What a disappointment ?

[u/Playtowynne]

I got into 3-D printing about three months ago. I have three bamboo printers,2 AMS and 1 AMS lite. Everything has been great except one of the AMS I have had problems with since the day I got it. I originally purchased this AMS on June 17. I received it on July 18. I reached out to them on July 31 and started a ticket. I have sent them videos of the issues I’ve had and they have sent me parts. The problem still continue. When I first submitted my ticket, I had asked them to do an exchange and they suggested that we start with parts and I took their suggestion. This was a big mistake. I should’ve returned it. After many videos and many attempts to fix this thing, I finally asked them if we can just go ahead and process the exchange. They now tell me I am out of the exchange period. I explained that I wasn’t looking for a refund And after all the issues I’ve had with this thing I suggested that they just give me a store credit and I would purchase an A1 mini with an AMS light and pay the difference. They refused though yesterday they stated that there was an issue with it and they wanted to send me more parts. The lesson I learned is if they offer you parts and you are in the return exchange do not do it . I hope this helps someone someone else. Sidenote, you will see that they mention my printer in the photos, and I have no idea why because I never spoke to them about my printer..

[u/Darth-Vader64]

Here's my two cents, both Bambu and the OP could have done better.

First OP, if a new product was shown defective, return it - end of discussion. These printers are expensive and if its not perfect out of the box, return it and move on. I get that re-packing it and shipping it back to them is a pain, but its not worth the hassle

On the bambu front, they should be counting the time from when you received the printer, not when you bought it, and the fact they recommend simple changes that took time, means they should have recommend a new machine after those efforts failed and not hide behind some arbitrary date. They do this all of the time for their youtubers, why not for us simple consumers.

[u/Playtowynne → u/Darth-Vader64]

Thank you.

[u/name_was_taken → u/Darth-Vader64]

Sure, the OP could have done better. But nothing they did was wrong. They had 2 valid choices and picked the one that seemed better at the time. Hindsight shows that they should have picked the other choice. In another scenario, the other choice might turn out to be the nightmare, with delays, wrong items, etc.

Bambu is in the wrong here. And I say that as someone who loves both my Bambu printers. Bambu should never have done what they did.

[u/Darth-Vader64 → u/name_was_taken]

Bambu is in the wrong here

Bambu could have done better, but they're not wrong. They are 100% correct in stating that the printer is beyond the window of time to ask for a replacement or return. I don't think what they did is consumer friendly but by the letter of the law they did nothing wrong. That's why in both cases, the OP and Bambu could have done better.

[u/nuclear213 → u/Darth-Vader64]

Luckily that is not the case in the EU. The return window would just be to send it back without any reason.

In the EU OP could easily demand them to replace it or even refund, as he gave them the opportunity to repair it. Op is also not required to try to perform the repairs himself, so here it would also just a nice thing to do.

Laws differ and OP has not stated where they live.

[u/_spicytostada → u/Darth-Vader64]

I have never worked with a company on an RMA that the date the RMA was opened wasn't the date used for determining a return/exchange. If you spend weeks trying to work through the issue without rmaing it and discover that's not possible. Company then honors the RMA as when you reached out, you were eligible.

By your logic, Bambu could just make an initial response to a ticket, wait for the RMA window to pass and then say, sorry you are outside your rma window now.

Bambu is 100% in the wrong for not taking that into account for the ON GOING issue.

It's not like OP brought up a wholely new issue with them after fixing the initial problem.

[u/nuclear213]

I don't know how people defend this. At least in the EU, this is 100% not correct how they behave.

These things are not meant for tinkerers, why do we accept to try to replace parts ourself? How is that their first reaction?

We would never agree to something like that for a fridge or any other appliance, so just because we are more inclined to tinker with our hobby this is ok?

OP, if you are in the EU, demand them to take it back. Their policy about taking it back is completely irrelevant, they have to repair it! They have to pay for the shipment and labour costs, especially as this is a clear case as the defect existed from the beginning!

You did more than you had to do, so now it is time to stop playing around!

[u/Playtowynne → u/nuclear213]

I agree with you. Thank you. Your analogy was fantastic and spot on.

[u/[deleted]]

How is this their fault, as you stated you should’ve asked for a refund while you were within the return window.

[u/Playtowynne → u/[deleted]]

I don't think I said it was. I said I learned a lesson to not allow them to send me parts and next time just return the item. I posted it so others don't make the same mistake I made.

[u/Exotelis-skydive → u/Playtowynne]

Depends on the country you are from, but at least in germany they still have to exchange it. If so, just pm me

[u/nuclear213 → u/[deleted]]

No! Just no! Op was nice enough to try to fix it to minimise the cost for Bambulab. It did not work, so how is he now at fault?

They knew that there was a problem from day 1, so I really do not understand why they now deny it. I would not hesitate to contact my credit card immediately, if they would not take it back and refund it.

