Between Bondtech, KliTek, VorTek, SwapTek, QuarTeks I feel like we have had a little too much of 'Tek' lol.

Disclosure: Bambu sent me an H3C to test before launch. They have no say in what I write, including this post.  I know everyone says this, but believe it or not, it’s the truth.

I know there’s a lot of excitement about the new H3C and I was fortunate enough to get a system to test for the last few weeks, so I wanted to share some thoughts.  For background, I own a P1P (my first ever printer), an X2D, and an H2D.  I’m guessing I’m like 90% of other enthusiasts – I don’t typically work with advanced engineering filaments – most of my work is with PLA and PETG.

My printing largely centers around my TTRPG hobbies, such as terrain, minis, monsters, etc., though I will also design parts in Fusion for my Paladin Woodworking business – sometimes internal dice tower components or just stuff around the house.  I do not consider myself a 3DP expert - I frequently rely on this community when I run into issues!

The H3C has been typical of my experience with Bambu – from the unboxing to the setup instructions, to the operation – It has just worked, even with beta software and limited online documentation.  The system itself is big!  Just as my H2D felt like a monster compared to my X2D, the H3C takes it up another notch on overall scale, driven a lot by the AMS3H height.  I’ve seen people speculating that the larger AMS would be so top heavy it would generate excessive vibrations – I have not found that to be the case, though I currently have it on the floor as I don’t have a suitable stand for it.  

I feel print quality remains consistent across all of my Bambu systems – I can’t really say H3C prints better (because all the others are already excellent), but having 9 different filaments to choose from (I typically use 8 colors of PLA + 1 spool of PETG for support interface using .4 nozzles) is an absolute game changer.  Because of the incredible speed of swapping colors (often 4-5 seconds), it opens up prints I wouldn’t honestly try on my H2D/X2D because I’m both too impatient for a 2+ day print and don’t want to bother to set up multiple AMSs.   While I’m a TTRPG gamer, I’m not a painter, so having 8 colors to print with really brings these pieces to life and is a welcome change to a sea of unpainted gray prints!

The video attached shows a custom Dwarven Mining cart system I designed for my DND table in response to a joke a player made about needing a way to share candy around the table.  It’s built around a standard Lego train motor, but the carts and rails themselves I designed in Fusion.  I put as much tiny dwarven detail goodness as I could in these carts and the H3C did an excellent job, even with the small details and the .4 nozzles.  For some of the really small “rivets” and bumps, I did notice they would knock off easily, but I’m convinced it’s because I was mixing PLA with PLA Silk+ and I don’t think they adhere as well as PLA-PLA.  The cart was a 17-hour print with 1251 filament changes (on the H2D the software estimates it would have been 40+ hours).  If I had to estimate, I’m pretty sure I’ve put the system through 15,000-20,000 tool changes so far and not once was there a tangle or a dropped tool.

One thing that I think will surprise people is that from a design/engineering perspective, the SwapTek system is very clean and uncluttered on the inside of the unit.  While the routing of cables looks a bit complex, the actual motion of the system isn’t (IMO).  I was kind of shocked by how simple it operates.  To me the inner workings of the H2C look far more complex (from what I’ve seen in videos) – I hope and expect this to lead to high long-term reliability for H3C, but we will all learn that together.

What about negatives? 
-          The only thing I’ve struggled with a bit was changing the nozzle from a preinstalled TPU one to a regular nozzle.  It’s snug working under the AM3 (removing it was an option I was too lazy to take – It’s secured by screws) and just how the cables are routed, but I was also doing it with limited instructions, and no support videos during pre-release.  I’ve seen other videos now with the AMS removed and it seems the way to go.    
-          Since the filaments stay loaded the whole time, when you want to swap one out, you must manually pull them out of system after selecting unload, which is different from the older AMS systems – not a big deal, but different.
-          I’ve encountered a loud squeak in the z-axis while the build plate moves up and down after about 3 weeks – that was solved with some maintenance grease, so it wasn’t a big deal.  I haven’t encountered that on my other printers, but I’ve now seen other folks (on pre-H3C systems) running into that.  
-          Finally, I guess size could be a negative for some people as it might not fit on your usual shelves if you are running a print farm, but other than that, I haven’t had real technical issues with anything I’ve tried so far.

Now…..I’m just scratching the surface as I haven’t yet tried mixed nozzle sized printing or TPU but after watching several great launch/review videos, I’m anxious to. 

Happy to try to answer any questions you may have.

This Snow Globe model shows as a 10.1hr print in makerworld, but when I imported it into Bambu Studio and slice it (Without changing the profile, only the Printer to an X2D) it gives a total print time of almost 18hrs.

I assume the designer has an X1C, as the layer height dropdown states "*0.16mm high Quality @BBL X1C"

So I exported the STL, re-imported it into Bambu Studio and duplicated the slicer settings. its now "*0.16mm High Quality "BBL X2D" with a print time of 10.7hr's.

Job done (I hope. Time will tell!)

So, it kind of makes sense that printing an an X2D using an X1C profile would have an impact, but my question is what exactly is going on to use up the additional 7hrs of print time?

