Bambu Labs X1 Carbon - Initial Impressions - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: TomWinTejas
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2022, 08:11:29 pm
content: This week I finally received my new Bambu Labs X1 Carbon and wanted to share my initial impressions. The TL;DR is wow, this printer works out of the box with amazing speed and good quality.I first purchased an Ender 3 Pro four years ago when I saw there were limited options for purchasing project boxes to fit my ESP32 projects. The Ender requires some assembly, nothing complex, but as I recall it took about an hour to get finished. There was a pretty big learning curve with bed leveling and tweaking temperatures and flow rates, slicer settings, etc. But even after getting those dialed in, the printer was begging to be upgraded and thus began the rabbit hole that I struggled to escape. Upgrading the mainboard to get quieter stepper controllers, printing new fan shrouds to get quieter fans with improved airflow, upgrading the extruder to alleviate retraction problems, installing a BL Touch for bed leveling, and finally upgrading the entire hot end. At the end of the day I felt like I sunk so much time and had such little to show for it and realized I would rather spend time tinkering with electronics and not on a 3d printer which I use to create enclosures and odd parts.So a few months ago I ran across videos of the new Bambu Labs printer which was in a Kickstarter phase. Fully understanding the risk of Kickstarter, I decided to forego the savings and wait to see if they could actually deliver the product. A couple months ago they accepted pre-orders and I signed up. A week ago I received an e-mail asking me to pay the remainder of the balance and a few days after I UPS dropped off the printer. The unboxing was not as simple as plugging it in, but following their wiki it was a 10 minute process to remove the packing material and safeguards and complete the setup.The combo kit I ordered came with the printer and a filament manager box (AMS) that holds 4 spools and can manage mid-print switches. It also came with a few sample rolls of filament and I decided to stick with the supplied filaments for the first prints. It was nice to see that I didn't even have to install the slicer to get the first test print going, I was able to browse and select the model on the touchscreen and it did a great job of 3d rendering the part to preview it. I was skeptical but a half hour later I saw the finished product and was highly impressed.Today I decided to load up some Microcenter (eSun) PLA+ and see how it handles some third party filament and it's doing fantastically. Below are some pictures from a test print showing how well the printer handles overhangs, stringing, bridging, and supports. There was some very minor stringing, but all in all it passed with flying colors.The provided slicer, Bambu Studio, is intuitive so far. I am used to Cura and from what I understand Bambu Studio is a derivative of PrusaSlicer, but I haven't had any problems adapting to the interface. The print jobs can be sent via the network and there's always the option of using the microsd card as well. There's also a mobile app where you can monitor the jobs and adjust settings like the speed on the fly. So far I have no complaints about the slicer or the mobile app.The noise levels are typical for 3d printers, but I also have the printer sitting on an unmodified Ikea Lack table at the moment, so it's not helping the sound levels. The table also isn't fixed to the wall and has little mass, so I'm sure there's some ringing associated with the shaking of the table as the print head moves. If I decide to stick with the Lack I plan on adding some braces to make it more rigid and then coupling it with the wall to greatly reduce the shaking. I may also try adding more mass below the printer and see if that helps with the noise. There is a silent mode which may be slightly quieter, but I find adjusting the speed moreso changes the pitch of the noise and the sport mode seems quieter to my ears than the standard mode. In any case the noise doesn't bother me and the printer can be paused and resumed with ease if you need to take a phone call nearby and feel it's too loud.The printer is quite expensive compared to the Ender 3 Pro, but it was worth the splurge in my opinion. It's truly plug and play and there aren't many aftermarket upgrades that I feel I would want to do at this point... and those which I am looking to do shouldn't have any effect on the actual printing and are ancillary to the machine such as improving the lighting and adding more space for desiccant beads in the AMS.I'm sure I've missed plenty in this initial review, but am glad to answer any questions or try some small test prints if it's helpful to anyone.https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/x1-carbon-combo

author: Lindley
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 18, 2022, 08:55:34 pm
content: Very interesting, look forwards to seeing how your journey progresses.

author: simba15
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 15, 2023, 03:52:03 pm
content: Any updates? I know the early ones have had some issues with plastic parts.