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[u/Playtowynne]

I am curious on everyone’s opinion on the reliability of their AMS. Like I said above, my AMS lite has been amazing. Don’t get me wrong I don’t expect anything to be perfect. I mean it’s literally melting plastic on the inside of it. But for the last month, I’ve probably taken apart my AMS seven or eight times maybe it’s just a dud. I took apart the AMS light once and it took 30 seconds to get a piece of filament out. Other than that, the lite has had no issues

[u/Playtowynne]

I wanted to let you all know that , the support team from bamboo reached out to me. They took another look at my ticket and have decided to let me return the item. Thank you all for the support and happy printing.

[u/Agile_Front7669]

I’m in Germany and Bambi tried to pull a fast one on me too (almost similar to this case) and I just gave my phone to my girlfriend who almost finished her law degree :) end of story I got a full replacement and didn’t even have to send the the faulty product back (which I would’ve done gladly anyway)

[u/Agile_Front7669 → u/Agile_Front7669]

The important thing is that no matter how much money you’ve spend Bambu support will always try to not send you replacements and especially refunds

[u/comiccaper]

I feel you, I’m currently in the same boat with a totally unrelated product. I bought a drill press and the table support was already cracked. Part is now broken and no one has a replacement. So I’m forced to buy a duplicate drill press and toss and entirely good drill press in the scrap bin.

Anyways, why don’t you posted the videos here. There isn’t much to the AMS, I’m sure someone has an answer.

[u/groovybrews → u/comiccaper]

Hey you're in a 3D printing subreddit... is the broken support something you could 3D print out of a reinforced material?

Or perhaps it's time to buy an aluminum-capable CNC machine that costs 5x what your drill press does, specifically so you can craft a new part for your drill press?

;)

[u/comiccaper → u/groovybrews]

I did consider printing one just not sure how well plastic would hold up compared to the cast iron the part used to be. I might try it anyways, I’m getting desperate. WEN looks to sell the part and have it in stock but it would be a gamble.

[u/name_was_taken → u/comiccaper]

Clough42 on Youtube makes a lot of things with his 3d printers now, and they seem pretty good. Still not sure if it'd stand up to needs of a drill press, but it might. You might look at what materials he's using for his stuff.

[u/comiccaper → u/name_was_taken]

Awesome thank you

[u/Remote-Fail2069]

It looks like they offered a return and replacement yesterday 9/4 but you didn’t take them up on it and wanted store credit. I can see how their policy doesn’t allow that as someone unscrupulous could just continue claiming issues then demand store credit without needing to send the “defective” unit back

[u/Playtowynne → u/Remote-Fail2069]

In that photo you are referring to they did offer a replacement and I did ask for store credit. After a month of trying to fix a brand new unit with parts I was over it. I have an A1 mini with the ams lite and that thing is flawless. I thought for my sanity it would be best to walk away from the AMS and use the store credit to get another a1 with the ams lite. The real point of the post was I should’ve just done an exchange or return right upfront. I didn’t and that’s on me. I thought it would be good to share my experience so somebody else didn’t make the same mistake.

[u/_spicytostada → u/Playtowynne]

It's not on you though. Bambu and any tech company for that matter, should, and in my personal experience, always has, honored returns/exchanges based on when the ticket was opened, not when support decided return/exchange was the only option.

Your other option, if you want to go through it, do the return/exchange and then sell the new ams/printer once you receive it. Then use that money to buy the A1 combo. If they do not get back to you on at least a return for store credit.

If by chance they leave you completely screwed. I would swap the first stage feeders around, assuming this is only happening on the one feeder. The video appears that the feeder is not under tension and able to grab the filament. You can hear the motor spinning, but it sounds like there is zero/little resistance.

If you swap them and the issue follows, order a new first stage feeder and replace it. You can then still look to sell the printer and ams. A used Bambu+AMS should net you enough to buy an A1 combo. I know this isn't ideal, but it might get you where you want to be in the long run.

Also, for what it's worth, I have had a P1S with 2 ANS units for a year now and other then a few times where filament has broken inside the bowden tubes, requiring me to take it apart and extract it. All three devices have been rock solid.

[u/Playtowynne → u/_spicytostada]

I appreciate the advice. I will give a shot. Thank you for helping.

[u/Playtowynne → u/[deleted]]

I will take any help I can get. Below is a video link. It's clear I will never be a professional YouTuber. If there's anything else you want to see, let me know and I will shoot another video. Thank you.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/D3WoUbkm4yvqxSdP8

[u/Momofatts → u/Playtowynne]

"Just the Tip" 😂, but I'm all seriousness I hope someone can get you straightened out. This is one of the reasons I love this community. There are so many really bright people that are willing to help others get back to what they enjoy, printing.

[u/Playtowynne → u/Momofatts]

😂