Bambu Labs Printers

[Jelly]

I've been wanting a printer I didn't have to tinker with, that would print good quality OOTB, have enough smart features that I wouldn't have to pull my hair out "calibrating" every time I decided to fire up the printer. I did quite a bit of research on the various mass produced printers out there. Most of them have decent reviews with some small annoyances. QIDI, FlashForge, Dremel Digilab, were all names that kept coming up during the search. I remember seeing someone here mention the Bambu X1 Carbon, at the time it was crowd funding campaign. I just happened to look at their website to notice they had released a lower end model, the P1P for 699.

I won't go over all the specs and such because it's easy to go check it out for yourself.
I watched SO many review videos from people who had gotten review units, and some people that had already purchased production models. I liked what I saw, and decided to pull the trigger.
I ordered it Monday 16JAN.
Received today 20JAN. 4 days!
From everything I saw you could go from boxed to printing in about 15 minutes if you followed along with the guide on their wiki. I can say, it's absolutely true. I'm not a newbie to 3d printers having had a cheap chinese delta, used that to build a 1515 based core-xy, and then purchasing a Ender 3 Max, but the instructions were dead simple to follow and it wasn't long before I was puking plastic.

First impressions unboxing and subsequently using:
Build quality seems standardized.
It's noisier than I expected, but not so bad I can't live with it. I just wouldn't want to sit in the same room with it for a LONG print.
This thing prints FAST.
It has it's own Slicer/control Suite. Seems intuitive, lots of presets for filament types, but only a few brands.
Lots of Cloud based functionality. At this point in time, and browsing the forums and reddit confirms: This is a CON right now. Their cloud service goes down a lot, Currently feels like most reliable way to print is do the SD card shuffle. What is this, 201x?
ABL using a load based sensor and using the actual nozzle to probe the bed.
Nice Textured Powder Coated PEI magnetic build plate.

I'll get some pictures up as I print things with it. There is a AMS (multi material) system that is compatible with the higher end as well as this model. That is high on the priority list once I get a good feel for how this printer works.
Overall, so far I regret nothing. Best OOTB experience I've ever had with a 3d printer. It feels like what having a voron without the soul is.

 

[buttons]

I have a carbon x1 on preorder.

 

[Jelly]

I have a carbon x1 on preorder.

Looking forward to seeing what you make! The X1 at least can do LAN mode if the "cloud" is down from what I read so far.

 

[buttons]

I had an ender 5, then a neptune 2s, was sick of manually leveling the bed and inconsistent print results. Was looking at getting a voron, but didnt want to deal with 30+ hours of assemble and tuning

 

[Jelly]

Vase included on the SD Card. Took 8hours. This would have easily been a 24hr print on my Ender and wouldn't have looked anywhere near this good.

 

[Dreamerbydesign]

So many issues have been cropping up the past few weeks, on their official forum and the subreddit. I cancelled my x1cc preorder.

These were hyped for months before regular users in real numbers had them in their hands. I’m not saying it’s a bad product, but I would start taking the blinders off and reading what real users have been saying. The good and the bad.

 

[Dreamerbydesign]

Looking forward to seeing what you make! The X1 at least can do LAN mode if the "cloud" is down from what I read so far.

Yes and no. LAN mode still requires the internet to function. It’s not as cut and dry as you’d think. And it still involves sneakersnet and some other work around.

So I run octopi with many of my other printers. No internet connection required. Truly just LAN printing. There’s a big difference between this and what bambu calls “lan” printing. It’s a bit misleading on their part.

Now if they address this at a later date that would be nice. So many complaints were just lodged yesterday. Nearly 10 hours of their cloud service not working. It went down multiple times.

Their cloud service actually is not regional. It’s all routed through AWS in the US. And for that reason when it went down, it did so for people in all regions.

I’m game if they fix some of these problems. But right now, the last few days, you are really starting to see the weakness in a closed source, dependent ecosystem that’s very walled off. Similar to Apple, except they are no where near as reliable currently.

 

[Jelly]

So many issues have been cropping up the past few weeks, on their official forum and the subreddit. I cancelled my x1cc preorder.

These were hyped for months before regular users in real numbers had them in their hands. I’m not saying it’s a bad product, but I would start taking the blinders off and reading what real users have been saying. The good and the bad.

