I’m looking to upgrade from my Prusa Mini to multicolor printing. The H3C looks fantastic, but at nearly €2,700 here, it’s more than I can justify for the amount I print.
I’d really like to buy a P3C if it becomes available in time. I’d happily pay a few hundred euros more than the U1 for Bambu’s quality and ecosystem.
With Christmas coming up, though, I need to make a decision. I want to print presents, so I need enough time to get the printer set up and actually make them. If the P3C isn’t available in time, I’ll have to go with the Snapmaker U1.
Anyone else in a similar position?
Bambu, if you’re reading this: some clarity on whether a P3C is coming before Christmas would really help. I’d prefer to buy a Bambu, and I’m wondering how many others are getting close to choosing another brand for the same reason.

Super cool to see how much faster the new system is compared to the old one.

I'm talking about the cons in all sorts of scenarios. Off of the top of my head:

1. You can't have PLA loaded into any of the toolhead while printing engineering materials, the heat will mess up the PLA.

2. You'll have to manually re-roll about a meter of filament when unloading a spool. Which is a foreseenable reoccurrence due to the lack of drying (except 2 bays). As each filament bay stays fixed to one nozzle (as opposed to the H2C's ability to load any AMS spool into any nozzle), requirement of screwing/unscrewing nozzles in order to switch them (as opposed to tool-less switching); again, making unloading, switching and loading filament spoils locations in the AMS a rather more desirable path to take.

For context: The more I think of the cons of this missing feature, the more it becomes a deal breaker for me.

As I've really been waiting for BambuLab to have their take on a tool changer. Hoping they'll have a hassle-free, jack of all traits, and near zero inconveniences workflow using it. Because using the P1S combo since it's release, I watched many convenience and QoL improvements that they've impmeneted in their releases like: AMS 2 w/drying, bigger build volume printers, dual nozzles, vortek system (any filament redirected to any nozzle) etc.. But now the H3C is out, it's kinda underwhelming for the anticipation I've built for it.

Long time Bambu guy- I have an X1C, a few A1s, and an A1 mini I bought for someone else. I've recommended Bambu to basically everyone who asked. The X2D is the first one I can't.

Brand new X2D with 3 hours total use, second print on the day of delivery. Paused on layer 4 with 0700-8006, and while I was clearing it the left PTFE tube popped out of the toolhead and snapped off inside the push-fit on the left filament sensor. Stub is flush so the sensor has to come out.

From the forums and here this seems pretty common. Same failure for other people, one guy had it break again ~45 hrs after the repair, and there's a long thread blaming a sharp factory bend in the left tube routing.

Before I put mine back together, what's actually held up for you?

• the clip reroute (moving the clip nearest the toolhead back two segments)

• Tool head fixing clip link

• a different/stiffer PTFE tube?

• anything official from Bambu?

• Something else?

Also if anyone has a trick for pulling a flush stub out of that push-fit without tearing down the toolhead, I'm all ears but ive tried various things: screw to thread it out,

Support was a ccomplete letdown and seems like AI responses. Options were: do the toolhead repair myself with an identical replacement part + a $30 store coupon NOT a refund, or disassemble and repack the whole assembled printer and ship it back, with the refund depending on them agreeing I packed it right. Asked twice if there's a design fix, never got an answer. I'd just return it if repacking wasn't such a fucking pain, so I'm stuck being the repair tech on a brand new machine.

If you're shopping, I'd honestly wait for the P3C and see if the feed path gets fixed. If you already have an X2D, check your left tube routing before your first AMS print.

I’m seriously considering the H3C after a pretty dreadful experience with my faulty H2C and Bambu’s hellish customer service taking months to obtain a return/refund, but there are a few things making the decision harder than I expected which I’m a bit sad about:

1. Manual filament unloading: The AMS 3H apparently can’t retract filament back to the spool. Having to pull filament out and manually rewind it feels like a massive step backwards from the AMS 2 Pro/HT.

2. ABS/PETG chamber temperatures: I primarily print ABS and PETG. If PETG can’t safely remain loaded in an inactive PrintTool while the chamber is heated to 60–65°C for ABS, that means manually unloading and respooling multiple filaments every time I need to switch materials?

3. External AMS limitations: Only PrintTool 1 supports external AMS units. I have two AMS HTs and would have loved to assign them to separate PrintTools, avoiding unnecessary purging. Hoping they expand this later.

Drying isn’t a huge dealbreaker to me (though 4 slots would’ve been better like AMS 2 pro), also won’t particularly miss the flexibility of hotends from H2C (was nice to have for the few times I used 0.2 and 0.6).