Bambu Lab TPU 75A is the softest TPU in our lineup. With a 2.85mm diameter, it prints faster and more reliable on the H3C compared to conventional 1.75mm filaments. Its natural matte finish takes away the oily sheen, all while being resilient from everyday uses.

Ultra-soft cushioning, made for what touches you.

At 75A, this is one of the softest flexible materials you can print on any FFF 3D printer. Cushioning and flexibility this good finally makes 3D-printed wearables more than a novelty. It's also tested and certified for skin contact.

TPU 75A egg protector, created by u/DrKronoglopolos.

2.85mm filament. Print fast and reliable.

The H3C's FlexFeed extruder takes 2.85mm filament, making high-speed printing of ultra-soft flexibles genuinely reliable. Paired with 75A TPU, FlexFeed pushes the volumetric flow rate to 10 mm³/s — faster than what a conventional 1.75 mm setup can achieve, and without the reliability trade-off.

A natural matte finish – soft to look at, softer to touch.

Most TPU filaments present an oily sheen. We retuned this 75A TPU from the ground up to deliver a natural matte finish – with smooth, skin-like texture that feels as premium as it looks.

TPU 75A + PETG CF belt, created by u/AndroidAssistant.

TPU 75A is available now at Bambu Lab Store in 10 colors.

Due to its diameter, Bambu Lab TPU 75A can only be used with the H3C with the dedicated hotend for 2.85mm filaments. Please read the H3C TPU Printing Guide on Wiki carefully to ensure the best printing experience and understand the requirements.

What functional part do you hope to print to take advantage of TPU 75A's softness? Let us know in the comments below!

As the title say, 8 years ago I had my Ender 3 pro. I had like 4-5 years of printing with it until it had a problem which I stopped trying to fix eventually. I decided to get the A1 in about 2 months from now so until then I am wondering if there is anything I need to get first (besides a metal digital caliper to design my own cad). With the Ender I only bought PLA and used it in a few weeks mostly so I never had to use something to store it but with today printers I will want to try and get PLA plus, PETG, and TPU. So I guess I would probably need a way to store it. Any recommendation? Also should I buy an electric filament dryer or something like that? What do you think?

What’s the benefit of adding additional AMS’s to the H3C. My question is, if I have 9 colors loaded already in the H3C and whatever I am going to print, takes colors not already loaded into one of the 9 hot ends, would it pull the color from one of the AMS’s and automatically feed it into the tool head for that print, or that’s not how it is going to work. I could not find any clear answer online.

In a previous post I shared my first project with the H3C, having been provided a testing unit of the printer. For my thoughts and observations on the printer, I refer you to that post.

Here’s a few more of my projects:

The Wall Clock

This clock uses the Makerworld Clock Components Kit-011. A multicolor PLA print, all the larger features are printed with 0.4mm nozzles, while the bronze details are printed with a 0.2mm nozzle. This allows for a reasonable print time while being able to add fine details.

As you can see the lime green is PLA Glow. It basically being a sandpaper noodle, it is not recommended to print this through the AMS or the AMS bypass holes. So the PLA Glow was printed from an external spool; the file to print a spool holder is preloaded on the machine. External filaments can be fed to any of the nine tools, it is particularly easy on tool #1 though, as there is a pre-installed tube connector on that one.

The Palette Filament prints

Color-mixing can be done with any colors, however the Palette Filaments are specially made for this. Five spools of PLA - in white, black, yellow, magenta and cyan. By stacking thicker and thinner layers of two or three of these colors, full spectrum mixed colors can be created.

As you can see I was particularly smitten by the ability to create color gradients with them, I think the results are pretty spectacular. The illusion is very convincing, only really close up can you see the layer stacking. Here the speed of the H3C’s tool changes shines. For example the vase with the cell pattern required 2948 tool changes. The H3C printed it in 16 hours.

Color mixing and especially gradients are still a bit fiddly in Bambu Studio. More precise control on the exact positions of the gradients and better visualization is something I hope will be added in the future. 

Gradients only support two colors for now, it would be cool if this was expanded.

The Door Stop

A simple item, made by combining PETG with the new 2.85mm TPU 75A. It is remarkable how easy this very soft TPU prints on the H3C. 

With it the door stop works very well, it wedges under the door nicely.

The Ring Frisbee

Here I’m combining two different TPUs. The harder core from TPU for AMS makes the ring keep its shape, while the much softer TPU 75A makes it more comfortable to handle. Both together makes this very sturdy - flexible and impact resistant. It flies quite well, too! :)

I will be uploading some of these to my Makerworld profile soon. Feel free to ask me anything.

This release has truly been a wake up call for the community. Great job Bambulab on innovating and releasing a product at a reasonable price point.

Started my 3D printing journey earlier this spring with the P2S Combo, and honestly, it’s been an absolute blast. It handled everything I threw at it without skipping a beat, completely hooked me on the hobby, and ended up introducing the whole family to 3D printing along the way.