For sure, It will be interesting to see how the company handles things. It's for sure a make it or break it moment for them.
I didn't buy it for the cloud features, and I'm not so lazy that I can't play the SD Card shuffle. However, I can totally see being pissed about downtime and such, as the cloud features are sold as included, not as a subscription (which I fear they may move to in light of "Cost to maintain") and basically required for even local wireless printing. It's a design flaw in their process to me.
I would like to see them implement true offline LAN functionality for the whole process. You shouldn't have to rely on the cloud to print remotely (be it 3 feet away, 3 rooms away, etc)

Their ecosystem could and should be more Open, I think that's their biggest flaw right now.

Edit while typing, Saw your reply and I agree completely. I run Klipper/Moonsail on my E3Max but i've used Octopi in the past too.

 

[Dreamerbydesign]

For sure, It will be interesting to see how the company handles things. It's for sure a make it or break it moment for them.
I didn't buy it for the cloud features, and I'm not so lazy that I can't play the SD Card shuffle. However, I can totally see being pissed about downtime and such, as the cloud features are sold as included, not as a subscription (which I fear they may move to in light of "Cost to maintain") and basically required for even local wireless printing. It's a design flaw in their process to me.
I would like to see them implement true offline LAN functionality for the whole process. You shouldn't have to rely on the cloud to print remotely (be it 3 feet away, 3 rooms away, etc)

Their ecosystem could and should be more Open, I think that's their biggest flaw right now.

Edit while typing, Saw your reply and I agree completely. I run Klipper/Moonsail on my E3Max but i've used Octopi in the past too.

Flaw? It was a design choice. I have a laundry list of reasons why Bambu closed off the ecosystem. Software, hardware sales, spare parts, support, and internet dependency to start. This was all be design. It was their profit plan. And if it all worked and is properly supported, then I totally see them succeeding.

I think this is the beginning of the real test for them. I want 3D innovation! I’d gladly spend the money. But I won’t do it for a half baked product or a product that is not supported as advertised by the manufacturer.

Anyways I’ll wait a few months and see how this pans out. I cancelled my pre order and I’ll watch from the side lines for a bit.

 

[Riddlinkidstoner]

So I received my Bambu X1 Carbon on Thursday and after about 30 minutes, I was making my first print. This is my first 3D printer and I have zero previous 3D printing experience.

I'm quite blown away by the speed and accuracy.

First print out of the box with eSun PLA+ on the stock cool plate.

"Poop" bucket

Tool box on the optional texture plate. My favorite.

Finally, I printed a noctua 40x10 fan adapter to replace the noisy MB fan. Worked perfectly with an adapter I made so no splicing needed.

 

[notarat]

I'm looking at these to replace the Ender 5S1 of mine which is FUBAR. How fast was the shipping?

 

[Riddlinkidstoner]

I'm looking at these to replace the Ender 5S1 of mine which is FUBAR. How fast was the shipping?

Ordered on the 13th. Arrived on the 23rd. At the time the ETA said "mid-Feb" so it was largely accurate.

 

[Darunion]

Are they still requiring the cloud connection to slice and print? That was my turn off when first looking at them.

 

[notarat]

I ordered one this morning with an estimated delivery date of mid march. Should be interesting to play with when it arrives

 

[Jelly]

If you have the X1/X1C cloud connection is NOT required, you can place it in LAN mode. P1P not so much. There was one day where I couldn't print anything due to this, but it was during the Chinese New Year, and Bambu has been pretty active pushing status updates/patches out recently. I think they are in it for the long haul, just growing pains.
Shipping? Mind you I ordered an "in stock" P1P and I had it within 4 days of my order.
AMS came quick as well. 3 days IIRC.
Loving every bit of the experience.

 

[Riddlinkidstoner]

Received the Whambam PEX plate and I absolutely love the mirror finish. Highly recommended but it does require some gcode modification to the hot plate. For PLA no glue required.

 

[Jelly]

Received the Whambam PEX plate and I absolutely love the mirror finish. Highly recommended but it does require some gcode modification to the hot plate. For PLA no glue required.

You'll definitely want some kind of release agent if you print PETG with it. PETG sticks TOO well haha. Glue stick, Hairspray, not for adhesion purposes, simply a consumable barrier to protect the coating on the plate.

