3D Printing InfoPrinter comparison
Anycubic Kobra S1 Max vs Bambu Lab A2L
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Anycubic Kobra S1 Max comparisonsMore Bambu Lab A2L comparisons
| Property | Anycubic Kobra S1 MaxCOREXY | Bambu Lab A2LBEDSLINGER |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Anycubic | Bambu Lab |
| Class | COREXY | BEDSLINGER |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Anycubic Kobra S1 Max[1] | Bambu Lab A2L[2] |
| Release date (announcement and actual shipping) | Listed on the Anycubic store from 16 January 2026 (Shopify publish date)[3] | Pre-orders opened 1 June 2026 (Tom's Hardware spec box); Tom's Hardware review published 27 June 2026[4] |
| Launch MSRP (USD) | Not documented | $469 standalone, $569 Combo at launch[4] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | $699.00 with a US plug on store.anycubic.com, Aug 2026, against a compare-at price of $899.00 ($804.00 for the EU plug variant)[3] | From $469.00 on the Bambu Lab US store, Aug 2026[5] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | The large enclosed Anycubic. Against the Kobra S1: 350 mm cube against 250 (Anycubic claims 174% more volume), 350 C hardened-steel nozzle against 320 C, 65 C active chamber heating that the S1 lacks entirely, a titanium-alloy throat tube and hardened-steel extruder gears, an activated carbon filter, 720p camera against 480p, and 25.7 kg against 9.37 kg. Its engineering-filament list is correspondingly longer[1][6] | Standalone and Combo (with AMS lite) SKUs, and an optional cutting/drawing module (blade cutter and pen plotter, 300x300 mm cutting area) that is a separate attachment, not a printer variant. Do not carry A1 or A1 mini figures across: the A2L is a different, much larger machine at 12.8 kg[2][4] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | 350 x 350 x 350 mm[1] | 330 x 320 x 325 mm (manufacturer figure)[2] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 502.7 x 483 x 584 mm[1] | 544 x 529 x 505 mm[2] |
| Net weight (kg) | 25.7 kg net, 31 kg packaged[1] | 12.8 kg net[2] |
| Frame construction & material | Not documented | Aluminium and steel chassis with a plastic outer frame; Tom's Hardware describes a triangular gantry frame the base drops into[2] |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Fully enclosed CoreXY with 65 C active chamber heating, dual external-circulation cooling fans and an activated carbon filter, plus a temperature and moisture display[1] | Open frame, no enclosure[2] |
| Passive chamber temperature reached (if enclosed; measured values preferred) | 65 C active chamber heating (manufacturer figure, actively heated rather than passive)[1] | Not documented |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY (stated outright in Anycubic's specification table)[1] | Cartesian bed-slinger - Tom's Hardware's assembly description has the heatbed bolting to a Y-carriage inside the gantry frame[4] |
| Z-axis: leadscrew count & type, sync mechanism, anti-backlash | Not documented | Not published in the spec sheet; no teardown source found that documents the Z drive[2] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 600 mm/s maximum print speed (manufacturer claim), 300 mm/s recommended[1] | 500 mm/s max toolhead speed (manufacturer claim)[2] |
| Recommended/typical print speed | 300 mm/s recommended print speed (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 20000 mm/s2 maximum acceleration, 10000 mm/s2 recommended[1] | 10 m/s2 = 10000 mm/s2 max toolhead acceleration (manufacturer claim)[2] |
| Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s) | Not documented | 28 mm3/s claimed, measured by Bambu on a 150 mm round single-wall model in Bambu PLA Basic at 220 C - note this test uses PLA, unlike the ABS-based figures Bambu quotes for its enclosed machines, so it is not directly comparable[2] |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Direct drive ("short distance extrusion") with hardened-steel extruder gears, which Anycubic rates at six times the life of brass on carbon-fibre filament[1] | Direct drive with a servo extruder motor and hardened-steel extruder gears; built-in filament cutter[2] |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Quick-release hotend with a titanium-alloy throat tube; 0.4 mm and 0.6 mm nozzles supplied, 0.25 and 0.8 mm optional; hardened steel[1] | Stainless-steel nozzle; 0.2/0.4/0.6/0.8 mm supported. Bambu's A2L sheet does not state whether the hotend is all-metal[2] |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 350 C maximum nozzle temperature[1] | 300 C claimed max nozzle temperature[2] |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 120 C maximum hotbed temperature on a PEI spring steel build plate[1] | 80 C max heatbed temperature[2] |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Not documented | Textured PEI plate included; Engineering Plate and Cool Plate SuperTack also supported[2] |
| Leveling & Z-Offset | ||
