Fig. 1Still life with filament: a vase, laid down one layer at a time.
Cover story
A fleet rebuilt, from the plate up.
Every printer in the lab is now a current-generation Bambu Lab machine: two H2S, two H2C, two X2D and an X1C. Five of the seven were donated by Xu & Ning.
No. 01The StoryGies College of Business · since 2013
The business school that learned to make things.
In the spring of 2013, Gies College of Business opened the world’s first business school 3D printing lab. This fall, every printer in it is state of the art.
In the spring of 2013, a business school opened a 3D printing lab, the first business school anywhere to do so. Dr. Aric Rindfleisch and Dr. Vishal Sachdev founded the Illinois MakerLab at Gies College of Business on a plain conviction: that the people who will design, make and market physical things should have the knowledge and the tools to make them.
The idea traveled. There is a Spring-semester course, Making Things (badm 331), on 3D printing, prototyping and digital fabrication. Since 2016 there has been a 3D Printing Specialization on Coursera, developed with Autodesk and Ultimaker. There have been satellite labs in southern Illinois and on Chicago’s South Side, regular workshops, week-long summer camps and birthday parties.
On the floor are the Gurus, the lab’s student experts: today, Bayu Febriansyah, Aldo Villanueva and Sahib Bedi.
A new fleet
This fall the lab turns a page. Every printer in Room 3030 is now a current-generation Bambu Lab machine, seven in all: two H2S for the largest parts, two H2C with the Vortek hotend-swapping system, two dual-nozzle X2D from the second-generation X-Series, and an X1 Carbon, the CoreXY benchmark.
Five of the seven were a gift. Both H2C, both X2D and the X1C were donated by Xu & Ning: Haoyang Xu, an alumnus of Gies College of Business, and Yuxin Ning, an alumnus of The Grainger College of Engineering.
So walk in, or order online. Students pay from 10¢ a gram on top of the $4 base fee, and on Wednesdays during the Fall and Spring semesters, one-hour prints are free.
Fig. 2A study in layers. Every print is a stack of contours, each one laid down on the last.
Our Gurus are the heart of the MakerLab, helping students, faculty, and community members learn, make, and share.
No. 02The FleetSeven printers · four models
Seven machines, catalogued.
All Bambu Lab, all current-generation. Choose a model to see its build volume drawn to scale.
Plate I · Build volumesDrawn to scale
Fig. 3H2S · 340 × 320 × 340 mm, the largest in the lab.
Nested from one corner. The X2D and X1C differ by four millimeters of height.
i.
Bambu LabH2S
×2Two in the lab
The big one: the largest build volume in the lab, for big parts and engineering materials.
Build volume
340 × 320 × 340 mm
Hotend
Single nozzle, 350 °C
Chamber
Actively heated, 65 °C
Toolhead
Up to 1000 mm/s
Best for
Big parts, engineering materials
ii.
Bambu LabH2C
×2Two in the lab
Donated byXu & Ning
Six hotends wait on a rack, each hot in about eight seconds: multi-material printing with far less purge waste.
System
Vortek hotend swapping
Hotends
Magnetic, induction-heated; six on the rack
Heat-up
About 8 seconds
Hotend
350 °C
Build volume
≈ 325 × 320 × 320 mm
Launched
November 2025
iii.
Bambu LabX2D
×2Two in the lab
Donated byXu & Ning
The second-generation X-Series: two nozzles on one toolhead, and thirty-one sensors.
Nozzles
Dual, on one toolhead; 300 °C
Bed
120 °C
Chamber
Heated, 65 °C
Build volume
256 × 256 × 260 mm
Sensors
31
Launched
April 2026
iv.
Bambu LabX1C
×1One in the lab
Donated byXu & Ning
The X1 Carbon, the CoreXY benchmark, with a hardened nozzle and lidar-assisted calibration.
Motion
CoreXY
Nozzle
Hardened, 300 °C
Speed
Up to 500 mm/s
Build volume
256 × 256 × 256 mm
Calibration
Lidar-assisted
Across the fleet
PLA, PETG, TPU and ABS/ASA; engineering and fiber-filled composites on the 350 °C machines; multi-material on the H2C and X2D. These are printer capabilities, not a stock list: ask a Guru what’s on the shelf.
No. 03The GiftWith thanks
Ex librisIllinois MakerLab
Xu&Ning
Gift of Haoyang Xu & Yuxin NingFive printers in Room 3030
A gift from Xu & Ning.
Five of the lab’s seven printers, both H2C, both X2D and the X1C, are the gift of Haoyang Xu and Yuxin Ning.
Donor
Haoyang Xu
Alumnus, Gies College of Business
&
Donor
Yuxin Ning
Alumnus, The Grainger College of Engineering
The Illinois MakerLab gratefully acknowledges Haoyang Xu and Yuxin Ning for their generous gift of five Bambu Lab printers. It puts state-of-the-art fabrication within reach of every student, faculty member and visitor to Room 3030.
Fig. 4The fleet as a shelf, spines drawn to scale by build height. In terracotta, the five donated by Xu & Ning.
No. 04The MenuServices & prices
Priced by the gram.
Every print is a $4 base fee plus the material it uses. Walk in, or order online.
Illinois MakerLab
The Menu
Fall 2026 · served in Room 3030
3D printing
$4 base fee per print
Plus material, by the gram.
Material price per gram
Per gram
Walk-in
Online
Illinois students
10¢
12¢
Illinois faculty, staff, alumni & departments
25¢
30¢
Everyone else
35¢
42¢
When a Guru sets up and manages the print+20%
Dual-color or special filament+50%
Campus account payments: $10 minimum, billed at faculty/staff rates. Cards accepted in person or online.
Design & prototyping
30-minute minimum, in 30-minute increments, plus materials.
Students$20/h
Faculty & staff$30/h
Everyone else$50/h
1-to-1 tutoring
3D modeling in Tinkercad or Fusion 360, online or in person.
Per 30-minute session$25
Private sessions
Reserve the lab for a private class of up to 21: 3D printing, design, scanning or prototyping.
A 3D Printing Specialization on Coursera, developed with Autodesk and Ultimaker, and outreach satellite labs in southern Illinois and on Chicago’s South Side.
Closed on university holidays, Spring Break, Thanksgiving week, and semester transitions (May & August). Free one-hour prints run on Wednesdays during the Fall and Spring semesters.
No. 07Letters & DispatchesReviews · news
Notes from the bench.
What visitors write about the lab, and the latest from its journal.
Letters
5.0 average
Great place to make a 3D print. The online ordering option is very convenient!
Becky Vandewalle
I had a great experience printing my STL files here. Will definitely print more!
Luke Manthuruthil
Staff made the entire printing process super simple and straightforward. Planning to use again for class projects.