Category Archives: formnext

2025, Bambulab, formnext

Bambu Lab to Reveal the H2C at Formnext – and I’ll Be There to See It First-Hand

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Bambu Lab have officially announced the launch of their new multi-material 3D printer, the Bambu Lab H2C, taking place on 18 November 2025 at 3:00 PM CET—and I’ll be there at Formnext in Frankfurt to witness the reveal in person.

This is shaping up to be one of the most significant announcements in desktop 3D printing for years.

For the past three years, Bambu Lab have been working on a cleaner, more efficient approach to multi-colour and multi-material printing. Their teaser hints at something genuinely ground-breaking: the end of purge waste.

Back in 2022, the X1 series opened the door to accessible multi-colour printing, but the trade-off was always the same—purging. Endless little strings of wasted filament, time lost, and the compromises that every multi-colour printer still struggles with today.

Bambu’s engineers zeroed in on the real culprit: contamination within the hotend. Their solution? Don’t purge—swap the hotend.

Image and Video Credit: Bambulab

Introducing the Vortec Hotend Change System

The H2C is expected to showcase a brand-new technology called Vortec, described as one of the first induction-heated, fully automated hotend-swap systems.

The innovations highlighted in the teaser include:

• Dedicated hotends instead of purging

Like using a fresh paintbrush for each colour. No cleaning required, no cross-contamination, and no filament waste.

• Induction heating in just 8 seconds

Rapid heating without the slowdown of bulky toolheads or complex gantries.

• Wireless data and power sync

Each hotend contains its own chip that communicates temperature, filament data and status to the printer—without cables or pogo pins to wear out.

• No sacrifice in speed, volume or reliability

Rather than adding multiple nozzles or loading a heavy toolhead, Bambu Lab have focused on keeping things fast, compact and robust.

According to Bambu Lab, Vortec represents “the epilogue to the imperfections of X1” and marks their first major step toward eliminating purge altogether.

I’ll Be Reporting Live from Formnext

As The Gadget Man, I’ll be on the ground at Formnext in Frankfurt when the H2C is unveiled. Expect hands-on impressions, photos, early thoughts and—as always—my honest take on whether this could be the next revolution in multi-material 3D printing.

Stay tuned. This could be the moment multi-colour printing finally becomes clean, fast and… uncompromising.

formnext, Press Release

Formnext Turns 10! And It’s Bigger, Bolder, and Brilliantly Additive Than Ever

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Frankfurt’s iconic tech mecca is lighting up the entire AM world with an expanded programme, more gadgets and gear than ever, and enough buzz to make even the most jaded engineer’s pulse quicken. Here’s everything you need to know if you’re heading to Formnext 2025 — or watching from afar.

Three Stages, One Purpose: Exploring AM’s Bright Future

Formnext 2025 isn’t just about rows of 3D printers humming away like digital sewing machines — though, let’s be honest, we do love that too. It’s about conversations that shape the future.

  • Application Stage (Hall 11.1): From rocket engines to robot arms and even orthopaedic orthoses (try saying that after a few Glühweins), this is where AM meets real-world problems. Focused firmly on cost-effective innovation, this stage is a must for SMEs looking to dip their toes into the world of 3D production.

  • Industry Stage (Hall 11.0): Topics like sustainability, Design for AM, and even AI-designed consumer goods take centre stage here. Highlights include a keynote retrospective on the last decade of AM and forward-looking discussions on decentralised production – a very big deal as global supply chains continue to shift.

  • Technology Stage (Hall 12.1): This is where the nerds (my people!) gather to go deep. Think DED tech, large-format plastic printing, and data-driven design. Pack a notebook.

New This Year: Tours, Livestreams &… a Quiz Show?

Formnext 2025 is not content with “business as usual”. The organisers have added a host of interactive new formats that are both educational and entertaining.

  • Guided AM Tours: Focusing on post-processing (a criminally underappreciated stage in AM), these 90-minute guided walks will be led by experts. Wednesday tours are in German, Thursday in English. No sign-ups, just first-come, first-served — so set an alarm.

