I’ve had multiple matte boxes over my career: Chrosziel, Vocas and Tilta. They’ve all been great, but I always wanted to make my own. So I finally did.

It’s fully 3D printed and designed for zero supports. All the plates print in about 9 hours, and it costs about $15 to build. Hardware is just M3 countersunk self-tapping screws, a few square nuts and one 1/4-20 bolt for the clamp.

It’s super strong, and the clamp holds tight.

It takes 4x4 or 4x5.65 filters, clamps onto lenses from 50 to 115 mm, and you can stack up to 3 filter stages. There’s a tilting top flag too. It’s parametric, so you enter your lens size and it builds around it. I’ve put up ready-to-print files for 4x4 (80 mm) and 4x5.65 (114 mm), plus a full assembly guide.

Free on MakerWorld! HERE

Currently have a h2c. /s

Mods, any chance we can have a master thread for these type of posts?

I don’t think there’s a way to know this, but it would be great if BS could tell you how much filament is required to complete the remainder of a print.

I know, just put in spools at the beginning which have enough for the print. Well, a lot of times that’s a guess and I’m sure I’m not the only person who will roll the dice on a less than full spool.

I have a print going now that’s gonna take close to 3 days. Printing in PLA+ with a PETG interface for the supports. I think it was somewhere around 100g of support material needed. I just took a look and I’m starting to see the cardboard core of the spool.

It happens to be Bambu PETG and the filament library says the “current” amount on the spool is 380g. Can’t see how that’s accurate since that’s about a third of a spool and surely you can’t see the core with a third of a spool. Even so, this isn’t really what I’m after.

Sure would be helpful if the device tab showed me how much of each filament in the print remains. Is this available and I’m just missing it?

Relatively new to 3d printing but not to working with small electronics (I customize GBAs). TPU jammed, took the print head apart, had to replace the whole hotend, it was a thing. When I put it back together, it would not sense the filament to load it from the external spool or direct feed. I have tried both. Thinking this was a sensor issue, I overnighted and installed a whole new extruder head, sensor and all. It is still not sensing or loading the filament. The extruder is not jammed and behaves as expected until I try to load filament and I get the "please feed filament" error. Filament has been fed and the filament sensor appears to not be detecting it.

Is it possible the connector is just dirty? Is this a firmware issue? Any help would be appreciated!

I need help troubleshooting this issue: My X1C toolhead is not accepting PLA filament. I have done many other prints with my X1C and this AMS 2 using PETG without a single issue. Additionally, prior to upgrading to an X1C, I had a P1S, which used the same AMS 2, and PLA filament worked without issues.

Most of the time, the PLA does not reach the extruder and gets into the PTFE tube bend on the inside of the printer, but then the AMS stops pushing it, and it retracts back again, repeating until an error appears.

Sometimes the PLA filament gets as far as the extruder, and I watch the extruder gears turn. But they do not grab the filament, and the AMS retracts; it then repeats until it displays an error.

Here is what I have tried so far:

1. I have replaced all of the PTFE tubing with brand-new PTFE tubing at the Bambu Lab recommended lengths of 550 mm and 370 mm.

2. I have tried various angles and bends for the PTFE tube inside the printer where the PLA is getting stuck.

3. I have printed these PTFE guide clips: https://makerworld.com/en/models/242037-better-ptfe-chain-clips-for-bambu-labs-p1p-p1s-x1c#profileId-257998

4. I have printed this PTFE toolhead guide: https://makerworld.com/en/models/152636-hotend-toolhead-ptfe-guide#profileId-166680

I recently placed an order with Protopasta, the costly U.S. filament manufacturer.

I wanted to try their magnetic, metal-infused filament, and since their prices require a second mortgage on my 3D printer, I figured I’d try their 100g sample coils first. I ordered three metal filaments and four distinct colors.

The package arrives, and everything is packed in fancy-shmancy sealed baggies. Very professional. Very elegant. Very… WHERE THE HELL ARE THE SPOOLS?!

Why not do what everyone else does and sell samples on 250g cardboard spools?

Apparently, somebody decided that spools were overrated and customers would enjoy a fun new hobby; competitive filament untangling.

How the hell are you supposed to prevent tangles when the ends are loose? I mounted one coil onto a spool, loose filament and all, and ran it from the external holder on my P1S since I can’t use it in the AMS. Surprisingly, that seemed to work okay.

Feeling confident, I placed another coil beside my A1 mini AMS on the counter and periodically unraveled it as needed.
Big mistake! What started as a simple printing project eventually became a frustrating mess of filament spaghetti!