author: Infraviolet
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 17, 2023, 08:27:21 pm
content: Would the X1 Carbon work with the Ultimaker Cura slicer software instead?What are the maximum travel and printing speeds you've been able to have the head do without sacrificing print quality?Thanks

author: TomWinTejas
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2023, 05:22:52 am
content: Quote from: simba15 on February 15, 2023, 03:52:03 pmOverall it's been a positive experience. One downside to the printer is that the default configuration leverages cloud based print jobs, so if the Bambu Lab server is down, you can't print... but there is a LAN mode and you can always print via SD card, so it's not something that will be useless if the company goes out of business.As far as print quality and reliability, it has been great so far. I don't do a huge volume of printing, but have gone through a few rolls of PLA+ so far. I do have some PETG, ABS, and TPU that I would like to try out... I'll report back when I experiment with those.

author: TomWinTejas
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2023, 05:44:19 am
content: Quote from: Infraviolet on February 17, 2023, 08:27:21 pmYou can use another slicer, however you would lose the ability to manage filaments... so if you want to use multiple filaments in a single print, you'd have to use Bambu Studio. It's based on Prusa Slicer, so as a result it's also opensource, which can be found at:https://github.com/bambulab/BambuStudioThe slicer has presets for speed: Silent is half speed, Standard is regular, Sport is 124%, and Ludicrous is 166%. I usually run in Sport mode and don't notice any ringing... but larger prints on Ludicrous can have a little bit of artifacts. I have the printer sitting on an Ikea Lack table and printed some braces for the legs to stiffen them up and then got some angle brackets to screw the table into an adjacent bookshelf and the wall behind it to minimize sway. Even with my efforts to stiffen things up, it does still sway a bit on Ludicrous speed. I think the quality would improve if I got a better table with more mass... but for what I print it doesn't really matter enough to me.

author: Infraviolet
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 18, 2023, 05:58:40 pm
content: What have those speeds been in mm/sec? Thanks

author: mikerj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2023, 11:56:13 am
content: I've been down a similar rabbit hole with cheap printers, which has been quite interesting to be fair. I've been contemplating the purchase of an X1C but there doesn't seem to be any option to purchase it without the AMS which I don't want, but I do want the upgraded extruder parts and filter for high temperature materials (which don't come with the X1).

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 19, 2023, 01:14:56 pm
content: Quote from: mikerj on February 19, 2023, 11:56:13 amIn UK you can preorder X1C with ETA of end of April. You can change extruder gears and hotend to hardened steel versions on non carbon X1 and P1P too. And there is no difference in material temperature in X1, X1C and P1P (need to attach some sort of walls to print ABS on P1P). Hardened steel extruder/hotend are only needed if you print with abrasive filaments a lot. Carbon filter can be put in X1 too but you need to buy it separately. BTW AFAIK by default it's not working when printing high temperature materials as it only works when fan blows the air out. Maybe will get mine X1C with AMS next week as I preordered it a few weeks ago and paid full price on Friday.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 19, 2023, 01:21:17 pm
content: Quote from: TomWinTejas on February 18, 2023, 05:44:19 amWaiting to get mine yet but thinking about just placing it right on concrete floor. Not ergonomic, however solves all swinging and vibration problems with no effort and zero cost.

author: mikerj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 19, 2023, 08:47:38 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on February 19, 2023, 01:14:56 pmUnless I'm being really dim (entirely possible) I don't see any option to order without the AMS. The UK website only lists the P1P, the X1 and the X1 Carbon "Combo". The P1P pricing is attractive, unlike the machine itself which makes an Ender 3 look pretty. You can print external panels for it, but then I'm heading down the rathole again!

