3D printing's tool changer wars heat up as Prusa re-enters the ring

This month, the 3D printing community has seen the announcement of four different tool-changing FDM printers. First was Snapmaker’s U1, a machine we received for review while still in beta testing. Then slipping under the radar was newcomer AtomForm with a 12-nozzle system and a desire to keep things low-key while it tested the waters. This week, Bambu Lab and Prusa Research made surprise announcements of their own.

Prusa Research didn’t invent the tool changer, but it certainly ignited a desire in the 3D printing community for a more efficient solution to color FDM printing. Announced in 2021, the Prusa XL is a beast of a machine that costs over $4,500 when fully loaded with all five tool heads and an enclosure. That’s quite a stretch for the hobby market, so the XL remained an elite machine for a more professional crowd.

It took several years, but Snapmaker countered Prusa with an “affordable” tool changer, priced as low as priced as $649 for eager early birds armed with a special rebate. Launched last week, the U1 took Kickstarter by storm, with over 14,000 people backing the Kickstarter to date, pledging over $13 million for a desktop-sized tool changer.

Bambu Lab, either emboldened by Snapmaker’s success or bothered by possible competition from newcomer Atomform, rushed an announcement of its own tool changer-like machine, the H2C. The announcement was oddly timed, just one hour after the launch of the Bambu Lab H2S, the company’s largest Core XY machine with a single nozzle.

The H2C is perhaps “tool changer adjacent” as it only swaps out the nozzle, and will still need to use an AMS system to feed filament. This method is also being used by AtomForm, a Chinese company backed by MOVA Tech, a manufacturer of LiDAR-guided robotic lawn mowers. The Palette 300, a 300 x 300 x 300 mm 12-color-nozzle swapper, will launch on Kickstarter soon. Pricing for that machine will start at $1,499, though no one has yet seen a live demonstration. We're seeking an interview with AtomForm and will have details on this new machine as soon as they are available.

Bringing the tool changer story full circle is Josef Prusa, with a simple post on X of a popcorn emoji and a close-up photo of a CORE One with six tool heads. The post has garnered over 179,000 views, along with hundreds of likes, comments, and reposts.

Bondtech followed up the post with a tease of its own, confirming a collaboration between the companies. Bondtech’s latest project is the INDX, a DIY tool changer kit that we’ve been seeing this year at 3D printing shows, usually attached to a Voron. Bondtech was scheduled to release the INDX in November.

The INDX uses a wireless system and induction-based heating. The tools are promised to be simple and light. A CORE One with this high-tech tool changer system could put Prusa Research back on top of the consumer 3D Printer wish list.

Currently, the CORE One can be adapted to color printing with the addition of an MMU3, a complex and unwieldy five-color system. We’ve used the MMU3 on a Prusa MK4 and found that once set up, it works beautifully and with very little wasted filament. Since the MMU3 does not have a cutter, it yanks back as much filament from the hotend as it can, then pushes the rest into a purge tower, leaving no printer poop. We are currently setting up a CORE One with MMU3 for review, but the build will take some time.

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