GoKawiilA Texas jury found Bambu Lab liable for patent infringement in the creation of the X1, P1, and A1 series of 3D printers, and awarded Stratasys, Inc. $27.6 million dollars in damages. The patents in dispute cover prime towers and bed leveling methods used by consumer 3D printers of multiple brands. Bambu Lab has issued a statement to Tom's Hardware about the developments.
Stratasys, Inc., invented FDM 3D printing. Its co-founder Scott Crump held US5121329 filed in 1989, for the "Apparatus and Method for Creating Three-Dimensional Objects. That patent expired in 2009, opening the doors to consumer 3D printing.
No injunctions have been placed on the machines named in the suit, which are all from Bambu Lab’s “first generation” of 3D printers. An anonymous source said Bambu Lab has been working on an alternative to prime towers should the need arise, but that information has not yet been made public.
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The X1, Bambu Lab’s first 3D printer, launched in May 2022, was retired earlier this year. The P1S is not officially retired, but was nominally replaced by the P2S in October 2025. The A1 and A1 Mini are still part of Bambu’s active lineup, though a larger A2L was introduced this summer.
The first-gen Bambu Lab machines use single-nozzle filament purging, covered by Stratasys US 9421713 patent. They also rely on specific strain-gauge and force-sensor implementations targeted by Stratasys's US 9168698 patent .
The newer H2 lineup, as well as the X2, are all dual-nozzle machines, which have side-stepped US 9421713. They also employ optical sensors and re-engineered bed probing that avoid the force-detection feedback loops claimed by Stratasys.
We asked the team at Prusa Research if this ongoing patent dispute had any impact on the development of the INDX, a multi-nozzle toolchanger that does not require the use of a prime or purge tower.
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“Our motivation was to have minimal waste,” said a Prusa Research rep. “In our eyes, this is a better solution than a prime tower.” The INDX nozzles prime filament by wiping tiny pellets no larger than a grain of rice into a waste cup inside the printer.
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