# Big Job. Light Work – Bambu Lab Launches R1, A 55W CO₂ Laser Cutter & Engraver

- Link: https://www.thailand-business-news.com/pr-news/big-job-light-work-bambu-lab-launches-r1-a-55w-co%e2%82%82-laser-cutter-engraver
- Published: 2026-09-22T21:00:00+07:00
- Author: PR Newswire

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AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Bambu Lab today announced the launch
of the R1, a 55W CO2 laser cutter and engraver designed for the kind of work that
used to require a dedicated workshop: cutting and engraving wood, clear acrylic 
and leather, engraves glass, stone and coated metals, aligns its own optical path
automatically, in a machine safe to run at home. The R1 opens a new category within
the Bambu ecosystem and marks a big step toward personal manufacturing, making more
room for makers to create, and more materials in their hands. With the R1, a maker
can take a design from a sheet of black walnut plywood or acrylic to a finished 
piece, in one machine, on their own bench.

[⌊Bambu Lab R1, A 55W CO₂ Laser Cutter & Engraver⌉⌊Bambu Lab R1, A 55W CO₂ Laser
Cutter & Engraver⌉[
Bambu Lab R1, A 55W CO₂ Laser Cutter & Engraver

**One Laser, More Materials**

The R1 runs a 55W CO2 laser. It cuts and engraves wood, acrylic, leather, paper 
and fabric, and engraves glass, stone and coated metals. Clear acrylic and glass
are the notable ones: a diode laser passes straight through them, a CO2 laser does
not, so the R1 can cut and engrave both.

Being a CO2 laser also means cutting thicker wood than a diode can, faster and with
less charring along the edge – up to 18 mm black walnut plywood and 20 mm acrylic.
The working area is 600 × 300 mm, and with the Conveyor accessory the R1 takes stock
up to 3000 mm long – longer than its own bed, and enough to bring furniture-scale
work within reach. It engraves on curved objects as well.

Anyone familiar with Bambu Lab’s 3D printers will recognize the approach. Those 
machines took a process that used to demand tuning, calibration and patience and
made it something a person could simply run. A CO2 laser has its own version of 
that problem — the setup work that stands between you and the first cut — and that
is what the R1 takes off your hands.

**A First for a Laser Cutter: It Aligns Itself**

On a CO2 laser, the beam travels to the lens by bouncing off a set of mirrors. If
those mirrors are even slightly off, the beam drifts off course, and cutting power
and precision drop, and in the worst case the machine is effectively unusable. Keeping
them aligned is something every CO2 laser needs, and on most machines it is a manual
chore: tape thermal paper over a mirror mount, fire a test shot, read the burn mark,
turn the mirror by hand, and fire again – mirror by mirror, and again whenever things
drift. For someone new to it, it can take an hour.

Auto Laser Alignment does it for you. Mount the Laser Alignment Sensor – a plate
with a crosshair – on the toolhead, and the machine reads the beam off the crosshair,
finds where the path is off, and corrects it with motorized mirror actuators. No
paper, no test shots, no turning screws. In about one minute, it is done. Only from
Bambu Lab.

**TriSense System: What You Mark Is What You Cut**

Before it cuts, the R1 works out three things – where the material and design sit,
how high the surface is, and how the toolhead is moving across it. The TriSense 
System handles all three through cameras, lasers and encoders working as one:

 ◦ It locates: The BirdsEye Camera captures the whole work area, the Toolhead Camera
   locates exactly what you are cutting, and the Pinpoint Laser marks the spot right
   on the material.
 ◦ It measures: The Distance Measurement Laser reads surface height and sets focus
   automatically, on flat and curved surfaces alike.
 ◦ It tracks: XY encoders report toolhead position in real time, keeping every move
   on course.

In practice, that means engraving evenly across a curved object such as a bowl, 
finding and detailing objects small enough to be fiddly by hand, and tracing a printed
outline – the shape of a sticker, for instance – then cutting along it with accuracy
under 0.2 mm.

**The Motion Technology Behind Bambu Lab’s 3D Printers**

A laser toolhead starts, stops and changes direction thousands of times in a single
job, and how cleanly it does that decides how the work looks. The algorithms handling
it on the R1 are the ones proven on Bambu Lab 3D printers, retuned for a laser:

 ◦ Vibration Compensation: Models the mechanical resonance that leaves jagged edges
   after a direction change and cancels it, keeping engraved lines crisp through
   sharp turns – the same technique that keeps ringing out of Bambu Lab prints, 
   and a first on a CO2 laser.
 ◦ Speed-Synced Laser Power: At fixed power, slow sections of an engraving burn 
   darker and fast sections come out pale, leaving dark corners and light lines 
   across a single piece. The R1 adjusts laser power in step with speed, so tone
   stays even at up to 1000 mm/s.
 ◦ Vision Encoder (sold separately): A calibration board that measures and corrects
   the mechanical drift every motion system develops with use, holding absolute 
   motion accuracy within 0.1 mm across 600 mm of travel. The same calibration can
   be run again as the machine ages.

