Global Laser Box: A Metal 3D Printer Under $5,000
3D PrintingA compact metal 3D printer priced at $4,988 outside China has already shipped several hundred units, according to its maker, Global Laser Box. That is about half the starting price of the $9,600 Scrap 1 kit. For makers and small shops that have watched metal printing stay out of reach, the catch is how little is public: the report gives no build volume, laser specification or material list for the machine.
What Happened
3D Printing Industry reports that Jiangsu Global Laser Box Digital Technology will launch a global crowdfunding campaign at the end of November for its third-generation compact metal printer, the GLB-M1. The platform isn’t named. The company calls the GLB-M1 an “AI 3D printer” built around voice interaction, cloud slicing and global data management.
The figures come from an interview Nanjixiong conducted with chairman Wang Binhua at TCT Shenzhen on 14 October. The first-generation compact machine was introduced at a consumer electronics show in June and sells for $4,988 abroad. The company has completed a Series A round of nearly RMB200 million, develops its lasers, control systems and software in-house, and says it has sold products in more than 60 countries.
Why It Matters
The company makes a range of machines. The DP-C2, aimed at buyers in China, needs only a power supply and a nitrogen source, either a generator or rented cylinders, and includes eight AI-based tools such as residual stress analysis. At the industrial end, the GLB-330M debuted at TCT Shanghai at RMB298,000. The company argues that two GLB-330Ms give more combined build area and output than a single 400 mm machine at the same cost.
On quality, it showed small parts, including metal turtles, taken straight from the machine with no sandblasting, annealing or other finishing. Manufacturing is growing too: a 40,000 m² factory in Huzhou, Zhejiang is due to start production in December 2026, alongside existing bases in Yancheng and Changsha. A joint venture with Genesis, a supplier to the electronics industry, will focus on metal printing of high-end parts, mainly liquid-cooled copper structural components.
What This Means for Makers and Small Shops
Low-cost metal printing has become a crowded claim. Stack Archive has covered the $9,600 Scrap Labs SCRAP 1 and Metal-Base’s sub-$10,000 LPBF printer, and the 3D Printing Industry article also compares the market with Mastrex’s $185,000 MX300. Global Laser Box’s price is roughly half the Scrap 1’s, but price is only part of the cost. The DP-C2’s nitrogen requirement suggests these machines need gas handling that a filament printer doesn’t. That is an inference from one model, and the article doesn’t spell out what the export machine needs.
Earlier coverage, such as All3DP’s look at the GLB DP-C1, describes a machine for home workshops. The 3D Printing Industry article doesn’t name the first-generation export model, so which machine those several hundred units are isn’t confirmed.
The So What
Makers weighing a metal printer should hold off backing the GLB-M1 campaign until the company publishes build volume, laser power, supported powders and gas requirements, since none appear in this report. Shops already pricing a Scrap 1 or Metal-Base machine should add Global Laser Box to the comparison, and ask how the “several hundred units shipped” claim can be checked through independent user reports.
Source: 3D Printing Industry
Content created with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy.
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