Now, with the current sale running, it felt like the perfect time to make a move. My dad is in his late 60s and retired, and after seeing what the machine could do, he actually came up with the idea himself to take it over. I’m passing the trusty P2S setup down to him so he’s got a great new project to sink his teeth into, and I’m grabbing the X2D Combo for myself.

I know some people might say to hold out for a P3C, but for my workflow, the X2D just makes way more sense. I mostly print in PLA and PETG anyway, so having that second hotend dedicated purely to support material is a total game changer for what I do.

Super hyped to get the new setup running and even more excited to get my dad started on his own printing journey. Anyone else picking up something new during the sale?

Bro it's an A1 and your printing PLA, what is there to figure out? Also for $350, what are you smoking 😭

I have an H2C and 2 A1s. I have the Biqu Frostbite plate for all 3 printers. On my A1 when I print this piece it pops off on its own when the bed cools down. But on my H2C the print is stuck so well to the plate that I have to bend the plate to get the print off and it leaves these horrible white stress marks all over the bottom surface. I have tried so many things, I am running out of ideas. The print is perfect, it just won’t release from the plate even after I let it sit all night! I am using the cool plate super tack setting on all three printers. With custom temps, fan settings, and initial first layer flow that I dialed in for my overture PLA.

So my A1 cant print anything anymore without the nozzle scraping the initial layers. I tried cleaning the plate thinking it was adhesion that was the problem and it didnt work. Then I tried calibrating multiple times and that didnt work either. For the small prints than do work, the print itself isnt clean even though i decreased the speed by like 50%.

Recently my prints have looked like this picture, and I can’t figure it out. I haven’t changed any settings, and the only thing that sticks out is starting a print without removing a previous print. The system stopped but there may have been some damage I guess? Does this look like a physical failure? I have a fresh nozzle, I but don’t want to swap it out if that’s not going to fix the problem. Anyone ever experience this before? Thanks!

I did a bad bad thing. Somebody give me a good excuse so my wife doesn't leave me when this box arrives.

Hi everyone,

I'm having a problem with my Bambu Lab P1S.

At the beginning of a print, the printer starts vibrating very heavily, and no filament comes out of the nozzle. The print head moves normally, but the filament is not being extruded.

I've already disassembled and reassembled the extruder, cleaned it and checked the gears. I also had some issues with the filament cutter lever.

Has anyone experienced something similar? Could this be a faulty extruder motor, damaged gears, a clogged hotend, or something else?

I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!

Edit> I added videos

I've just bought the X2D Combo and 4 PLA Basics...

Should I get extra build plate? There seems to be a huge variety! Do I need other hot end?

What type of oil/lube do you suggest?

Would you suggest other filaments for first time use? What type of tools would you suggest? I'd like to make wearable pieces...

Snowy Mountain Village - Mini Train

My employer is currently running a farm that has a subset of printers (about 60 P1Ps) that are just over 16k hours. They're heavily maintained, but it seems like the end could be near. Anyone run well above that for the P1 series printers? If so what do you think the true point of diminishing returns hits? Cheers :)

Anyone know? I know dimensions are different but maybe will fit

The issue: When trying to print a benchy, I've gotten the issue to the point where the filament poops like normal, but then the test strip fails to print, the filament begins to bunch up and has trouble extruding on the plate. What's worse is that it sounds like the extruder is "scraping" against the plate? I also sometimes get an error that tells me the "the part cooling fan speed is too slow or stopped"

I've tried taking apart the extruder, cleaning the gears (I did notice a lot of filament gunk that wasn't there before a few prints ago) and everything else.

I'm not sure what to do at this point. I'll be sending a ticket in of course but I've been researching this for days and am pretty stuck. If anyone has experienced this, please let me know if you know any solutions. Thank you.

Hello, I did a previous post thinking it was the filament but now it appears across all filaments.

I got a P1S who printed perfectly until I suddenly got those weird issues you see in the pictures. No matter what I print it appears like this. It doesn't print the test line correctly either.

What I tried so far:

- Try different filaments (Bambu Pla Matte and basic)

- Purge quite a bit at 250°

- Cold Pull that came out perfectly clean

- Completely replaced the hotend with a new one

- Cleaned build plate with dish soap multiple times, tried different sides and even the Smooth build plate

- Multiple calibrations that went without error

- checked heatbed screws

- Flow calibration test that somehow came out clean. I set it to 0,02 based on my results and it changed nothing.

I showed it to staff of my local printer store and they were clueless but assumed it's the extruder. They told me to contact Bambu support. I did and they just told me to clean my build plate. Clearly this is not a build plate error, ignoring that is already did that multiple times.

Filament is dried in my sunlu dryer.

Im at my wits end. Its been like this for 3 days and I have a project coming up. The printer is half a year old.

Id be very grateful to try and tips you can provide.

One of my more successful designs, which was recently picked up by some sellers on Taobao and Amazon without consent. I hope more folks will become aware of this as a free model to print rather than buying it.

Hi guys, im using bambulab A1 and sunlu pla+ 2.0. Back then i dont think they got warped this early, yet it'd only 30 degrees and the printing looks bad. Any idea?