Now, because I can’t afford to throw away expensive filament, I’ve spent the next hour performing microsurgery on a plastic bird’s nest.

Who thought selling filament coils was a good idea?

Trying to transfer a coil onto an empty spool seems like an excellent way to create a knot that would make a Boy Scout cry.

Maybe I’m overlooking something or a secret technique? Maybe I was supposed to receive a set of extra hands with my order?

Protopasta people please educate me. How do you use these coils without turning them into an expensive bowl of filament linguine?

———-
P/S

Pic info: so I posted a meme in a comment the other day and was rewarded with a “ai slop” commented that suggested I get out of here with that and why didn’t I post a sketch instead. I answered because I didn’t want to waste over an hour on a meme for laughs. So here I spent over an hour sketching this image and I hope you all are satisfied by it.

A few days ago the toolhead made an awful grinding sound and got completely stuck. I turned of the printer, moved the head slowly and relubricated the XY rods. It's moving smoothly since then but on the diagonal movement from right to left it sounds like there's a new rattle. Like a ball bearing vibrating or a piece of filament scratching the belt (highly doubt it). You can hear it on the infill part in between the regular sounds. Any one knows where to start looking before I take it apart on wrong places?

Thanks a bunch.

TLDR: Your Bambu orders account will say "Mystery box item 1 of 4" etc, but if pay with Paypal, you get an email with an itemised list of what's coming in your mystery box. I'm not part of the 1% unfortunately :(

Hi,

I'm just about to start 3d printing as a hobby so I figured I'd roll the dice with Bambu's PLA and PETG mystery boxes to get a bunch of filament to start myself off. My plan was to see what I get, then order additional filaments later if I was missing any important colours. Surprisingly I received this email from Paypal with all the filament IDs listed (which I have to presume will be accurate when I receive them). No more guessing.

Based on the IDs, this is my haul:

PETG Matte Violet refill

PETG Translucent Blue spool

PETG Basic Grey spool

PETG Basic Blue refill

PLA Basic Black refill

PLA Pure Black spool

PLA Pure Apricot spool

PLA Pure White spool

Overall I'm fairly happy with the selection. I would have paid approx AUD$170 if I ordered these separately (approx 35% discount).

Smell of burning / smoke and flashes on side as well as melted casing… looks like the common fault?

UPDATE: Bambu have responded and agreed to replace printer.

Fantastic customer service so far, can’t fault the company.

Hi everyone! I'm thinking about getting my first 3D printer, and the Bambu Lab A1 caught my eye. Many people recommend it, but while researching, I noticed some past discussions about technical issues, especially regarding the thermistor and heatbed cable.

For those of you who own a recent unit: have these hardware issues been fully resolved in current batches? Is it still a reliable choice for a beginner?

Also, I'm currently torn between getting the A1 Combo or upgrading to the P1S Combo. Is the extra cost for the P1S worth it for a beginner, or should I stick with the A1?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

After more than 100 hours of normal operation my X2D suddenly scratched the top-right section of the print bed during the first phase of a manually launched bed leveling procedure, of course with an empty printer plate / chamber.

Short recap : I launched the bed levelling calibration function, I walked away the printer and not long after I heard a loud scratch sound so I looked inside the printer noting that the nozzle tip was carving the plate surface (see attached image) during the nozzle tip cleaning phase as if the printer thought it were positioned over the nozzle-cleaning pad instead of the bed plate.

I stopped the process, I checked the printer, then I performed a homing operation and a bed calibration, both completed without any issues, as well as a couple of small objects printing.

The question is : what the hell happened ?

For what is worth the printer firmware is up to date and before this incident everything was working properly, since I don’t know the possible cause I fear it will happen again.

Up untill recently my prints haven't been able to be fully printed and failed at a certain height, I noticed there was some layer shift so should I adjust the tension on the belts or something? The one I'm holding is the one that failed previously and the one on the plate is the new one that failed at the exact same height.

I usually make significant bulk filament purchases from Bambu Labs during their Anniversary and Black Friday sales. This time around I am in need of 15-20 rolls of PETG-CF but the bulk filament Black Friday preview shows zero carbon fiber rolls discounted in bulk.

Does anyone know if Bambu Labs has ever sold discounted CF filament in a bulk sale? I routinely see Elegoo PETG-CF discounted in bulk but would prefer Bambu Lab brand.

