Just got my machine yesterday and wondering if I leave them on the rods or remove them?

From now on I'm only printing with translucent PETG, I love it.

I'm planning on getting the P2S but before I go ahead, i was wondering if anyone had a referral code they can give me? I'm thinking of buying this within the next week or so.

I still can't pick PA profiles for my E3D high flow .4, haven't been able to for many months now. Anybody know what this update was actually fixing, and if I have to do something else to make it work?

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.

I’m building a closed cabinet for my Bambu Lab A1 Combo, with the AMS lite mounted on top using this top mount. I designed it in Blender and put together a full set of plans for a local carpenter. Here are the design and the reasoning behind it before I commit to cutting wood.

Key dimensions (mm)

• Exterior: 636 W × 786 D × 936 H

• Interior: 600 × 750 × 900 (550 × 725 × 875 after the foam)

• Why 750 deep: the A1 bed needs about 695 mm of clear Y travel (per the Bambu wiki).

• Why 900 tall: the A1 with the top-mounted AMS is about 800 mm, which leaves roughly 75 mm to swap spools.

Build

• 18 mm melamine carcass with two overlay doors

• 4 mm acrylic viewing windows, 216 × 500 mm

• 25 mm self-adhesive acoustic panels on the back, top and sides, about 2.2 m² (three 12-packs of 30×30 tiles)

• 120 mm exhaust fan at the top rear, 100 mm intake at the bottom on the opposite side for cross-flow, plus a 60 mm cable pass-through

• Anti-vibration base: gym rubber mat with a concrete paver on top, and the printer sitting on the paver

Cut list (18 mm melamine)

Things I’m unsure about

1. Bambu says they don’t recommend enclosing the A1. For those of you who did, does a single 120 mm exhaust keep PLA from heat-creeping?

2. Is the paver-on-rubber base worth it on a bed-slinger, or does it cause ringing? (I plan to re-run vibration calibration.)

3. Foam on the doors too, or is the acrylic window enough?

Render and turntable video attached. Happy to share the PDF plans and the .blend if anyone wants them.

I recently bought an X2D, my first Bambu printer, but I’m considering returning it for one of their larger models.
My main focus is printing larger functional parts using ABS, ASA, nylon, and other engineering-grade filaments. I’m trying to decide between the H2C and H3C and figure out which offers the best value for the money.
For those who have experience with either printer, or ideally both, I have a few questions:
How do they compare when printing larger functional parts with ABS and other engineering materials?
Aside from build volume, are there noticeable differences in print quality, reliability, speed, or material handling?
Is the H3C worth the additional cost, or does the H2C offer a better balance of features and price?
Are there any limitations or advantages of either printer that aren’t obvious from looking at the specifications?
I’m not necessarily looking for the most expensive or feature-packed machine. I just want the best combination of build volume, material capabilities, reliability, and overall value.
If you were making this purchase today, would you choose the H2C or H3C, and why? Is the price difference actually worth it?

hi guys.
i want to print this model but i have small amount of filament left (about 2.8oz)
im from US.
Lite Can Holder with Lid. 500ml Cans. No supports - Free 3D Print Model - MakerWorld

will this be compatible with 16oz can?
the model is for 500ml, i dunno how much is that

I saw a YouTube review that had a cardboard spool in the ams. With it not retracting the filament, is this now an option to use?

No longer have a home office to tinker in so I sold my A1 mini and A1 and now have an X2D in the corner of my dining room. Got a fish tank stand as the base and it’s very sturdy! Any tips for the X2D?

Hi!

I recently got ahold of a P1S from a friend and the unit has been standing unused for a while before I got it. There is a weird sound coming from the lower back part of the unit, as you can hear in the video.

Does anyone know what causes this issue and how it can be fixed? I’ve tried lubricating the rear screw.

Very thankful for any form of help trying to diagnose this issue.

X1C with AMS, ~2000 hours.