**Safe and Compact Enough for a Home Workspace**

[⌊Safe and Compact Enough for a Home Workspace⌉⌊Safe and Compact Enough for a Home
Workspace⌉[
Safe and Compact Enough for a Home Workspace

 ◦ Class 1 Laser Safety: Classified Class 1 under IEC 60825-1 – the safest rating
   for a consumer laser. In standard enclosed use, the beam stays fully contained,
   with no goggles or separate room required.
 ◦ Crossflow Ventilation: Thanks to an extra fan on the right side, air is pulled
   in one side and pushed out the other, so a steady current runs through the chamber
   and carries smoke out with it. When long stock runs through the pass-through 
   opening, incoming air forms a curtain that holds fumes inside until the exhaust
   takes them.
 ◦ Built-in Protections: Opening the lid mid-job stops the laser at once, a sensor
   watches for flame, the Auto Fire Extinguishing System (sold separately) puts 
   one out on its own, and an emergency stop cuts all power.
 ◦ Smaller Footprint: The R1 delivers the same working area as a typical CO₂ laser
   while taking up about a third less space.*

*Comparison based on external footprint vs. representative consumer CO₂ lasers with
equivalent working area, as measured by Bambu Lab. Actual size varies by model.

 ◦ E1 Pro Air Purifier (sold separately): Built for R1, E1 Pro connects directly
   to R1’s exhaust outlet and pulls smoke out at the source. Multiple filter layers,
   with activated carbon, catch smoke and fine particles and reduce odors.

_Note: When used with the Riser Base or the Conveyor, the enclosure is no longer
complete and the R1 changes from an enclosed Class 1 device to a Class 4 device,
requiring CO2 laser-safety eyewear and intended for professional use by trained 
personnel only._

**Part of the Bambu Experience **

The R1’s hardware is built so the first cut does not require a specialist’s setup.
The same idea carries into how you run it. Same MakerWorld. Same Bambu account. 
Same familiar workflow in Bambu Suite, on Windows and macOS. If you already use 
a Bambu Lab printer, the R1 does not ask you to learn a new way of working – it 
fits into the ecosystem you know, so there is less to learn and more you can start
making right away.

**If You Already Print, Here’s More to Make.**

A 3D printer already covers shape. The R1 extends the same bench into materials 
a printer does not form: wood, clear acrylic, leather, paper and fabric, plus engraving
on glass, stone and coated metal. Print the structure, fittings and interior detail;
cut and engrave the parts that need grain, a clean edge, or light through acrylic.

[⌊More material: PLA Basic +Walnut · Clear acrylic⌉⌊More material: PLA Basic +Walnut·
Clear acrylic⌉[
More material: PLA Basic +Walnut · Clear acrylic

[⌊More material: PLA Basic +Walnut · Clear acrylic⌉⌊More material: PLA Basic +Walnut·
Clear acrylic⌉[
More material: PLA Basic +Walnut · Clear acrylic

**Target Audiences**

The R1 is designed for:

 ◦ Makers Who Already Print: Add laser-cut and engraved wood, acrylic and leather
   to what they build, on the same account and the same community.
 ◦ Small Businesses and Workshops: Affordable entry to a premium CO2 laser, with
   fast setup and unattended reliability for production work.
 ◦ Woodworkers and Crafters: Keep everyday cuts and long boards in one workflow,
   with less setup before the first cut and a Conveyor that feeds stock through 
   in a single pass.
 ◦ Designers and Personalization Sellers: Engraving on glass, stone, coated metal
   and curved objects, aligned to printed artwork within 0.2 mm.

**Pricing and Availability**

R1: US: $2,499.00 (excl. tax / incl. shipping) EU:€2,499.00 (incl. tax / excl. shipping)

Pre-orders start on September 22, 2026, through the [official Bambu Lab store](https://store.bambulab.com/products/r1),
with shipping starting in October.

A short-focus lens is included. Riser Base, Conveyor, Rotary attachment, medium 
and long focus lenses, Vision Encoder, E1 Pro Air Purifier and Auto Fire Extinguishing
System are sold separately.

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  |  This article was produced by Cision PR Newswire, our trusted news partner. The views expressed and the content presented here are solely those of the author and may not fully reflect the opinions of Thailand Business News. |

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