  • Show and Telling LIVE: YouTube’s own 3D Printing Nerd will be broadcasting live on Tuesday. If you’ve ever wanted to geek out in real time with a global AM celeb, now’s your chance.

  • Ultimate Additive Quiz Show: Because why not have a game show for engineers? Expect equal parts trivia, tension, and titanium.

From Mechanical Marvels to Mushroom Mycelium: The Special Showcases

Here’s where Formnext really flexes its muscles. The 2025 edition will showcase AM in every industry you can imagine:

  • Additive4Industry (Hall 12.0): Mechanical engineering applications, brought to you by the VDMA.

  • BE-AM Symposium: Construction gets the AM treatment — and yes, that means 3D printed buildings.

  • AM Art Space: SUTOSUTO are back to blur the line between technology and art.

  • AM Innovation & Standards Summit (17 Nov): Standards, compliance, and certification may not be sexy — but they’re essential.

And let’s not forget the Start-up Area and Young Innovators Booth, where tomorrow’s biggest ideas take their first steps. If you’re an investor or just love spotting the next big thing, bring business cards.

Democratising 3D Printing

A real theme running through this year’s show is accessibility. Whether it’s via desktop 3D printers popping up in more industrial contexts or the Discover3DPrinting seminars for curious newcomers, Formnext is making AM approachable for businesses of all sizes.

There’s even a Career Area with job walls, professional headshots, and career advice — because nothing says “ready for your next move” like a headshot next to a 3D printed turbine blade.

The Formnext Awards – AM’s Red Carpet Moment

Awards aren’t just for Hollywood. The Formnext Awards shine a spotlight on groundbreaking technologies, bold young companies, and sustainable solutions — across six hotly contested categories. The twist? You get to help choose the winners via online voting. Cue the drama.

Partner Country 2025: Spain Steps Into the Spotlight

This year’s partner country is Spain, and it’s not just bringing paella and passion. With around 30 companies showcasing breakthroughs in AM systems, materials, and R&D, Spain is strutting its stuff on the global AM stage — and rightly so.

When, Where, and Why You Should Be There

Frankfurt am Main
18–21 November 2025
www.formnext.com/visitors

Whether you’re a long-time Formnext fanatic or a first-time visitor still figuring out what “DED” stands for, this year promises to be unforgettable. Ten years in, and Formnext shows no sign of slowing down — in fact, it’s evolving just as quickly as the technology it celebrates.

So dust off your best trade fair shoes, charge your phone (you’ll need it), and get ready to celebrate a decade of additive excellence.

Have you been to Formnext before? What are you most looking forward to this year? Drop your thoughts

3D Printing, additive manufacturing, Anycubic, formnext, Gadget Man, Matt Porter, The Gadget Man

Anycubic Teases the Kobra S1 Max Combo – A New Chapter for Multi-Colour Printing (and I’ll Be Seeing More at Formnext!)

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Well, this is exciting. The lovely folks at Anycubic have been in touch again, and this time they’ve got something rather special lined up for the 3D-printing world. If you’ve been following my recent adventures in the workshop — shelves of resin bottles, spools of filament, and printers humming away like a busy beehive — you’ll know I’ve been especially taken with Anycubic’s approach to innovation lately.

And now, they’ve gone and done it again.

Introducing the Kobra S1 Max Combo

A brand-new machine built to push desktop 3D-printing further — louder, brighter, more colourful, and more capable of serious engineering-grade work.

This is not just a quiet upgrade. This is one of those big leaps.

Kobra S1 Max Combo
Kobra S1 Max Combo
Kobra S1 Max
Kobra S1 Max

What Makes It Stand Out?

The expanded spec list from the official campaign page reveals some key details:

  • Up to 16-colour printing: Start with one ACE 2 Pro module for 4 colours; combine up to four for the full 16-colour capacity.

  • Huge build volume: 350 × 350 × 350 mm.

  • Enclosed, actively-heated chamber up to 65 °C. Hotbed up to 120 °C, hotend up to 350 °C.