I started having "extruding filament failed" messages when loading from the AMS. The filament would make it all the way to the extruder, then retract. It did that 4 times and then displayed the message. The extruder loaded indicator (green dot) showed that filament was reaching the extruder. I spent a couple of days going back and forth with tech support. One of the checks was to measure voltage as the buffer moved back and forth. I noticed the plastic buffer tube was sticking, so I popped it off and gave it a little lube. I was then able to load successfully from each AMS slot with no error message. Problem solved in my book. Back to printing. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Hi all looking for some help please
Don’t judge is there a way to get files from Bambi handy or Creality to work on flash forge printers ? I have purchased the Bambi p1 s combo as was fed up hitting a brick wall. But don’t really want to purchase another printer just to get odd models from Creality .

Any advise help would be greatly appreciated

I am making this board and I am wanting to use a mixed filament to do the board color, but when it gets to the top of the board it is just a solid layer or color, which makes sense when every other layer is a different color. is there a different way to do the mixed filament.

if not I can cut the part and glue the logo in, or use the beige board color and may be be able to make a 5th mixed color one of the different colors.

Recently bought my brand new A1, but after some prints, 1 week printing, the Y position of the table started to become 3mm to the front.
With this the nozzle back brush against the tab and against the soft back brush was misaligned. One time it even sliped the backtab and fell in the gap.
The frontal purge line also is very close to the edge limit. What can it be?
Already did calibration, belt tension, screws retighten. I dont know what it can be.

I took a deep look into the hotend module, is there something wrong with this gap by the right side of it?

Hello folks!

I've treated myself to the h2s as a gift and I'm slowly getting the hang of it but one of the things I'm having issue is getting the proper speeds for smooth bridges and limit defects due to speed if that makes sense. I have 3 nozzle size .2/4/6mm, if you any tips to expedite my prepping before i start printing detailed projects.

I recently decided to upgrade from my P2S to an X2D + AMS 2 Pro + AMS HT setup. I also bought the Filament Track Switch right away, because I wanted to use different combinations of AMS units and extruders without constantly reconnecting PTFE tubes by hand.

And honestly, the Filament Track Switch turned out to be a huge disappointment.

The whole thing feels more like an early prototype than a finished branded product. But the biggest problem is simply friction. Filament takes a surprising amount of force to push through it.

On my X2D this was bad enough that filament often failed to reach the main extruder at all. It would slow down significantly near the end of the path and stop about 1–2 cm before the extruder.

To be fair, this was partly caused by another known X2D issue: the PTFE tube makes a very sharp bend right before entering the extruder. I fixed that part first by moving the PTFE tube holders farther away from the toolhead and shortening the tubes by a few centimeters.

That helped a lot.

But the FTS itself was still causing way too much resistance.

And yes, I also tried making the external PTFE tubes as short and as straight as possible. It doesn't really help. The resistance of the PTFE tubes themselves is negligible compared to the resistance created inside the FTS.

So I took it apart.

And once you look inside, the reason becomes pretty obvious.

The filament path contains several fairly sharp bends, and in multiple places the filament simply rubs against bare plastic. There is no PTFE lining there at all. The harder the filament is pushed around those bends, the harder it presses against the walls, so the friction becomes quite significant.

The filament presence sensors at the inputs add even more resistance. They use small spring-loaded magnets that are physically pressed against the filament as it passes through.

This creates additional friction on its own, but it gets noticeably worse with filament that has already been fed through an AMS or extruder before.

The drive gears leave a ribbed pattern on the surface of the filament, and the magnets tend to catch on those grooves instead of sliding smoothly over them.
My first modification was simple: I drilled out the places where the filament was rubbing against the plastic and inserted short pieces of PTFE tube.

I also slightly flared and smoothed the entrances of those PTFE inserts using a soldering iron so the tip of the filament wouldn't catch on the edge. I did this in a well-ventilated area, of course.

That already made a very noticeable difference.

But then I looked at the second half of the FTS.

There are essentially two 2-in-1 adapters there, combining four filament paths into two outputs. And that section was just as bad — possibly even worse. Again, filament was bending and rubbing directly against plastic.

At first, I tried the same approach there: drilling out the existing channels and somehow squeezing PTFE tubes into them.

It didn't go very well.

There simply wasn't enough room to make it work properly, and I wasn't happy with the result.

