Printer comparison
Bambu Lab H2C vs Formlabs Form 4
Compare hardware, build volume, printing specifications, dated prices and sources.
2 selected · all documented properties
Open these two in the interactive comparisonMore Bambu Lab H2C comparisonsMore Formlabs Form 4 comparisons
| Property | Bambu Lab H2CCOREXY | Formlabs Form 4RESIN |
|---|---|---|
| Identity | ||
| Brand | Bambu Lab | Formlabs |
| Class | COREXY | RESIN |
| Identity & Market | ||
| Manufacturer & exact marketed model name (verify the exact product identity first) | Bambu Lab H2C; spec sheet header "H2C Spec Sheet"[1] | Formlabs Form 4 3D Printer[2][3] |
| Street price (USD; dated snapshot per entry) | From $2,199.00 on the Bambu Lab US store, Aug 2026, against a stated typical price of $2,399.00; the compare page shows $2,399[4] | Starting at $2,625.00 at GoEngineer, in stock, checked Aug 2026. Formlabs sells the printer as part of packages (Form 4 Complete Package etc.), so package prices are much higher than the printer-only figure[3] |
| Variants & sibling models — and how to tell them apart (spec-contamination risk) | Dual-nozzle top model in the H2 family, in the same 492x514x626 mm body as the H2D and H2S. Distinguishing figures: 32.5 kg (vs 31 kg H2D, 30 kg H2S); single-nozzle volume 305x320x325 mm (vs 325x320x325 mm on the H2D); BirdsEye camera fitted as standard rather than only on a Laser Edition; laser safety window listed as equipped with the Laser Edition[1][5][6][7] | Three machines share this platform and are constantly conflated. Form 4: 200 x 125 x 210 mm, 50 um pixels, 18.3 kg, 480 W, one resin cartridge, NOT biocompatible. Form 4B: identical hardware but validated for 38 Formlabs materials including 15 biocompatible. Form 4L: 353 x 196 x 350 mm, 46 um pixels, 58.5 kg, 900 W, two cartridges[2] |
| Physical & Frame | ||
| Build volume X×Y×Z (mm) — advertised vs actually usable | Single-nozzle printing 305 x 320 x 325 mm; dual-nozzle printing 300 x 320 x 325 mm; total volume for two nozzles 330 x 320 x 325 mm. The sortable figure is the single-nozzle volume[1] | 200 x 125 x 210 mm (Formlabs quotes 5.25 litres)[2][3] |
| Machine footprint (mm) & clearance needed (cable/spool overhang) | 492 x 514 x 626 mm[1] | 398 x 367 x 554 mm[2][3] |
| Net weight (kg) | 32.5 kg net[1] | 18.3 kg[2][3] |
| Frame construction & material | Aluminium and steel chassis with a plastic and glass outer frame[1] | Not documented |
| Enclosure: open / enclosed; panel material; door/lid | Fully enclosed with a door sensor; active chamber heating to 65 C, chamber exhaust and heat-circulation fans, G3 + H12 + granulated coconut-shell carbon filtration with VOC filtration rated Superior[1] | Enclosed cabinet with a hinged UV-blocking cover. Operating temperature 18-28 C[2] |
| Passive chamber temperature reached (if enclosed; measured values preferred) | Active chamber heating, maximum 65 C (manufacturer figure)[1] | Not documented |
| Kinematics & Motion Hardware | ||
| Kinematics (bedslinger i3 / CoreXY / other) | CoreXY - not named in the spec sheet; grouped by Bambu with the H2 enclosed CoreXY machines at 20000 mm/s2[1] | Masked stereolithography (MSLA). Formlabs brands the engine Low Force Display; straight-lift peel[2][3] |
| Speed & Acceleration | ||
| Max print speed (claimed, mm/s) | 1000 mm/s max toolhead speed (manufacturer claim); no independent measurement found[1] | Not documented |
| Max acceleration (claimed, mm/s²) | 20000 mm/s2 max toolhead acceleration (manufacturer claim)[1] | Not documented |
| Max volumetric flow claimed (mm³/s) | 40 mm3/s, measured by Bambu on a 250 mm round single-wall model in Bambu ABS at 280 C[1] | Not documented |
| Extruder | ||
| Type (direct drive / bowden) & design name | Dual direct-drive extruders, hardened-steel gears, Bambu high-precision permanent-magnet synchronous motors[1] | Not documented |
| Hotend & Nozzle | ||
| Hotend design (proprietary/standard; quick-swap mechanism?) | Hardened-steel nozzles, 0.2/0.4/0.6/0.8 mm supported; built-in filament cutter[1] | Not documented |
| Max nozzle temp claimed AND firmware max temp limit (both values) | 350 C claimed max nozzle temperature[1] | Not documented |
| Heated Bed & Surface | ||
| Max bed temp claimed AND firmware limit | 120 C max heatbed temperature[1] | Not documented |
| Bed surface (material, texture, coating), single/double-sided | Flexible steel plate with Textured PEI included; Engineering Plate also supported[1] | Not documented |
