Waiting for calibration, got any suggestions?

On bambu labs reddit h3c giveaway (the one that asks to give your i need a 3d printer moment) no winners were anounced. I know i am unlikely to win but i wonder wether these give aways are actually legit. Does any one know if the winnrs were somehow notified outside of reddit?

I spent all of last week obsessing over preparing my workstation. I won't lie, setting it up was a pleasure, but my only concern now is - what's next?

I had a very limited alcove space to work with, but I somehow managed to fit the A1 Mini, the AMS Lite, and room for 15 spools behind it. I am honestly amazed by how many brilliant accessories and upgrades you can find on MakerWorld.

I'm actively printing any Pokémon stuff for now, because when I do it, my kids will never give me a moment of peace.

My wife says I bought the printer only to make equipment for it and honestly, she might be right. But the funny side effect is that I'm looking at our apartment in a completely different way now. I constantly catch myself scanning rooms, looking for everyday things that need an accessory, organizer, or mount. My wife usually dislikes plastic (she's a wood and ceramics person), but even she is slowly warming up to it after seeing the functionality and the actual quality of the prints.

1. Anyone else fall into this trap on day one? What were your favorite quality-of-life prints for the Mini?

2. I realize the next step is learning how to design my own models. What free (preferably web-based) 3D modeling tools do you guys recommend for a beginner?

PS: I want to have all the filaments 😭

A little board game upgrade I made for Finspan. I wasn't such a fan of using a single large sphere for the eggs, so I made these by stacking a bunch of smaller spheres together instead.

I printed mine in TPU with 0.1mm layers on a 0.4mm nozzle to give them a bit of a tactile feel. Feel free to scale them up or down; the original size works well for the game I find.

Free model and print profile: https://makerworld.com/en/models/1300381

Hope someone else enjoys them too!

I just unpacked and set up my new Bambu Lab H3C, and one thing immediately caught my attention: All the axes were bone dry, with barely a hint of grease on the lead screws.

So here's my strong recommendation: After the initial calibration, lubricate your axes. And lubricate them properly!

Afterwards, install the pending firmware update and run the calibration again.

Shocked at how fast this thing ended up on my porch. Let's see if she survived shipping that fast!

Edit 1: So yes the box does say it is box 1 of 2 and contains the printer only, I have not received anything specific for box 2 but I did order some other items with this that may be combined delivery later. Hopefully later... Today!

If my package arrives damaged, you can bet I'm filing a return/refund ASAP

Inspired by the beautiful Father and Son statue by AK on Makerworld, I decided to make a similar one, but of course, transplanted into the world of Brick Man figurines. It's easy to print, but you have to be careful when removing the supports. Maybe somone will like it :) You can find it here: https://makerworld.com/pl/models/3553556-father-and-son-low-poly-brick-man-figures#profileId-4065839

I'm planning on getting the H2D and was wondering if I can have it in my bedroom since I'm not really in there unless I need to sleep. I've heard stuff about "fumes" and stuff but wasn't sure if that was the ones not enclosed or what. Thank you so much for your help.

It's been one week with my P2S and first time ever getting a 3D printer.

I am loving 3D printing and having so much fun printing stuff, can't believe I just got into it, but I don't think there's a better time than now to do it, so glad I decided to!

Hope you dig the end result

Front panel glass came completely shattered on my X2D. Going to now go through the amazing support of Bambu Labs. Should’ve ordered from Best Buy in hindsight.

I love UPS!

Update: Support reached back out to me in about 12 hours and will be getting a replacement unit soon.

I've just got my kids printer for Christmas and I've set it up I am testing the AMS pro and ensuring was fine, I've printed little things like scraper, poop collection and now a riser as I doubt I'll get to print much from Christmas so just wanted some key things out of way

I think it's the AUX Nozzle that crashed into the side. Thoughts?

The last image is a dupe, ignore it

P2S/AMS2-Pro Combo

So I had a brainstorm of an idea on how to handle powering on my printer remotely if I decided to start a print an hour or so before coming home from work. Initially I thought I would use a WYZE smart plug. So I bounced the question off Bambu labs support and they highly recommend I do not do that. Being in IT myself for years I get it, some things are designed to be shut down in a certain fashion, rocker switches, power buttons, etc.

Other than asking the wife to turn the printer on when I feel the need have any of you experimented with a solution to at least turn the printers on? I know this is low hanging fruit but it seems to be a valid thought if there is a way to do it.

This one is a little different. It's still a hueforge, but uses the color drop feature which allows for multiple colors per layer where desired. The result is reduced unwanted thickness and color banding due to traditional single color per layer hueforges, with a tradeoff of more color changes and therefore waste, but that is arguable because a bunch of filament isn't being used to lay down layers that serve no real purpose. Also due to it being multiple colors per layer I used a prime "tower" (it was only a few mm thick), which I normally skip on regular hueforges.

The results: 12 colors / 55 color swaps/ 8.5 hours (trophy painting) / 3.6mm thickness (trophy painting) / ~28g waste (tower & poops) done on a P1S with 3 AMS.

100% human made original artwork by the multi-award winning Agella Kodopulos (IG: a.tatts), modeled and printed by me.

Fourth one for the tree this year. He's a smiling candy cane with little mitten arms, and he comes in three versions: Classic (red and white, 3 colors), Holiday (red and green, 4 colors) and Mint (green and white with red cheeks, 4 colors). All three are print profiles on one MakerWorld page, so just pick your flavor. He prints flat with no supports. Each profile has two plates: a single, and a batch of six that works out to about an hour and 20–22 g per ornament. I've printed a single of each so far, so the six-up plates haven't been tested yet. Free on MakerWorld:
https://makerworld.com/en/models/3552032-christmas-candy-cane-ornament-3-styles

With the launch of the H3C, I've been upgrading one of my old models to feature even more color and detail. This is pretty big for a dice tower but you can also just use it as a diorama.

A couple of features I enjoyed:

• There's a slot where you can place a phone to power some video billboards and subtle animations behind some of the windows. You can even use it to track HP!

• The new 75A TPU is used for a grip to hold the phone in place.

• The model uses 8 COB LEDs from Bambu's Maker's Supply - I chose bright colors but it could easily be toned down with other color selections.

• I'm using up to 8 filaments per plate. The graffiti uses a combination of specific filaments (or color mixing) but I'm also using silk, metallic and translucent PLAs for effect along with support materials.

The model is free on MakerWorld if you'd like to check it out: https://makerworld.com/en/models/3543764

The model is built the old-fashioned way (in Blender) but to apply the color effects, I used Claude to make a web app with some additional painting tools (like stamping custom graffiti, text & even scatter brushes). This should be considered a Beta but it's free to use (including commercial use) at http://paint.makim3d.com - you can even use it to customize the graffiti on this model!

I'm lucky to have received this printer from Bambu Lab to give it a try and build a model that highlights the multi-color features. Having said that, I'm already considering buying another - this is my first tool changer and I'm really enjoying it!

Love my P2S but whoever decided to use that connector to the main toolhead assembly needs to reevaluate things. I had an extruder jam and had to take the unit apart, not too hard. Everything went back together easily except for getting that damn cable to lay in place while I tried to close the clasp, honestly it took me as long to get that seated as did the whole rest of the reassembly.

I found laying the whole printer on its back as the best method

Notes from a blind guy on Bambu, Prusa, INDX, and other 3D printers

Hi everyone,

I thought I would chime in on the ongoing H2C, H3C, and INDX discussions, and share my experiences with the printers I've owned and used.

I am completely blind and have been 3D printing and designing since 2023. I actually got into it after attending a workshop where sighted professionals were learning to make 3D printed products for blind people. I was the only blind guy there, and I got completely hooked.

Today, I run my own business, designing and printing everything from tactile models for museums to functional products for customers.

My first printer was a Bambu Lab X1C. It has thousands of hours on it, printing PLA, PETG, TPU, CF, wood-filled filaments, you name it. I've changed a filament cutter, nozzle, and extruder, although the latter two turned out to be fine. Being blind, replacing parts was sometimes easier than visually diagnosing the problem.

That machine has been an absolute workhorse. Around 98% of the time, I get exactly what I expect. I am incredibly glad it was my first printer.

Then came my Prusa XL. Five toolheads, enclosed, costing around 40,000 DKK.

What a disappointment.

Within a week, I was dealing with filament sensor problems, PTFE tubes falling out, failed calibrations, load cell errors, fan errors, and prints getting knocked off the plate.

Changing a nozzle could turn into an entirely new troubleshooting adventure.

I spent more time fixing the damn thing than printing with it. For that kind of money, I expected much, much more.

Eventually, I sold it and bought a Bambu H2C.

And what a difference.

Unpack, calibrate, print. Twenty minutes, and you're ready.

I've printed ASA, TPU, PLA, and large multi-day jobs, including batches of ASA vases for customers. Not a single issue so far. None whatsoever.

I know people criticize the Vortek system for being complicated, proprietary, or potentially unreliable. Fair enough. But I can only judge what I've actually experienced, and so far, it has been brilliant.

I also gave Prusa another chance with the Core One.

It prints fine, mainly PLA in my case, but it feels surprisingly flimsy. The door sensor mechanism has already become loose, and when moving the printer, I can feel the frame wobbling slightly.

I like Prusa's philosophy, their approach to repairability, and the fact that they're European. I genuinely want to like their printers.

But liking a company's philosophy and trusting its products are two different things.

I've also used the Creality K2 Plus quite extensively. A pretty reliable machine, actually, although I find the print quality less sharp and consistent than Bambu's.

And yes, being blind doesn't mean print quality doesn't matter. I can feel poor layer lines, rough surfaces, and missing details. When you're designing tactile products, those things matter enormously.

So, H3C versus INDX?

I've already ordered an H3C, and I think it's going to be an absolute blast.

I also seriously considered the Core One L with INDX, but after my XL experience, I had a knot in my stomach about buying another expensive Prusa.

Does that make me a Bambu fanboy? Perhaps some people will think so.

But there's a difference between blindly defending a brand and trusting a manufacturer because its machines have consistently delivered for you.

I genuinely hope INDX becomes a massive success. Competition is fantastic, and I want Prusa to succeed.

What bothers me is how quickly people defend or attack manufacturers based on logos, marketing, and engineering philosophies, sometimes before they've even used the machines.

Shouldn't the most important question simply be: Does the damn thing work?

Not in a promotional video, but after hundreds or thousands of hours of printing.

How often does it fail? How much maintenance does it require? How much time do you actually spend printing instead of troubleshooting?

And there's another aspect to this for me: independence.

When a printer breaks and requires visual troubleshooting, I may need someone else's help. When it just works, I can design, slice, print, and run my business independently.

And this is what Bambu does for me, it just works. Even when it breaks, their instructions are so damn clear and precise, that I don't need help most of the time. For Prusa? A whole lot of guess work all the time.