 

[regk]

I just watched the LTT video on these, they seem like a pretty solid piece of hardware, I've been eyeing up a 3D printer for a while and this may finally fit the bill.

 

[notarat]

Got my Carbon X1 last Friday. Happy with it so far. Speed is great. Having to use a specific spool isn't all that great. However, I don't mind all that much.

I just ordered 4 spools of filament from them to see how well they perform.

Damn thing can set off the seismic sensors so I'ma have to put it on the floor to get a solid base for it.

All in all, 8.5/10 IMHO. Glad I ordered it

 

[Riddlinkidstoner]

Got my Carbon X1 last Friday. Happy with it so far. Speed is great. Having to use a specific spool isn't all that great. However, I don't mind all that much.

I just ordered 4 spools of filament from them to see how well they perform.

Damn thing can set off the seismic sensors so I'ma have to put it on the floor to get a solid base for it.

All in all, 8.5/10 IMHO. Glad I ordered it

So far I've only used filament from Bambu, eSun (it seems to be Bambu's OEM supplier), Cookiecad, and Ziro. The only compatibility I've run into for the AMS is with 250g small spools.

 

[notarat]

So far I've only used filament from Bambu, eSun (it seems to be Bambu's OEM supplier), Cookiecad, and Ziro. The only compatibility I've run into for the AMS is with 250g small spools.

It definitely doesn't like the cardboard spools from Overture or the plastic Hatchbox spools I have but I found a link to the printable spool that works well so I'll just use the "included" filament to print those and move over the filament from the overture spools.

 

[antok86]

Anyone got a spare ams…or even broken they wanna sell???

 

[notarat]

I gotta say that after about a month and a half of very hard use I am pleased with my X1. I'd give it 4 stars.

Software-wise, Bambu Studio and the Handy App are pretty darned nice. I really am impressed with both.

I'd like to say I've never encountered an issue but that's not true. Although I've never had a failed print, the printer has thrown errors many times which are a bit frustrating. Especially with the AMS...

It has misread the RF-ID chips in the Bambu Labs filament. It's stated I'm out of filament during the print prep (on a new generic spool I opened 5 minutes ago on the rear spool holder...not even in the AMS) I've had to remove the filament from the tube on multiple multiple multiple occasions when using the AMS for seemingly no reason at all other than to pacify it into compliance.

Hoping they have a consistent firmware update schedule that reduces the amount of just bizarre errors I've seen.

Gotta say though that it beats my Ender 5 S1 in that at least the Carbon hasn't attacked me and dislocated my finger so that's a win

 

[notarat]

So who's using SoftFever instead of Bambu Studio?

 

[notarat]

Getting back into multi-color printing now and recreated this one, but at a smaller scale than the original. Original one was 293mm printed on my CR6 Max. This one is only 235mm (and that was cutting it pretty close on my X1)

This one was printed in less than 12hrs, while the original took well over 45hrs.

 

[notarat]

Just ordered the stuff to insulate the printer and print the Hydra mod. Gonna insulate the printer first then print the Hydra mod. Should be interesting

 

[Riddlinkidstoner]

Just ordered the stuff to insulate the printer and print the Hydra mod. Gonna insulate the printer first then print the Hydra mod. Should be interesting

Just note on the hydra mod that you won't be able to fully close the AMS last I checked. I ended up reversing it because of this.

 

[notarat]

Just note on the hydra mod that you won't be able to fully close the AMS last I checked. I ended up reversing it because of this.

Newest version seems to allow it to close. I ordered a second AMS and some additional hot end assemblies and assorted spare parts and 9 spools of filament. Also ordered some fans as well... gonna be a fun time modding it

 

[notarat]

My AMS and spare parts arrived today, but they were shipped to my alternate address so I won't be picking them up until tomorrow.

I spent most of this weekend printing spools and adapters for the 11 rolls of filament I received Saturday.

I went through the oldest PLA filament I had the most of and found an almost full spool of the ugliest shade of red made by Duramic. I dried it out overnight last night/this morning (8hrs per side at 65°C) and spent a good part of the day today printing a spool winder. So far the filament drier process has worked great.

I need to get some Just ordered some of this Desiccant stuff because I also printed 3 of the desiccant holders. I think I'll be printing at least 3 more so that I can have plenty of the stuff in each AMS unit.

