Bamboo Labs is coming out with a new printer that has a laser. I’m curious if this could be used to cut the plastics we use for VEX.
Yes, it probably could. I think the 10W laser probably will cut 1/16" plastic stock, but it will probably go slow and need multiple passes. The 40W is probably a better bet for cutting plastic.
My biggest reservation with going with this Bambu is you have a pretty small working surface for cutting (about 12" x 10") Most parts you would probably cut for VEX robots will fit within that size, but you are going to need to break down your raw material in order to fit it in the machine to cut. The more you have to break down your material, the more waste you will eventually have.
We have a Glowforge Pro that we use for a lot of things, including cutting plastic parts for VEX. We have had it for several years (actually we have had several, swapping them out for replacements a couple of times). There are a lot of good things about the Glowforge, but I’m not sure I’d go with one if I was buying something new right now. I think the xTool product is very intriguing. I haven’t used any of them, but they seem to have good reviews and something like the xTool S1 might be a good fit for a robotics lab.
I do have a Bambu Labs X1C and I love it as a 3D printer. It is the first 3D printer we have owned where I really feel like it is a tool that can just make what you tell it to. I think I’d rather keep the 3D printer separate from the laser cutter, though. Trying to make one tool do lots of things usually ends up creating multiple compromises that make the total less than the sum of its parts. A laser cutter doesn’t stay clean inside, I wouldn’t like the residue build up of a laser cutter on the inside of a 3D printer.
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I really appreciate that! Thanks!
I’m a middle school teacher with no 3D printer at the moment and no lasers either… But I agree that a multi-everything tool will generally not be good at anything. Kind of like me… 
The 10W is $600 extra and the 40W is $1,400 extra. I didn’t think about keeping everything clean.
I’ve always loved the glowforge but they would be out of budget for now.
Thanks again for your thoughts!
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