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 19, 2023, 08:58:39 pm
content: Here.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 19, 2023, 09:04:35 pm
content: Quote from: mikerj on February 19, 2023, 08:47:38 pm

author: TomWinTejas
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 20, 2023, 04:10:52 pm
content: Quote from: mikerj on February 19, 2023, 08:47:38 pmI ordered it right when it became available and I know at least here in the US the AMS was an option. I don't think I'll do much multi-filament printing, but the AMS seemed like a handy way of keeping the filament dry. The option of doing a support filament also sounded intriguing, so I decided to spend the extra money. I can't say that I've put it to good use yet, but if the printer lasts as long as I hope then I should eventually.

author: mikerj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 22, 2023, 12:30:51 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on February 19, 2023, 08:58:39 pmThanks, I was looking in the "X1 Carbon Combo" rather than "X1 Series", it makes sense now. I was a bit concerned about the cost of spares (heaters, nozzles etc) but they seem surprisingly reasonable. Very, very tempted, though won't be able to hide this from my wife

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: February 24, 2023, 07:14:25 pm
content: So I received my X1C combo today. Didn't try AMS yet. Printed a few things, my impression so far is that it's a real production quality machine while others feel like toys for tinkering. The loudest thing is fans. As of mechanics, it's not that loud even at ludicrous speed. I guess those who heard rattling were hearing it from unstable base. No rattling whatsoever when I'm running it on concrete floor. Also imho it's not that bad placing it on the floor as screen can be adjusted facing upwards.

author: simba15
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 24, 2023, 09:07:49 pm
content: Excellent to hear.I am trying to get one for my office so we want more of a production device than a toy.Thanks!

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 06, 2023, 01:27:26 pm
content: I thought it's knock-off of prusa xl (minus build volume), but holy molly, it's quite a loaded machine, especially for the price. I'm seriously thinking cancelling my prusa xl preorder (which I'll probably won't be able to afford, esp. in the configuration I want) and buy this beast to upgrade my prusa mk3s+ (or whatever it's called now, I bought it several yeargs ago and upgraded several times).I'm impressed with self-calibration, AMS and stock hardened steel extruder. Prusa was fun to tinker, but it won't match all the features of x1 no matter what. The only thing I don't like is, it seems it's noisy. On the other hand, my prusa is noisy too. Yeah, it rattles and resonates quite a bit when moving fast and I wasn't able to fix that. At the very least I had to disassemble the PSU and put silicon glue on caps and heatsinks that were vibrating, but rattling didn't completely go away, though now it's quieter.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 06, 2023, 03:38:11 pm
content: The only problem I had so far was bed adhesion with their glue stick which was included and default profiles. Increasing bed temperature for ABS and PETG fixes the problem on engineering plate, for PLA and cool plate it's better to not use it at all or use something else. AMS works great, I also put additional silica gel packs between feeders and moisture indicator card. <5% humidity and works great for keeping filament dry.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 06, 2023, 03:40:56 pm
content: Quote from: exe on March 06, 2023, 01:27:26 pmIt's not that noisy except fans on max speed. No vibration when placed on stable base.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 29, 2023, 09:45:37 pm
content: So not so good update. I have bed warping issue. Even before buying I've seen people reporting they have bed warping and replacing it. From what I've read it became already like this even when cold. Mine on other hand is basically flat when cold. However when it's hot, it dips by about 1.5 mm a few centimeters from the edges and stays almost flat till the opposite side with the same issue. So it's remains mostly flat in the middle but all of the edges become become lifted upwards. Which results in prints warped on the edges and with large elephant foot when printing something large despite bed adhesion remaining perfect after the print ends. Spent about 1.5kg of PETG on subpar prints of stackable component boxes I designed. Useable but ticks my OCD hard. As bed is flat when cold, first I thought it was adhesion problem as I detached the print before noticing warping. Then thought that magnetic plate is lifting up on the edges due to lifting forces and magnet not strong enough. But fixing plate to the bed on the edges by Kapton tape ruled that out. Finally checked flatness when hot and bingo.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2023, 10:05:28 pm
content: I just got the X1 Carbon, having zero previous experience of 3D printing.The reasons I'd avoided it thus far are speed ( I'm very impatient) and not wanting to waste time faffing around to get it working - I just want something that works reliably, not a project.The combination of speed, reported reliabilty, good reviews and also the enclosure ( stability and fume containment) swung it for me (with a kick from wanting to spend some money before the end of my tax year!)Only done a handful of test prints so far but pretty impressed. Overall build quality looks good, and software looks decent. The RFID filament ID system (optional) makes it very plug & play. Literally as simple as dropping an in an STL file, selecting material and clicking "print.BTW Here's the link on the UK store for the non-AMS version - expected mid-June, the AMS one is ex-stock, got mine 2 working days after orderhttps://uk.store.bambulab.com/products/x1-carbon-3d-printer

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 08, 2023, 07:45:54 am
content: Quote from: wraper on March 29, 2023, 09:45:37 pmHave you been able to improve on that in any way? (Changing the bed mounting or something along those lines?) Or did you contact Bamboo and get any feedback? Just curious, since I am also considering the X1...