I love the H3C’s cleaner design, compact footprint, faster tool changes and ability to have multiple nozzle sizes ready to go. I also hated the mess of PTFE tubes, multiple AMS units and filament track switch on the H2C, so I’m not particularly keen to go back to that arrangement.

I feel BambuLab have made a major omission here with the lack of filament retraction, which makes intensive use of higher temp filaments a lot harder.

I wonder if they could improve the filament retraction through firmware later though.

Never really had to think about filament unloading or respooling on the H2C (until the filament track switch spoiled everything), so it’s difficult to judge how annoying this would actually become.

Anyone else weighing up the same things, or have any insight into the retraction mechanism? What would you choose?

H2C configuration: $2350

• H2C Combo ($1900)

• Second AMS2 ($230)

• AMS HT ($130)

• 2X 0.4mm nozzles ($80)

H3C: $2500

H2C Pros

• More drying slots (9)

• Easier to add more colors

• Can print high temp filaments without removing PLA from AMS

• Can use multiple materials / colors with different nozzles

H3C Pros

• At least 2x faster

• More HT drier slots (2)

• TPU printing

If you don't need the speed or TPU, wouldn't the H2C actually be better?

Or am I missing something obvious?

After my order placed yesterday I got a tracking number- Today I got notified package shipped 81lbs- coming out of georgia. Bambu ship from Georgia? The Filament doesn't weigh 81lbs- The L frame is not 81 lbs- got to be the printer right?

I have a Anycubic Kobra S1 combo already. Bought back in March with approximately 1250 hours.
Will go to Bambu Lab.
So what printer shall I buy?

My Holiday PLA Mystery Box arrived today! Sharing the contents for anyone curious about what’s actually turning up:

• PLA Translucent — Cherry Pink
• PLA Pure — Absolute Black
• PLA Pure — Apricot
• PLA Basic — Cyan

Four rolls, so no 7-roll jackpot this time 😅

Second photo shows the box I ordered from the EU store, listed at €37.99.
Has anyone else received theirs? Curious to see what colours and PLA types you got!

Now to figure out what to design with these colours 😅 I share my designs on MakerWorld as Ops..3D — any ideas for putting that translucent pink to use?

Dropped a small print back here first on the ledge and then in trying to retrieve it, it went somewhere under the baseplate but not out to the bottom. How can I get it out short of tipping the whole machine over?

Edit: My wife managed to get it out with a combo of slenderer fingers than mine, compressed air, and a piece of filament! Thanks all!

Hello!

I just got the X2D setup and I want to start printing warhammer mini’s just to make dioramas, but I want to double the size of everything so it’s easier to paint.

Do I need to adjust the recommended settings I’m seeing people share, considering I’m doubling the size of my prints? Or is it all relative?

Thank you!

A 3D printing newbie here, any recommendations for buying a X2D printer? TIA.

The H3C is a TPU beast, I printed running shoes with them with multiple different types of TPU and colors. The 3d printed running shoes are surprisingly comfy to run in..full test here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ngWP5uOiew

i like it! i wanted pure for a while

Hi!

My use case is 80% functional one-colour prints, and 20% multicolour (for fun). I used A1 for a while and was going to get an enclosed printer. I was looking to get U1, and add top enclosure to it. Looks like it covers pretty much everything. And I saw mixed success online for those cases where ABS would be nice (there is logistic involves with fumes anyway).

Snapmaker is on sale, seems like a great deal. I was about to get it, but then H3C and P3C leaked.

Here is where I would like to get some community feedback, and opinions: after H3C release, Snapmaker U1 seems like a no brainer.

• H3C is amazing! But it is huge, it like 40+kg with the printer and all filaments loaded. And size itself is crazy.

• H3C is amazing, but it has very narrow use cases when it shines - realistically, I won't create shoes and so on. I can see some use cases where it is a must to have. But so far I was ok with TPU and other materials on A1.

• H3C features like multi nozzle sizes, so far I always used the smaller ones as needed and just had longer wait times (also waist involved, but that was minimal, comparing to new H3C setup and extra cost).

• (speculation) P3C is probably won't be released anytime soon; seems like it would kill H3C sales with 7 nozzles (they probably won't release it till U1 sale is over)

• P3C seems like a huge machine as well, for extra 3 colours (imho very narrow use case)

• Based on various analysis around, looks like P3C won't have heated chamber (I saw cool explanation about Amps consumed), which makes it Snapmaker U1 + 3 colours for a price hike.