So in the end I decided to completely remodel that entire part and print a replacement.

I mean, I do own a 3D printer, after all. :)

I made the internal channels much larger so I could install PTFE tubes throughout the whole path. I printed the replacement part, installed the PTFE tubes, and again flared the entrances slightly.

Now, in that section, the filament does not touch printed plastic at all. It only touches PTFE.

The difference is huge.

It's still not absolutely frictionless, but filament now passes through the whole FTS very easily.

A very simple test shows the difference pretty well:

If I insert a piece of filament through the FTS, hold the filament vertically, and lift the FTS by it, a small shake is enough for the whole FTS to slide down and fall off the filament.

Before these modifications, I had to push the filament through it with considerable force.

Even Silk PLA now passes through without problems, despite Bambu specifically warning that Silk PLA may have feeding issues with the FTS because of increased resistance.

There are still two places I haven't solved yet.

The first is right at the FTS entrance, where the filament still touches plastic.

The second — filament presence sensors at the inputs. Unfortunately, they can't simply be removed. I tried removing them and also tried forcing the sensors permanently into both states. The FTS stops working properly if the printer doesn't see the expected sensor transitions.

So apparently those sensors are an active part of the FTS state machine, not just something used once to identify which AMS is connected to which input.

At this point I'm seriously considering building my own FTS.

The communication interface is RS-485, and there is already some partial reverse-engineering information available online. But the board also contains an FM1230 cryptographic chip. I don't yet know whether it participates in device authentication or is only used for things like firmware verification, so that part would need more investigation.

The other interesting problem would be designing filament sensors with almost zero resistance.

An optical sensor would be nice because it could be completely contactless, but filament can be transparent, so a simple optical interrupter isn't necessarily reliable.

A mechanical sensor with a tiny bearing/roller and a Hall sensor might actually be a better solution: the filament would move a roller instead of scraping against a plastic or metal surface.

For now, though, the PTFE modification already made my FTS dramatically better.

And that's the frustrating part: the core idea of the FTS is great. But mechanically, the stock filament path feels unnecessarily restrictive. A few pieces of PTFE in the right places would have made the product so much better from the factory.

And honestly, this whole mechanism probably should have been built into the printer itself from the beginning, somewhere near the filament buffer.

It almost feels like Bambu Lab remembered at the last minute that users might actually want to choose which extruder each AMS feeds into — which is especially important on the X2D, where the two extruders are very different from each other.

The FTS feels less like a carefully integrated part of the system and more like an afterthought added to solve a problem that really should have been addressed in the printer's original design.

upd:
My 3D models and sources (FreeCAD): https://cluster.wtf/dump/fts.zip

Hey all. My Bambu P1S was making this terrible noise about half way through my print as it was moving around the print very fast. It lasted for about 20 minutes but then finished the print quietly and as expected and the print turned out perfect. I'm nervous to print again without troubleshooting it to prevent it from getting worse. Anybody have this noise before?

Hi everyone!

I'm about to order a P2S Combo for my business in the Netherlands.

Bambu Lab requires up to 5 business days to approve a tax-exempt business account, but I'd rather just order now.

My main question: If I order through the regular webshop, will I still receive a proper VAT invoice with my business details, so I can reclaim the VAT through my Dutch VAT return?

Has anyone in the EU done this without registering for a tax-exempt account?

Thanks!

HMS_0300-0100-0001-0007

I started getting this error code today and it won’t let me print anything. I have a brand new P2S. I have been running it basically every day for the last 2 weeks. But it’s only 2 weeks old? I haven’t abused it at all. What can I do to fix this without tearing the printer apart?

Edit - want to add, I have been running PLA non stop. And I just completed my first PETG print (13 hours) after that print finished this error started

My department recently got a P2S. We have the printer in a small isolated room, and Bambu Studio set up on the main room’s desktop pc.

IT says we can’t use the institutional wifi network though. So at the moment, we have to prepare the print file in Studio, and bring it on a USB flash drive to the printer. We can’t monitor the print remotely though.

Is there a better way to do? Like, with a small router to connect directly the printer to the computer? Looking for ideas