  • Hardened-steel hotend (0.4 mm standard with extra 0.6 mm included), optional 0.25 mm brass / 0.8 mm hardened steel nozzles.

  • CoreXY motion system, active carbon-filter air purification, WiFi6/Ethernet support, 720p monitoring, spaghetti-recognition AI, U-disk/app control.

  • Materials covered: from PLA/PETG/TPU right up to engineering-grades like ABS, ASA, PC, PA, PA6-CF, PC-CF/GF, PET-CF.

  • Multi-language interface (English, Chinese, German, Russian, Spanish, French, Italian, Korean, Portuguese).

Put simply: whoever said “desktop printers are only for PLA” is going to have a rethink when this lands.

Early Bird Deal (This One’s Actually Worth It)

Anycubic are running a clever early-bird scheme:

  • Pay £50 now → receive £100 discount off the launch price (5th November to 24th November)

  • After that, the pricing rolls through phased levels — each with perks (as previously noted).

    • £749 (25 Nov-1 Dec) with £400 worth of perks

    • £799 (2 Dec-25 Dec) with £350 perks

    • £849 (26 Dec-31 Jan) with £300 perks

    • £949 (from 1 Feb) with £200 perks

So yes — if you’re thinking about it, the earlier the better.

And Here’s the Extra Bit I’m Excited About…

I’ll be in Frankfurt on the 18th November attending formnext — the global additive-manufacturing expo. It’s basically the Glastonbury of 3D printing: people everywhere talking filament, lasers, printheads, sintering furnaces — heavenly stuff.

I’m absolutely planning to track down Anycubic while I’m there and get a closer look at the Kobra S1 Max Combo in the flesh. Expect photos, impressions, maybe even first-hand print samples — all coming your way.

If you’ve got questions you’d like me to ask the Anycubic team directly, let me know in the comments.

Final Thoughts

This is shaping up to be a very compelling machine:

✔ Larger build volume
✔ Multi-colour support baked in
✔ Enclosed, CoreXY, heated chamber = better reliability
✔ Designed for real materials, not just for show

If it delivers what the specs promise, this could be one of the stand-out printers of 2025 — especially for makers and small business production.

I’ll bring back everything I learn at Formnext — stay tuned.

—

Matt Porter – The Gadget Man
Currently surrounded by printers. Not sorry.

2025, additive manufacturing, formnext, Gadget Man

Formnext 2025: Tickets Now Open for the World’s Leading 3D Printing Expo

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Frankfurt is getting ready to host the world’s largest 3D printing and Additive Manufacturing (AM) event once again. From 18–21 November 2025, Formnext will transform the Messe Frankfurt exhibition halls into a showcase of innovation, collaboration, and real-world applications across industries.

This year promises over 800 exhibitors, including some of the biggest names in the AM world alongside a healthy mix of start-ups and research groups. Expect plenty of world premieres, live demonstrations, and a packed programme across aviation, aerospace, engineering, jewellery, watches, and more.

Spain takes centre stage as the partner country for 2025, bringing around 30 companies to Frankfurt. The Spanish AM sector has been growing rapidly and plays an interesting role as a link between Europe and Latin America, particularly strong in systems, materials, and research.

The Gadget Man will be attending formnext
The Gadget Man will be attending formnext

The supporting programme looks just as impressive as the show floor itself. Three stages will run throughout the event, each with a different focus: industry trends, real-world applications, and the latest technologies. Seminars, talks, and showcases will cover everything from large-format 3D printing to data-driven design and construction AM. Add to that the Formnext Awards, start-up pitches, career opportunities, and networking events, and it’s clear this isn’t just an exhibition – it’s the meeting point for the global AM community.

I’ll be there on Tuesday 18 November for the Press Breakfast and then I’m looking forward to catching up with many of the 800 companies, checking out the latest announcements and exploring the halls. It’s always fascinating to see how far the technology has come, and this year looks set to offer plenty of inspiration.

Tickets are available now from formnext.com/visitors, with an early-bird discount running until 21 October.