*Last post said 9 spools and this one says 11...Both are right. I ordered 2 additional spools Wednesday and they arrived Saturday. (silk silver and red)

 

[notarat]

I'm really loving this printer. So much so that I sold my CR6Max ans Ender3S1 so I could dedicate the entire desk area to the X1 and the 2 additional AMS units (total of 4 now) I ordered today.

I found a 7 yr old spool of ABS and dried it for 12hrs using the heated chamber then proceeded to print some ABS parts (spool desiccant holder, fan mount, etc) with flawless results.

I've done ZERO calibration on this thing. I did update the firmware to the latest...but that's it. This thing is as close to an "appliance" as I've ever encountered.

 

[bluestang]

Great hands on here...thanks guys!

Have been eyeing this or the Creality K1 when I get some extra cash together my son into 3D printing.

 

[notarat]

Great hands on here...thanks guys!

Have been eyeing this or the Creality K1 when I get some extra cash together my son into 3D printing.

Skip the K1. Get a P1P or a Carbon X1, instead.

This recommendation is coming from someone who owns/owned the following Creality printers:
CR10S (300)
CR10S400
CR10S500
CR6Max
Ender 3 S1
Ender 5 S1

 

[bluestang]

Carbon X1 is out of my price range. Also not keen on the P1P cloud BS. Until it can do local without the cloud Bambu is off the list for now. It will be a minimum 3 months before purchase so who knows what they will change by then.

 

[raz-0]

Carbon X1 is out of my price range. Also not keen on the P1P cloud BS. Until it can do local without the cloud Bambu is off the list for now. It will be a minimum 3 months before purchase so who knows what they will change by then.

They released the lan only mode capable firmware for the p1p in march IIRC. P1P version01.02.01.00 firmware.

 

[Darunion]

They released the lan only mode capable firmware for the p1p in march IIRC. P1P version01.02.01.00 firmware.

Oh wow, i myself havent heard of that. Good to know though thanks!

 

[Baenwort]

Is it LAN only life the X1C at work or is it truely able to survive isolated on a segment with no internet access but a LAN between it and a PC running bambu studio?

Last time I tried it last month we couldn't run entirely sans Internet.

 

[Darunion]

https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/16/23064592/bambu-print-asleep-cloud-outage

3D printer nightmare fuel: Bambu X1C and P1P started printing while owners were asleep​

That is funny and not funny at the same time. Feels like an i told you so moment with cloud based 3d printing.

 

[raz-0]

Is it LAN only life the X1C at work or is it truely able to survive isolated on a segment with no internet access but a LAN between it and a PC running bambu studio?

Last time I tried it last month we couldn't run entirely sans Internet.

Currently it's pretty feature complete if annoying to switch into and out of. But you can print and monitor from bambu studio on a lan.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/16/23064592/bambu-print-asleep-cloud-outage

3D printer nightmare fuel: Bambu X1C and P1P started printing while owners were asleep​

That is funny and not funny at the same time. Feels like an i told you so moment with cloud based 3d printing.

Yeah, it was a pretty bad failure. If I were them, I'd figure out how to just use the cloud to make lan mode transparent and to expose data for the handy app.

 

[Sniper|3d-R|]

Just picked up an x1 carbon for my first 3d printer.

Printed some custom cases, then printed more.

So freaking happy with this printer! My good friend and I have been waiting 20 years for this tech and capability!

Thanks for advice from notarat to say skip the K1, get the X1.

Here's some fresh cases for a micro controller.... Think this is the 3rd print..

Using Orca Slicer for now, seems to do the job.

 

[Accursed]

Was at Microcenter buying something for work, and right next to it were the 3D printers. Was looking at the X1C and the sales associate said they just got a batch of those and the P1S, they didn't even have a unit on display. Talked to him for a bit and ended up impulse buying the P1S. Will set it up this weekend. Guess I'm also part of the Bambu gang now!

After I got back to the office I thought I screwed up and forgot to get the light and camera kit for it, but seems like it already has it, or at least a camera. Not sure about lights. Asked him for the associate to give me a smooth PEI build plate but it was only $9, I think he just added a plain cold plate. I see the real smooth PEI plate is $30. Kinda expensive! Has anyone tried an amazon off brand?

Edit: Even the off brand stuff isn't particularly cheaper. Will return the wrong plate and see if they have the smooth PEI sheet in store.