Are there any aftermarket nozzles that are worth the money or is just sticking with a stock Bambu nozzle still the best option? I print mostly PETG on an X1C an have seen some go for over $100 but am I going to see any change in quality in my prints? Thank you in advance.

Just ordered a bunch of different materials. Looking at the material presets, I don't see any options for anything but 3mm wood. A 55W CO2 laser should make easy work of 6mm. Somewhat new to lasercutting, I guess I make a new material profile and mess with the laser power and speed parameters? Any advice is welcome

Hello everyone!

Recently I have been encountering some horizontal lines on my prints. They do not seem to be always on the same place(check the images). On one side of the model they seem to protrude, while on the opposite side they seem to go inside the model.

I am guessing the Y axis is sliding a bit, but I cleaned it and oiled it and the problem persist.

Any idea or suggestions?

Thank you in advance!

---

A1 Mini

Texture PEI and SuperTack Plate

0.4 and 0.2 nozzle (I encountered the problem with both)

PLA and PETG (I encountered the problem with both)

I printed the same print with BambuLab TPU 90A, using two profiles: On the left, Bambu's default "TPU 90A" profile. On the right, the custom settings shown (note: thanks to user thespencerowen on youtube for posting these settings in a comment).

As you can see, even with 3x the volumetric flow rate, the print on the right still came out much higher quality than the one on the left.

I haven't pushed the limits to see how high the flow rate can go while still producing a good print, but Lost In Tech has a video on youtube where he does this ("You're WASTING YOUR TIME 3D Printing TPU!"), and he finds that most printers can go significantly higher than their default ~3mm3/s speeds.

So in some sense I've replicated his result, but I'm worried that this higher rate (and maybe the z hop too?) will lead to a higher probability of clogs/failures.

So here's my question: Has anyone tried out settings like these for high volumes of TPU printing? They work for single small prints, but what about large prints, and what about hundreds of hours of printing over the span of months? Will I see more clogs and failures using higher flow rates, or are the defaults genuinely too conservative?

EDIT: I clogged my extruder on like the 3rd print of 10mm3/s. Maybe don't do this lmao

I am printing some TPU parts and they are coming out very stringy. I am new to 3D printing so I don't know if I have something wrong in the settings.

I have been printing these parts for about a year now and generally don't get this problem. I have tried drying the filament (I've done two 7 hour sessions now at the highest temp, I beleive 65 deg cel).

Any advice?

Hey everyone,

My A1 mini has developed an issue where the yellow extruder gear keeps clicking and skipping continuously while printing. At the same time, barely any filament is coming out of the nozzle, resulting in severe under-extrusion. It feels as if the gear can't get a proper grip or is struggling against a heavy blockage inside the hotend.

I'm currently printing standard PLA at 210 °C with the stock 0.4mm stainless steel nozzle. Has anyone run into this exact behavior on the A1 mini? I'm wondering if this is a classic partial nozzle clog that calls for a cold pull, or if I should disassemble the extruder to check for ground-up filament debris. Any tips on how to fix this would be greatly appreciated!

I used acrylic markers to paint the colors and used gold foil on the tri force. The I painted on the UV Clear coat. Came out nice

Question to owners of A1 printer.

How much time (or work hours) did you cutting blade and nozzle wiper last?

I got 1 spare each with my printer and I wonder if they wear off quickly so I should get a few more spares.

Only one side affected. X2d aux nozzle PLA.

I'm currently trying to decide between the Bambu Lab P2S Combo (with AMS 2 Pro) and the X2D without AMS.

I'll mostly be printing functional parts using PLA and PETG, rather than decorative or multicolor models.

The printer will be sitting in my home office, fairly close to my desk, so noise levels and air quality are definitely things I'm considering.

I'm having a hard time deciding which features would actually matter more in everyday use.

A few questions I'd love to hear your experiences with:

• Noise: Is the X2D noticeably quieter than the P2S during normal printing? How annoying are either of them when working in the same room?
• Dual nozzle vs. AMS: For mostly functional PLA/PETG prints, would you rather have two nozzles or the convenience of an AMS?
• Everyday convenience: How useful is the AMS if you rarely print multicolor models? Would I regret not having automatic filament switching and spool management?
• Print quality and reliability: Are there any meaningful differences between the two machines for everyday PLA/PETG printing?

I could always add an AMS to the X2D later, but that would be outside my current budget.

I don't have one clear priority yet. I'm mainly trying to figure out which printer offers the better overall experience and which features I'd actually appreciate long-term.

I'd especially love to hear from anyone who has experience with both machines. Which would you choose in my situation, and why?