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 08, 2023, 08:39:39 am
content: Well, I modded it quite a bit. Heater is actually a bit smaller than build plate and magnetic sticker edges lie onto plastic cover which lifts up them on many machines. Also due to poorly laid out traces on aluminum PCB heater, it warps in X direction which worsens when heated. Long trace segments are laid out in X direction only and with no compensation for lower heating density needed in the middle. I guess the best that can be done without totally redesigning the bed is properly lay out this PCB with much shorter trace segments going in various directions and with less denser center. I thought to do so but it's cost prohibitive to order 3mm aluminum PCB for a one-off and it will also need some additional half-depth milling on aluminum side.So I glued a larger 1 mm aluminum plate which goes above plastic too and put a new magnetic sticker. Though it later warped in one corner a bit because I somewhat messed up while gluing it with epoxy, so I added some teflon tape shimming to even it out. Still not perfect but order of magnitude better than it was, within about 0.1mm flatness when cold and hot last time I checked.As of replacement bed, Bambu initially said flatness was within spec. But when I tinkered with magnetic surface by stroking it, some bubbles developed as apparently it was glued with some air underneath which concentrated into bubbles due to my actions. So Bambu sent a new bed which is just as warped as original in X direction if not worse.

author: usagi
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 08, 2023, 08:48:43 am
content: I have been 3d printing since 2011, I have had many printers.The Bambu X1C+AMS is the best printer I've ever owned, hands down. It's the first printer I could recommend to a complete newbie and be confident they'd be successful out of the box without fiddling. I've been printing more on this printer in the past 6 months than I have in the past 6 years.There's virtually nothing it does that's actually groundbreaking, Bambu just bothered to actually ship modern tech while the rest of the industry was content to rest on their laurels and ship outdated tech. Virtually everything Bambu implemented has been around for YEARS, just ignored by the other manufacturers.Hopefully this is a wakeup call to the lazy complacent industry.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 08, 2023, 08:56:44 am
content: Quote from: usagi on June 08, 2023, 08:48:43 amWhat surprises me they put so much effort in doing so many things properly but epically failed with a bed design as if there are no dissimilar materials and thermal expansion present.

author: meshtron
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 27, 2023, 07:56:45 pm
content: I also bought an X1 Carbon (with AMS). It is officially my first 3D printer though I've been designing 3D parts and ordering prints (typically SLS) for well over a decade. The challenge for me has always been I don't want a "3D printing hobby," I just want parts.So far, my X1 has impressed me and a buddy of mine who has built many 3D printers over the years from the simplest hobby ones to cubic-meter commercial ones. Every time I've hit "go" it's pooped out the part I wanted. There are a couple fiddly things with the filament drive, PTFE tube connectivity routing, etc. that are easy enough to work around and which I recently started working on to try to improve.Anyway - very happy with mine (and no bed warping issues that I'm aware of) and I will likely get a 2nd one when this one becomes nonstop busy.

author: pan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2023, 01:27:53 pm
content: I asked an experienced 3D printer user which one I should go for? He said the X1 Carbon with AMS was a good choice. I did not want to spend a lot of time with maintenance or tweaking of sorts, but as much out of the box as possible within a reasonable cost. For some assemblies I use it to print custom parts for my p&p machine. It has worked very well and saved me a lot of time during setup of a new product. I am more concerned about quality than time it takes to print. It can go all night as long as long as it is doing a good printing job; which it does:-)I have not had any problems with the printing part, but recently I experienced a loss of connection with my wifi network. Whatever I did it refused to connect (not much I could do really..). I also tried using my phone. After trying and turning off and on a couple of times it suddenly connected to my phone. I could print my job. Don't know why it suddenly worked again, but it was annoying.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 06, 2023, 02:32:52 pm
content: Quote from: pan on November 06, 2023, 01:27:53 pmDid it actually lose connection with wifi? Maybe their cloud service was down which I've seen myself.

author: pan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2023, 03:30:01 pm
content: Yes, according to what the screen "said" that was the case. But, then again it can be it has the same behaviour if the cloud service is down. I don't know. I just know it was full stop for a couple of hours.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2023, 03:36:21 pm
content: Quote from: pan on November 06, 2023, 03:30:01 pmI has that once, but easy enough to use an SD card

author: TomWinTejas
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 06, 2023, 08:53:17 pm
content: It's been nearly a year, so I figured I'd update the thread with my experiences thus far. I had hoped that the printer would eliminate the hassle associated with 3D printing that I ran into with my Ender 3, but hasn't been as smooth sailing as I had hoped. I ran into a problem with brittle filament where the filament broke in such a small piece as to jam the hub inside the AMS (4 filament management box). I disassembled the hub to remove the shards and it was constructed with magnets and they all flew together once I separated the top from bottom of the part. Bambu Labs now has a guide on how to disassemble the hub, but it's still not a simple process. It took me many hours of fiddling to get all the broken pieces of filament cleared of the path to the extruder, but eventually I was able to get everything working again.There have been improvements to the Bambu Slicer where calibration has improved and they have modified the algorithm for heating the bed where the unit no longer causes my LEDs on the same circuit to flicker. So I've been happy with the continuous improvements by Bambu Labs over the year. They seem committed to supporting those who have already purchased the printer and the cost of replacement parts has been reasonable.As others have mentioned there were some cloud related outages that caused some not to be able to print easily, but I didn't happen to need to print during one of these. They do have a LAN option where you can be self sufficient, but I honestly haven't dedicated any time to researching this or trying it... falling back to micro-sd card seems like a viable option if I really needed to print something. Monitoring the print via the camera is neat, but really not anything I *need* to have.

author: newtekuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 09, 2024, 10:48:06 pm
content: I’ve had my x1c (no AMS) for almost two months and put around 100 hours of print time on it using PETG, ABS and PLA filaments from SUNLU and Fiberlogy. Using it with the PEI metal sheet, absolutely no problems.The only failure I had was my fault using the wrong build plate which the AI didn’t catch which resulted in spaghetti mess. Luckily I was next to it and was able to stop it.Needless to say I think the AI detection system is useless. The camera is nice to have but video quality is very poor.The lighting is also very weak which likely is the culprit for the bad video.Support is very slow to respond too. Initially I wanted to cancel my order and they got back to me in a week after I had already taken delivery of the printer.This is compared to my Prusa mk3s which has been a total POS since day one. I do know folks swear by these printers and I really wanted to like it too. It’s the reason I went with a Bambu and avoid all drama caused by weak adhesion, stringing, first layer issues.

author: Tony_G
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2024, 12:27:54 am
content: I'm a total 3D Printing NOOB (We had 3D printers in an IoT lab I used but I always asked the 3D Print guys to print my TinkerCad models) and I've waited deliberately until I could get a printer that was just a "tool" rather than requiring me to become a 3D printer expert.I bought the X1C/AMS just before Christmas and I'm in the process of learning both how best to use the printer and how to create models in Fusion 360.Overall, I have to agree with everyone else that this thing just seems to work - I'm sure that I'll learn about all the knobs and dials that can be tweaked to make even better prints but so far I've been very happy with the results that I've gotten.If you have the money then I think that the X1C is a great entry point into making quality 3D prints straight out of the box.Now if anyone can explain to me why Bambu Studio thinks that some of my Fusion 360 models are in millimeters instead of inches (yes, yes, imperial sucks) and then offers to scale them incorrectly I'd appreciate the heads up and explanation.TonyG

author: newtekuser
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 10, 2024, 05:24:31 am
content: Quote from: Tony_G on January 10, 2024, 12:27:54 amAre you sure the CAD models are exported in inches instead of millimeters?

author: Tony_G
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 11, 2024, 01:21:46 am
content: No - I didn't see that as an option - Thanks for the heads up on that - Will go have a look.TonyG

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 14, 2024, 07:42:57 pm
content: We are considering a Bambu printer per recommendations, what's the difference between the X1 and P1S models other than the carbon filter?Here's our expected use.https://www.eevblog.com/forum/3d-printing/multi-color-3d-printer/Any help is appreciated.Best,

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 14, 2024, 07:53:58 pm
content: The P1S has a smaller and simpler display/control panel, a lower resolution camera, no filament sensing, no LIDAR sensor, extruder and nozzle parts in plain instead of hardened steel, no built-in storage besides the SD card.https://bambulab.com/en/compareI don't have first-hand experience with either printer, but have looked around, as you are now. All reports seem to agree that the print quality and speed is identical betwen the two models, and that the lack of convenience in the P1S is minimal. A few reviewers mentioned that they actually like the simpler display unit of the P1S better than the touch screen of the X1; certainly a matter of personal preference.My personal conclusion was that I will go with the P1S -- if and when I decide to upgrade my current cheap printer at all.EDIT: If multicolor printing is your main intended use: The 4x filament changer seems to work well, according to all reports, but wastes a surprising amount of filament. In a multi-colored print it needs to switch filaments for every layer, of course, and it takes quite a bit of runway and the some "buffer" filament feed every time.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 14, 2024, 08:00:50 pm
content: Quote from: mawyatt on January 14, 2024, 07:42:57 pmX1 has way better controller/display, has lidar and 1080p camera with normal FPS (P1S has 720p 0.5 fps). Mechanically they are the same.QuoteDepends on what and how you print. It depends purely on how many material changes per layer you need. Even if you print non optimized model, by printing say 10 of them simultaneously, you reduce waste per piece by 10x.

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 14, 2024, 08:12:14 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on January 14, 2024, 08:00:50 pmDoes the X1 controller make any difference in print quality, or speed?Not too concerned about filament waste as envisioned use with color change is only one change per print (example, embossed lettering in different color).Best,

author: ebastler
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 14, 2024, 08:18:17 pm
content: Quote from: mawyatt on January 14, 2024, 08:12:14 pmNo, it just affects the user interface. The control of the machine during printing remains unchanged.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 15, 2024, 02:31:41 am
content: Quote from: mawyatt on January 14, 2024, 08:12:14 pmDue to the lack of lidar there is no filament auto calibration and no additional lidar bed levelling and first layer inspection. IIRC people said that with cheap controller print job uploads quite a bit slower. The difference is more like ease of use rather than difference in print quality if everything is tuned correctly.

author: 5U4GB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 15, 2024, 11:14:03 am
content: Slightly off-topic, but has Bambu Labs ever been contacted by the legal department of the world's largest laptop manufacturer? I'm typing this on an X1 Carbon and it ain't a printer.

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2024, 02:28:09 pm
content: We just received the X1 Carbon. Our 1st print was a PCB bracket used in a prototype, the results was considerably better than anything we had achieved before with our previous printers.2nd print was a preliminary test dial/scale disc with two colors, one for base and another for text/numbers, the result was outstanding!!Anyway, thanks for the helpBest,

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 07, 2024, 04:27:45 pm
content: Another new X1 user after two prior Creality printers. Really impressed with both speed and print quality. There a few points not previously mentioned. TPU is not recommended. The long feed tubes and much pushing and pulling of filament is probably the reason. So now my Ender 3 Pro is dedicated to TPU. The AMS has proved very useful though I have not yet done a multi-color print. Being able to select the appropriate material without manually changing filaments is nice. Filament loading is really easy. Just clip the filament end and shove it in. And the ability to automatically switch to a second roll of filament when one runs out is really useful. The ability to use the short end of a roll more than makes up for the filament used in hot end cleaning and calibration at the start of each print job.I still feel more comfortable with parameter setting in Cura than Bambu Studio, but for more standard prints it is more than adequate.Overall extremely good value for the price.

author: mawyatt
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2024, 02:26:24 pm
content: Quote from: CatalinaWOW on February 07, 2024, 04:27:45 pmWe haven't tried TPU filament on anything yet. Have you tried TPU on the X1?The speed and print quality is impressive, not just fast but with good quality as well, both togetherHere's an initial couple test prints we did with X1 C, green bracket is with Bambu PLA filament, the other dials are with old PLA we had laying around.Best,

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 08, 2024, 04:52:39 pm
content: I am just reporting a recommendation from Bambu Labs. I only use TPU-95 and suspect it would work, it did on my original Ender 3 with bowdin tube. But haven't tried because the cleanup of it didn't work would be ugly.

author: bookaboo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 09, 2024, 08:47:12 am
content: Just another brief thumbs up for the X1 Carbon, we got one at work. While I don't use it personally the mechanical guys are raving about it, the speed is incredible compared to the Ender 5 we also have. Had no complaints on the Ender but the X1 can produce prototypes just as well as any external service we've used. "Good enough for the girls we go out with!"

author: simba15
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 11, 2024, 06:04:58 pm
content: Another serious thumbs down for the MK4After having the MK4 for over 1 year the printer is great. Hit print and walk away, but any thing related to extra features esp wifi never working reliably.The MMU3 has been delayed 3 times and after Prusa with my money for 6 months I might get it ( if it works no one knows)Really wish I had chosen a Bambu over the MK4.

author: exe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 12, 2024, 10:54:09 am
content: I've been eyeballing x1c for about a year now. I have my trusty mk3s+ which I love and it almost never failed me*. But it's an old machine according to modern standards (enclosure, wifi, camera are missing, for example). It can be modded (and that's what I did). Modding is fun when I have time and passion for it, but for my next machine I want something that has most of features I need out-of-the-box. Seriously, adding wifi to my prusa was no joke and took more time than I wanted (buying parts, soldering, and troubleshooting).*It does have some issues, mostly with noise (I know it's supposed to be silent) due to rattling and resonating. I managed to reduce it by applyng silicone glue to the various parts of power supply, that helped, but not eliminated it (I have "silver" PSU on my prusa).

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2024, 09:06:19 am
content: Quote from: CatalinaWOW on February 07, 2024, 04:27:45 pmI think TPU can be done if you hang the filament reel on the back of the printer and feed it straight in without the AMS, this of course means no multi filament.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 13, 2024, 09:27:55 am
content: Quote from: Simon on April 13, 2024, 09:06:19 amYes, although I've read some people had success with stiffer TPU in AMS. Did not try TPU in AMS myself though. I barely did any multicolor prints but PLA support interface work wonders for PET-G printing.

author: Conrad Hoffman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2024, 08:10:53 pm
content: Just an FYI- we've been thrilled with the capabilities and print quality of our Bambu X1E. We were on the verge of buying a second one because we've found so many uses for it. BUT- we needed some spare parts due to failures of the tiny connectors related to the print head. The parts are cheap, like 10 bucks. For whatever reason, Bambu won't supply parts and they can only be had through their distributors. Lead times are about 3 week out, do we're down for at least 3 weeks. This isn't acceptable in a commercial setting, so our next printer won't be a X1E. Not sure if it will be a Bambu or not.

author: InvisibleMan
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2024, 08:43:36 pm
content: I have the X1C, but still keep a small stock of spares on hand especially for the hot end nozzle. As you say, they are not expensive so it pays to have a couple of spares with the machine. Hopefully, Bambu will bring the spares policy for the X1E into line with the others in the range.

author: Conrad Hoffman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2024, 06:49:56 pm
content: We just bought an X1C to work alongside our X1E. Still trying to get that one up and running. For whatever reason, the X1C is quieter, smoother and gives results as good or better than the X1E. Missing features like a heater are easily added for minimum cost. We're making precision engineering parts, not just action figures and toy boats. Well, OK, we've made a few toy boats, dragons and test pieces.With the right materials and setups, our parts look nearly as good as injection molded parts. Some parts are made from IGUS low friction bearing material and those are really impressive. Just can't say enough good about these things, save for the X1E parts availability problem.

author: MarkF
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 13, 2024, 08:26:41 pm
content: Since you are talking about Bambu printers, James over at Clough42 has several videos on printing engineering filaments and has reviewed a few of their printers. His latest video compares some different filaments and his failures with them.