Prusa XL vs Bambu Lab H2D for multi-material printing

The Prusa XL+ prints up to five materials with no purge, because each material has its own toolhead. The Bambu Lab H2D prints two with no purge and up to 25 with AMS (Automatic Material System) units, but a nozzle flushes each time it changes filament. The H2D brings a built-in 65 °C heated chamber and 350 °C nozzles; the XL+ brings a 360 mm cube of build volume and a different nozzle size per tool.

How do the Prusa XL and H2D compare for multi-material printing?

The Prusa XL+ is a toolchanger: up to five complete toolheads, so up to five materials print without purging, on a 360 mm cube. The Bambu Lab H2D has two nozzles on one toolhead: two materials without purging, up to 25 with AMS units and flushing, a 65 °C heated chamber and 350 °C nozzles.

Prusa replaced the Original Prusa XL with the XL+ in August 2026, so the figures below are for the XL+. All specs come from Prusa’s and Bambu Lab’s product pages and documentation, checked on October 14, 2026.

	Prusa XL+	Bambu Lab H2D
Architecture	Toolchanger: 1, 2 or 5 complete toolheads, each with its own extruder, hotend, nozzle and filament	One toolhead with two hotends; the left one lowers to print, and one extruder motor feeds either side
Materials without purge	Up to 5 (one per toolhead)	2 (one per nozzle)
Materials with purge	No filament changer listed; Prusa lists its multi-material option as “Built-in”	Up to 25: 4 AMS 2 Pro and 8 AMS HT units (24 slots) on one nozzle, plus an external spool on the other
Build volume	360 × 360 × 360 mm	325 × 320 × 325 mm on one nozzle; 300 × 320 × 320 mm for a part using both
Max nozzle temperature	290 °C	350 °C, both nozzles
Max bed temperature	120 °C	120 °C
Chamber	Open frame. Optional enclosure reaches 50 °C; an upcoming external heater add-on raises it to 60 °C	Enclosed, with an active PTC chamber heater, up to 65 °C
Nozzle sizes in one print	Each tool can carry a different size; Prusa lists 0.25 mm to 0.8 mm nozzles	Same size on both nozzles; the request for mixed sizes on Bambu Studio’s GitHub is still open
Size and weight	700 × 900 × 720 mm, 30 kg	492 × 514 × 626 mm, 31 kg

How each machine changes material

Prusa XL+. The printer parks the active toolhead in its dock and picks up the next one. Prusa says parked heads “stay preheated for instant material swaps” and power down when unused, and that tools swap “in seconds”. No filament is unloaded, so there is nothing to flush. The Prusa XL as a toolchanger covers the docks and calibration.

Bambu Lab H2D. A lifting motor lowers or raises the left hotend, and a flow blocker covers whichever nozzle is idle. Switching nozzles flushes nothing.

A third filament has to share a nozzle with another. That nozzle then cuts, unloads and flushes, as on a single-nozzle printer with an AMS. Bambu Studio’s default Filament-Saving grouping puts the filaments that need the biggest flushes on separate nozzles. How the H2D dual nozzle works has the full mechanism.

Both makers still recommend a prime tower

Neither machine flushes on a tool or nozzle switch. The tower is there to clean and settle a nozzle that has sat idle.

Prusa XL+. PrusaSlicer adds a wipe tower when you pick a multi-tool printer. Prusa calls it “the best way to cover a wide range of materials and to ensure maximum reliability”. You can turn it off under Print Settings → Multiple Extruders → Wipe Tower. Prusa’s conditions are dry filament and regular checks on the print, since damp filament oozes from a parked, preheated nozzle.

Bambu Lab H2D. Bambu Lab’s FAQ recommends a prime tower on dual-nozzle prints. A nozzle can carry residual filament after a switch, and priming cleans it off and steadies the pressure before the nozzle returns to the model. The idle nozzle is cooled and reheated in time for its next turn to limit oozing.

On the H2D, flushing between filaments that share a nozzle is the main source of waste. How much filament dual-nozzle printing wastes gives the figures.

Which materials each one prints

Prusa lists PLA, PETG, ASA, ABS, PC, PA (nylon), TPU, PVA, HIPS, PP, CPE, PVB and carbon-fiber composites for the XL+, any of them in any toolhead. Its direct-drive Nextruder tops out at 290 °C.

The H2D’s 350 °C nozzles reach further, with three nozzle rules in Bambu Lab’s grouping guide:

• PPA-CF and PPS-CF (carbon-fiber-filled polyphthalamide and polyphenylene sulfide) print only from the left nozzle.
• TPU on the left nozzle blocks the right nozzle, because lifting the left hotend twists the flexible filament. TPU on the right nozzle runs alongside a rigid filament on the left.
• Parts taller than 320 mm go to the right nozzle, which reaches 325 mm.

For warp-prone materials such as ABS, ASA and nylon, the H2D’s chamber heater comes with the printer. On the XL+, the 50 °C enclosure is an extra. Prusa still lists the 60 °C heater add-on as coming soon.

Largest multi-material part on each

On the XL+, Prusa quotes parts “up to 360 × 360 × 360 mm (46.7 liters) using up to five materials in a single, seamless job”. On the H2D, each nozzle misses a 25 mm strip at one side of the 350 × 320 mm bed. A part that uses both nozzles has to fit 300 × 320 × 320 mm. The H2D’s print volume with two nozzles maps the strips.

Prices for comparable setups

Sorted by price. Prusa prices are for the assembled printer, listed by Prusa on October 14, 2026, on its US business page, which names the configurations “1-Toolhead XL” and so on. US reseller Printed Solid listed the assembled XL+ at $2,649, $3,349 and $4,249 the same day. Bambu Lab prices are from its US store on October 14, 2026.

Setup	Materials without purge	Price (USD)	Bambu Lab’s typical price
H2D	2	$1,549	$1,749
H2D AMS Combo (1 AMS 2 Pro)	2, plus flushing from 4 AMS slots	$1,749	$1,999
H2D AMS Combo, Dual AMS 2 Pro Bundle	2, plus flushing from 8 AMS slots	$1,949	$2,249
XL+, 1 toolhead	1	$2,690	n/a
XL+, 2 toolheads	2	$3,290	n/a
XL+, 5 toolheads	5	$4,190	n/a

A two-material setup costs $1,549 on the H2D and $3,290 on a two-toolhead XL+. Five materials without purging is only available on the XL+, at $4,190 before the optional enclosure. Prusa says the single-tool XL+ frame is ready for more toolheads, so it can be expanded later.

Which fits which multi-material job

• More than 2 materials with no purge at all → the XL+ with five toolheads. The H2D flushes whenever a third filament shares a nozzle.
• Up to 2 materials, such as a part plus soluble PVA supports → either. Both print two filaments with no flushing; the H2D costs less for that setup.
• Many colors, purge waste acceptable → the H2D with AMS units, up to 25 filaments in one job.
• A different nozzle size per material, such as a fine 0.25 mm perimeter tool next to a 0.8 mm infill tool → the XL+. The H2D needs the same size in both nozzles.
• Filaments above 290 °C, such as PPA-CF or PPS-CF → the H2D’s 350 °C left nozzle.
• ABS, ASA or nylon with a heated chamber included → the H2D’s built-in 65 °C chamber. The XL+ reaches 50 °C with its optional enclosure.
• Multi-material parts larger than 300 × 320 × 320 mm → the XL+’s 360 mm cube.

For the wider trade-off between swapping toolheads and swapping filament, see toolchanger vs AMS.