| Auto bed leveling: probe technology (inductive / strain gauge / load cell / touch probe) | LeviQ 3.0 auto-levelling[1] | Automatic bed levelling with automatic Z: Tom's Hardware confirms the nozzle is used as the probe and the machine can re-check level before each print[4] |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Filament detection with auto resume, entanglement detection and power-loss resume[1] | Yes - run-out sensor, filament odometry, tangle sensor and clumping detection[2] |
| Multi-material/multi-color capability or official upgrade path | Up to 16-colour printing with ACE 2 Pro units, sold separately[1] | Not documented |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Not documented | Part-cooling fan and hotend cooling fan, both closed-loop controlled. No auxiliary part-cooling fan and no chamber fan[2] |
| Chamber/exhaust fan & filtration (activated carbon / HEPA) | Activated carbon filter for odour removal; dual external-circulation cooling fans[1] | Not documented |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | Kobra OS with pressure advance and flow calibration supported[1] | Closed-source proprietary firmware - not a Klipper or Marlin derivative, and no printer-firmware source is published. The bambulab GitHub organisation carries 11 repositories (Bambu Studio, wxWidgets/boost/ffmpeg forks, the wiki); none is printer firmware. Updates are delivered over the air via Bambu Studio / Bambu Handy[7] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen[1] | 3.5-inch 240x320 touchscreen[2] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Touchscreen plus slicing software, Anycubic app and U-disk; AI spaghetti detection using an in-house algorithm and the 720p camera[1] | Touchscreen plus mobile app and PC app[2] |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Printer UI, slicing software, Anycubic app and U-disk[1] | 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi only (802.11 b/g/n), Bambu-Bus, microSD card. Ethernet not available[2] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Standard HD camera, 720p, used for real-time AI anomaly detection[1] | Built-in low-frame-rate camera, up to 1080p, timelapse supported[2] |
| Calibration Routines & QoL | ||
| Assembly level & time from unbox to first print | Ships 95% pre-assembled; Anycubic claims unbox to print in 10 minutes[1] | Not documented |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | Consumer grades: PLA, PETG, TPU (95A), TPU for ACE, PET, PLA-CF, PETG-CF, PVA. Engineering grades: ABS, ASA, PC, PA, PA6-CF, PC-CF/GF, PET-CF[1] | Suitable: PLA, PETG, TPU, PVA. PLA-CF and PETG-CF suitable only after fitting a hardened-steel nozzle. ABS, ASA, PA, PC and PET are listed as not recommended on the compare page[2][8] |
| Noise & Power Consumption | ||
| Noise: claimed dB and independently measured dB (distance/method) | 48 dB or less in standard mode, as low as 45 dB in quiet mode - manufacturer figures with no distance or method stated[1] | Not documented |
| Reliability, Support & Ecosystem | ||
| Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes) | One year on the complete machine (excluding gifted and second-hand machines), with component warranty periods that vary by part; the period starts on the delivery date and is suspended while a replacement is in transit. Anycubic states it will follow longer local statutory periods where they apply[9] | 2-year limited warranty for consumers in the US, Canada, the EU, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland; 1 year in the rest of the world. Bambu Lab's own policy records the US/Canada term as a 2026 extension from one year to two[10] |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Review scores from major outlets (list outlet + score + date) | Not documented | Tom's Hardware: Editor's Choice, rating 4.5 out of 5 in the page's structured data (27 June 2026)[4] |
Manufacturer claims, independent measurements, packages and test conditions retain their source wording. FDM linear speed and resin vertical speed use different units and are not directly comparable. Unknown values are marked “Not documented”. Prices and source dates remain historical snapshots; check the linked guide for product details. Differences highlight text, not a universal winner.
Sources for this comparison
- Anycubic Kobra S1 Max product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab A2L Spec Sheet (PDF) store.bblcdn.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Anycubic Kobra S1 Max Shopify product JSON (variant prices and store publish date) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Tom's Hardware - Bambu Lab A2L 3D printer review, 27 June 2026 tomshardware.com · 2026-08 · review
- Bambu Lab US Store - 3D Printers collection listing (base prices, Aug 2026) us.store.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic Kobra S1 product page (Specifications table) store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- GitHub - bambulab organisation repository list (11 repos, checked Aug 2026) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Bambu Lab - Compare all 3D printers (A2L / X2D / H2C columns) bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Anycubic refund and warranty policy store.anycubic.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab Warranty Policy bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor