Patent Overview
Shenzhen Tuozhu Technology, Bambu Lab’s parent company, has filed a patent application in the U.S. for a new heatbed design, which was published on September 10, 2026. This design aims to heat a printbed more evenly, reducing issues with prints as commonly reported by many users of various 3D printer brands. The patent describes the construction, heating method, and its claim of better adhesion to improve print quality.
The abstract of patent US20260264331A1 states that the heated bed comprises a heated bed body, a heating unit, and a bottom case, configured to attach to a surface proximal to the bottom case to improve adhesion and overall print quality.
Design and Construction
Current heatbeds use a laminated heating sheet adhered to a sheet of aluminum with magnets to hold a build plate. Bambu Lab’s new design replaces this laminated sandwich with a heated bed body featuring a machined channel where the heating element runs.
The heating element loops around inside a recess in the heatbed as one long unit connected to a single power supply at each end. The loops reach the corners, potentially reducing peeling for large prints that use most of the bed’s surface and improving the time required to reach target temperatures.
Manufacturing and Cost Implications
Machining a recess in a large piece of aluminum involves notable material and machining costs, though the design could potentially be constructed from multiple layers of aluminum sheets to avoid using expensive billets.
Patent Scope and Future Outlook
The patent application also describes a generic CoreXY 3D printer configuration tied specifically to the heatbed design. Because the application is still pending, the patent cannot be enforced yet.
If the patent is granted and demonstrates superior performance, it could potentially impact replacement component costs and overall printer pricing. Performance data is not yet available.
