We sat down and had a chat with Bambu Lab’s founder and CEO, Dr. Ye Tao.
Bambu Lab is the company that has shaken up the 3D print industry the most in the past two years. The company’s introduction of low-cost, high-quality, and easy-to-use equipment has caused significant challenges for their competitors.
At the recent Formnext event, we had the opportunity to have a brief chat with Dr. Tao, who turns out to be a fascinating individual on a mission.
Fabbaloo: Bambu Lab is now growing strong. What were the challenges you encountered along the way to today?
Dr. Tao: “We started quite small. Five of us from DJI [the consumer drone manufacturer]. The first 20 employees were all engineers. We just needed to be ourselves and figure out how to deliver it. We watched many videos of people using 3D printers to learn about the challenges we had to overcome.
I remember sending messages to the leading 3D print YouTubers with our pitch. I think we heard back from only one because most of them didn’t believe what we proposed.
Between December 2020 and about July 2022, was our ‘honeymoon’ stage; everyone knew everyone!
Then we ramped up after selling started and ran into unfamiliar areas, like logistics. From there, it was just growth, and we have new problems to solve every day.”
Fabbaloo: There are several big players in this space. How do you see your competition?
Dr. Tao: “We see a lot of potential in this market today, and we’re even more excited about the future. Our philosophy is simple – we focus on executing our vision and delivering excellence, rather than concerning ourselves with what others are doing. We let our work speak for itself.”
Fabbaloo: Last year, there was an unexpected issue with the A1 3D printer that resulted in a recall. Can you tell us how that went down?
Dr. Tao: “Well, nobody was prepared for this. How could you? We were visiting Europe at the time, in the Porsche Museum, actually, and I suddenly received the ‘Houston, we have a problem’ call.
We realized we had to handle the issue properly. It’s not about just making money and leaving. We wanted to ensure our customers were supported.
The biggest challenge was to find the budget to get it all done. After that, we mobilized basically everyone and got it done.”
Fabbaloo: The DJI approach was to transform a challenging technology into something that many more people could easily use. You’ve done the same for desktop 3D printing, but is there another level? Is it possible to break through to the larger consumer market with even more ease-of-use features?
Dr. Tao: “That’s the plan. It will take more changes to hardware, software, and materials, but we don’t know at which point it will happen.”
Fabbaloo: Do you intend on releasing a resin 3D printer at some point in the future? We’re hoping for breakthroughs in safety on that type of 3D printer, and Bambu Lab might be the company to do so.
Dr. Tao: [smiling] “FDM is hard enough.”
Via Bambu Lab