| Filament Handling & Detection | ||
| Filament runout sensor (type, location) | Yes - run-out sensor and door sensor[1] | Not documented |
| Cooling & Air Handling | ||
| Part-cooling fan(s): count, size, ducting design | Part-cooling fan, hotend cooling fan, chamber exhaust fan and chamber heat-circulation fan, all closed-loop controlled[1] | Not documented |
| Electronics & Power | ||
| Input voltage (110/220 V, switch or auto) | Not documented | 100-240 VAC, 4.8 A, 50/60 Hz, 480 W[2] |
| Total rated power draw | 100-120 VAC / 200-240 VAC 50/60 Hz; 1800 W at 220 V, 1250 W at 110 V[1] | 480 W[2] |
| Firmware & Openness | ||
| Firmware base & current version (Klipper fork / Marlin fork / proprietary) | 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[8] | Proprietary. Print preparation is PreForm; fleet management is Formlabs Dashboard[3] |
| Connectivity, UI & Camera | ||
| Display: size, type, touch? | 5-inch 720x1280 touchscreen[1] | 7-inch interactive touchscreen, 1280 x 800 (control panel — not the masking LCD, see W1)[2] |
| On-device UI capabilities (model preview, per-object controls, etc.) | Touchscreen plus mobile app and PC app[1] | Not documented |
| WiFi (band/standard), Ethernet, USB ports, SD/flash-drive | Wi-Fi; built-in 8 GB eMMC and a USB port. Ethernet not available[1] | Dual-band Wi-Fi, Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbit), USB-C 2.0[2][3] |
| Camera: built-in / optional? Resolution & framerate (verify — marketing often omits real fps) | Four cameras as standard: live view 1920x1080, nozzle camera 1920x1080, toolhead camera 1920x1080 and BirdsEye 3264x2448[1] | Not documented |
| Materials Support | ||
| Officially supported filament list | PLA, PETG, TPU, PVA, BVOH, ABS, ASA, PC, PA, PET, PPS, plus carbon/glass-fibre reinforced PLA, PETG, PA, PET, PC, ABS, ASA, PPA and PPS[1] | Formlabs resins across rigid, tough, general purpose, flame retardant, silicone, elastic, ceramic and castable families. Biocompatible resins require the Form 4B, not the Form 4[2] |
| Reliability, Support & Ecosystem | ||
| Warranty length & support reputation (evidence, not vibes) | 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[9] | Not documented |
| Independently Measured Performance | ||
| Dimensional accuracy measurements (third-party, with numbers) | Not documented | XY dimensional tolerance +/-0.15% — a manufacturer specification, not an independent measurement[2][3] |
| Resin & MSLA | ||
| Masking LCD | Not documented | Low Force Display masking LCD with a 50 um pixel size and pre-tuned anti-aliasing. Formlabs does not publish the screen diagonal or pixel count[2][3] |
| Light source | Not documented | Backlight unit with 60 uniform-wavelength high-power LEDs behind collimating lenses, with integrated cooling[2][3] |
| Vertical print speedmm/h | Not documented | Maximum 100 mm/h; average 40 mm/h at a 100 um layer height (manufacturer figures — GoEngineer publishes both, which is unusually explicit about the basis). Formlabs separately claims most prints finish in under 2 hours[3][2] |
| Layer height range | Not documented | 25-200 um per Formlabs' own tech-spec page; GoEngineer's listing for the same machine says 25-300 um. Unresolved[2][3] |
| Resin vat & feeding | Not documented | Single next-generation resin cartridge; Formlabs claims 5-10x faster filling and 63% less waste. Resin tank rated for 75,000+ layers with any Formlabs material. No vat capacity published[2][3] |
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
- Bambu Lab H2C Spec Sheet (PDF) store.bblcdn.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Formlabs resin printer technical specifications (Form 4 / 4B / 4L) formlabs.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Formlabs Form 4 3D printer listing store.goengineer.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab US Store - 3D Printers collection listing (base prices, Aug 2026) us.store.bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab H2D - Technical Specifications bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- Bambu Lab H2S & H2S Laser Edition Spec Sheet (PDF) store.bblcdn.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Bambu Lab - Compare all 3D printers (A2L / X2D / H2C columns) bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor
- GitHub - bambulab organisation repository list (11 repos, checked Aug 2026) github.com · 2026-08 · doc
- Bambu Lab Warranty Policy bambulab.com · 2026-08 · vendor