volume, print speeds up to 500 mm/s, a closed-loop PMSM servo motor, adaptive vibration compensation, and two physical granular dampers built into the chassis. Bambu Lab informally calls it the "H2S Lite" — it inherits much of the H2S's core technology at half the price: $469 USD / €379 EUR for the printer alone, $569 USD / €489 EUR as a combo with the AMS Lite.
The detail nobody leaked: a Blade Cutting + Pen Plotting module. The A2L isn't just a 3D printer — with the cutting accessory it doubles as a Cricut-style cutter for vinyl, paper, leather, fabric, and stickers; with the plotter accessory it draws with a pen. Bambu positions it as "Creative Playground. Extra Large.", targeting the family, hobby, and cosplay market rather than technical production. That's why the bed only heats to 80°C (plenty for PLA and PETG, not enough for ABS or engineering filaments) and why it's an open-frame design rather than an enclosure.
With four standard AMS units and one AMS Lite connected, the A2L can print up to 19 colors in a single part. Combined with the X2D we covered in Weekly #005, it's clear Bambu Lab is pushing the multicolor war on two fronts: high-end with dual-nozzle (X2D) and consumer with an affordable bedslinger (A2L). What it doesn't include — worth knowing before you buy: no dual nozzle, no laser support, no on-device AI, no enclosed chamber.
Our full breakdown of the machine — pros, cons, use cases, and why Bambu saved the cutting module as a surprise reveal — is right here: Bambu Lab A2L — full launch review →
🔧 Hardware
🔧 Creality KliTek: 5-second nozzle swaps and 80A TPU at full speed
On May 29, Creality officially unveiled KliTek, its modular nozzle-swap architecture for a new generation of consumer multicolor and multi-material printers coming in 2026. The concept is elegant: instead of swapping the entire toolhead — which adds weight, complicates calibration, and slows things down — only the nozzle assembly is replaced, weighing just one-fifth of a full toolhead. The swap takes 5 seconds. And the filament path remains visible for easy diagnostics.
The really exciting part is the extrusion system. Creality is also introducing their patent-pending S-Drive dual extruder system: a primary extruder pulling the filament while a secondary extruder at the rear pushes it in sync. The result: TPU 80A (extremely soft, normally a nightmare to print) flows steadily at 3 mm³/s — triple the industry standard. And TPU 95A reaches 15 mm³/s, seven times faster than most consumer printers that choke at 2–3 mm³/s. That transforms flexible filament printing from a slow ordeal into something actually viable at real-world speeds.
The other trick KliTek brings is mixing nozzle diameters within a single print: 0.4 mm for outer walls and detail, 0.8 mm for infill and speed. The time savings on large parts can be massive. Worth noting: KliTek is the architecture, not the printer itself — Creality has yet to announce a specific model, release date, or price for the product that will feature it. This is a technical teaser, a roadmap positioning move. But the direction is clear: Creality, recently listed on the HKEX as we covered in Weekly #009, is entering the multi-color war with its own technical answer to AMS/CFS.
Our full breakdown of the KliTek system — what it changes compared to the current CFS and what it means for the multi-color race — is here: Creality KliTek — what it is and why it matters →
🧪 Materials
🧪 Japanese recyclable resin: print it, melt it, repeat — up to 10 times
Coverage flooded in this week, though the underlying paper was published in ACS Omega back in February. Researchers at Yokohama National University (Professor Shoji Maruo's team) have developed an anthracene-based photocurable resin whose chemistry enables something that was previously science fiction in MSLA/DLP printing: melting the finished part with heat (15 minutes at 150 °C) and reprinting it more than ten times — no chemical additives, minimal degradation.
The key is reversible anthracene photodimerization: UV light creates the bonds that cure the resin, and controlled heat breaks them without destroying the polymer chain. The researchers demonstrated the cycle by printing a cube, melting it, reprinting it as a disc, and repeating the process. They also printed the letters YNU ten times in a row using the same batch of resin. The process works in both single-photon stereolithography and two-photon stereolithography (the ultra-high-precision method used in research applications).
This genuinely matters. Liquid and cured resin waste is one of the most serious pain points in MSLA printing — alongside the Fabbaloo column on water-washable resin from Weekly #009 and the AmeraLabs safety guide from #001, the debate around the environmental impact of photopolymer resin has been growing for years. A resin that can be recycled ten times without additives fundamentally changes both the cost equation and the environmental calculus.
One important caveat: this is academic research, not a commercial product. There's no brand, no price, no availability. But the direction is right, and if the industry licenses it, this could redefine resin consumables for the next decade. Read the full coverage at 3D Printing Industry →
🤖 WTF Science
🤖 EPFL 3D prints a human ear in seconds using holographic light
Another major milestone has just been added to the bioprinting arc we opened with the Korean human cornea in Weekly #010. The LAPD lab at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) published a breakthrough in volumetric printing in Light: Science & Applications: using phase-controlled holographic light, they printed a full-size human ear in gelatin resin using a laser of just 150 mW — in a matter of seconds.