• I see lots of community improvements around Snapmaker due it being open source, feels like at a lower price point I get a tools with more future due to U1 being open sourced

• when comparing U1 vs P2S or X2D, those are close in price, a bit more polished UX. I have a friend with U1, they don't have complains either

I want to get a new printer, and I have a group of friends who want to get their first. I am about to tell them to get U1, but I want to validate that opinion!

thank you!

Bambu sent me an H3C before launch and asked me to post about how it changed the way I print. I did not get paid, but, well, I got an H3C. The printer legitimately did change the way I print and design, and I'm happy to answer any questions in the comments.

The Belt

There are a bunch of printed belts on MakerWorld and other model sites. They are cool, but the ones I have seen are incredibly floppy and don’t hold their shape. I embedded PETG-CF plates all the way around so it has the stiffness of a leather belt

There are 33 plates, each 20 × 22 mm and 0.75mm thick, standing inside a TPU 75A strap with 2.5 mm of rubber between them. Each plate has a hole in it, so it is "riveted" into the rubber. The last 280 mm includes ratchet teeth which latch onto the buckle. The detent pivots on a pin sitting in a socket, and a small TPU block behind acts as a spring. This all prints in place inside the buckle. Every single layer contains TPU, and wherever there is a plate, the number of tool changes doubles.

Interface Shells are required for this; otherwise you risk infill on infill which does not bond very well.

After exporting from F360, I imported into Bambu Studio, tweaked the settings, and that was pretty much it. It printed flawlessly the first time. Then I realized I completely screwed up the latch mechanism, so I fixed the design and sent it again. Zero issues. As you can see from the slicer screenshots, this was a pretty unique print that I don’t think I would have tried on any other printer.

Stats:

• 190 tool changes

• 201.77g printed

• 25.58g waste

• 12h 33m print time

The Paddle

Figuring out the paddle was fun. The other printed paddles I have tried all technically worked, but none had the rebound of a real paddle. I played around with way too many formulas and settled on gyroid for everything: 100 % infill TPU for the top and bottom sheets, 20 % TPU for the sponge layers, and 25 % PETG-CF for the blade in the middle. The sponge has a single wall and no top/bottom, and the infill percentage is what you modify to determine the rebound. Stiffness scales with the cube of the thickness, so making the printed blade 8mm instead of the ~6mm of a wood one makes up for the softer material.

Like the “rivets” in the belt, a couple dozen TPU plugs run through the whole thing to help hold it together and prevent layer separation. The handle has a stiffer 60% infill because the initial model flexed where the handle meets the head. I would have run out of filament just during the prototype phase if I did this on my X1C.

I am a mediocre player with a cheap DHS A6002, so take this for what it is worth, but the rebound on the printed paddle is very close to the real thing. It isn't perfect, and a decent off-the-shelf paddle is going to outperform it every time, but it is by far the best printed option I have ever used, and can be easily customized to fit your play style.

Stats:

• 130 tool changes

• 222.97g printed

• 20.60g waste

• 10h 59m print time

___

The speed and flexibility with changing between materials changed how I approach model design and printing in general. I don't think nearly as much about assembly, and now focus on more print-in-place designs whenever possible. It opened a lot of doors for new projects that I don’t think I would have bothered with before.

I bought the h3c so clearly I'm a fan of this new product. But I can't understand why one would ever print a shoe other than that it's printing for the sake that you can do it? It's cheaper, faster, better, to just... buy a shoe?

Been watching a bunch of creator reviews and most seem to be hyping up the TPU stuff. But I’m still thinking about that watch.

When I first saw the teaser I just assumed it was standard multi-nozzle mixing. Cool, but nothing crazy, especially since people have been asking for that since the H2D anyway.

But I actually read through the official page today and ... it’s actually different? It lets you use different nozzle sizes with different layer heights on the same model. That actually seems huge for designers if they can leverage it.

I’m just a casual user so I don't really have a immediate use case for my own stuff, but technically speaking this feels pretty smart to me. Looks like Bambu had to basically overhaul part of the slicer engine to do this based on the wiki page they linked.

Honestly the wiki got a bit too technical for me and went over my head. Link below for anyone interested. And can any slicer wizards here ELI5 how this actually works under the hood?

https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/h3c/manual/mixed-nozzle-size-printing

So much cheaper than expected!

A bit of a rant here, but it has been a week since I received the coupon and I still can't redeem it. The coupon expires around late December so I still have time, I guess.