To understand why this is science fiction turned reality, it helps to know how traditional volumetric printing (TVAM) works: light patterns are projected from multiple angles onto a vat of photosensitive resin, and the entire part solidifies at once — no layers. The historical bottleneck was optical efficiency: it required enormous laser power. The paper's lead author, Maria Isabel Álvarez-Castaño, puts it plainly: this new approach is 70 times more efficient than previous holographic TVAM systems.
What this unlocks: near-clinical-scale bioprinting using small, low-cost lasers, with no layer lines visible to the eye — and no layer-related limitations on cell viability in biological tissue. LAPD director Christophe Moser states it directly in the paper: the method "finally makes it possible to bioprint tissue-like structures at a near-clinical scale." The system also supports self-healing beams that can pass through media containing live cells without destroying them.
This is still frontier research — it's not a product, not tomorrow, not in five years. But the timeline keeps shrinking. Taken together with the Korean cornea from Weekly #010, it's clear which direction the cutting edge of resin printing is moving. Read the full coverage at VoxelMatters →
💵 Industry
💵 Stratasys acquires Markforged's FFF business for $42.5 million
On May 27, Stratasys announced the acquisition of Markforged's continuous carbon fiber FFF business — previously a subsidiary of Nano Dimension. The all-cash deal is valued at $42.5 million and is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to regulatory approval. Stratasys takes ownership of the FFF printers, materials, and the Digital Forge software platform. Nano Dimension retains only the Metal Binder Jetting product line.
Markforged generated approximately $70 million in revenue in 2025 (including MBJ). Stratasys CEO Yoav Zeif framed the deal around defense and aerospace applications. It's the logical move for a Stratasys that has spent years trying to reposition itself against the pressure of Chinese manufacturers in the consumer segment: retreating toward professional industrial applications with carbon fiber and advanced materials — exactly where Markforged had carved out its niche.
This mirrors UltiMaker's move into defense with the Factor 4 Plus covered in Weekly #010: the market is splitting into three distinct tiers. Closed/cloud consumer ecosystems (Bambu, Anycubic, Creality), open prosumer platforms (Prusa, Snapmaker, Klipper), and vertically specialized professional solutions for defense and aerospace (UltiMaker, now Stratasys+Markforged, Peopoly Giga 800). The "one printer for everything" era is fading fast. Read the official announcement on Business Wire →
💬 Our take this week
While previous issues revolved around the Bambu vs OrcaSlicer drama, this week brings us back to pure product news — with two major launches dropping on the same day. Bambu and Creality are playing completely opposite strategies: Bambu ships a machine you can buy today, with an accessory surprise (Cricut module) and a consumer/family focus, while Creality reveals technology (KliTek + S-Drive) with no specific printer to show yet — staking out a technical position right after clearing their HKEX listing review.
The multi-color war keeps heating up on every front: affordable bed slingers, automatic nozzle changers, dual-nozzle systems, four-spool AMS units, and software-based color blending. Meanwhile, resin printing is advancing on two parallel tracks: sustainability (recyclable Yokohama resin) and scientific precision (EPFL holographic volumetric printing). Right now is the best time ever to be a maker: more high-quality hardware at lower prices than ever before. We'll keep holding down the fort — resin, filaments, free tools, and this newsletter every Monday. 💪
❓ FAQ of the week
Should I buy the Bambu Lab A2L or the combo with AMS Lite?
If you're only printing in a single color, the standalone A2L ($469 USD / €379 EUR) does the job. But if you want to take advantage of its 19-color multi-material capabilities — which is really its defining feature — the A2L Combo with AMS Lite ($569 USD / €489 EUR) is the right call. Paying an extra $100 to have multi-color from day one makes a lot of sense. For a full breakdown, check out our dedicated A2L article.
When will Creality's KliTek printer actually launch?
Creality has confirmed KliTek is coming to a production printer in 2026, but there's no exact date, specific model, or pricing announced yet. The May 29th official blog post is a technical teaser for the architecture — not a machine launch. The most likely scenario is that we'll see the first KliTek printer before Formnext (November 2026).
Can you buy Yokohama's recyclable resin yet?
No. This is academic research published in ACS Omega by Professor Maruo's team. There's no commercial brand, no pricing, and no availability. If the industry licenses the patent, we could see it in a product in 3–5 years. In the meantime, standard resins remain your only real option.
What's the difference between volumetric printing and traditional MSLA?
MSLA prints layer by layer, projecting UV light onto an FEP film. Volumetric printing cures the entire part at once by projecting light from multiple angles into a vat of photosensitive resin. The benefits: no visible layer lines, no stepping artifacts, and print times measured in seconds rather than hours. EPFL's breakthrough makes this possible using compact lasers (150 mW) with 70× greater efficiency than previous systems.