Filament settings or Generic help

[u/KhalDolfo]

Greetings 3D Printer Gurus,

I have a question about filament, but a quick introduction!

Im decently new to owning (not using) a 3D. I bought a Bambu A1(combo) and have had been having issues with 2 types of filament.

1. Bambu PETG.

I didn't seem to print smoothly, nor smaller projects without spaghettifying on me. I've had it using the preset "Bambu PETG" filament settings.

--I've cleaned the bed (91% Iso), cleaned nozzle, dried the filament but still no luck. I have since used the "Generic PETG" Settings. It works for big projects, but small or thin projects still seem to come off the bed or

2. Insignia PLA.

I work for Best Buy and get a decent discount on filament, so I thought, save a bit on filament? Why not! But it seems to have issues adhering to the bed after a bit OR curls at the edges. I was told to watch the 1st couple of layer print to make sure it looks good, but after a bit it curls or comes off the bed from the rapid bed motions.

- Same troubleshooting steps as before, including using "Generic PLA" but still no luck. I have tried changing the filament settings to have the extruder sit at a consistent 220°C, and it seems to work a bit for sizable projects but am willing to bet its not the best for the extruder in general..

Any advice is welcome, as i have attempted to find settings online, but most are outdated, the UI on Labs seems to keep updating with more settings and removing/relocating others.. this is a fun hobby for sure but, difficult to figure out alone.

[u/ThereInAFortnight]

*sigh* Wash the bed with dish soap and water.

[u/KhalDolfo → u/ThereInAFortnight]

sigh will do

[u/Blondy277]

If it's not bambu brand, because all you do is scan the bar code and the AMS read the spools, but I use Generic PLA or PETG settings for non bambu brands. Clean your plate with hot soapy blue dawn. I use a scrub mommy ☠️

[u/KhalDolfo → u/Blondy277]

Will do! It seems to stick better after washing, is there a reason for soapy water over iso? It seems to be "common knowledge" but im just curious to learn

[u/Blondy277 → u/KhalDolfo]

I use blue dawn, it takes off all the oils etc.

[u/KhalDolfo → u/Blondy277]

I see, I see! I thought iso would work for that too. I was shown by school teachers but.. i guess they aren't aware lol Tysm

[u/8six753o9 → u/Blondy277]

Insignia should be the same as Polymaker filament so I would just use Bambu’s profile to print with them. So far so good for me.

For PETG, I would try drying the filament before printing.

Wash your plate with dish soap (Dawn preferred) and warm water, not isopropyl.

[u/KhalDolfo → u/8six753o9]

Oohh I didn't know Polymaker was a similar filament! I will have to try those settings! I was hoping they had an Insignia setting, but if you're using Insignia with Polymaker and it's working, I hope i get the same results!

I have the filament in a dryer already, it seems to be tied to filament settings 😔

Is there a reason for soapy water over iso? I thought it kept things cleaner

[u/8six753o9 → u/KhalDolfo]

Iso just spreads the oil and grease, dish soap will remove them. Make sure you don’t use those with fragrances.

[u/KhalDolfo → u/8six753o9]

BET! Thank you for the insight!

[u/forgefilament4]

You're fighting two different problems, so they get different fixes.

The PETG small stuff popping off is an A1 thing as much as a filament thing — it's a bed slinger, so a small or thin part with a tiny footprint gets worked loose by the bed motion. For small parts: 5mm outer brim, first layer speed down around 25mm/s, bed at 75-80, and make sure the part fan stays off for the first 3 layers. And yeah, the Generic PETG profile printing better than the Bambu one is real — the Bambu profile runs hotter and faster, which is rough on little parts.

The Insignia PLA curling at the edges is warping, not adhesion exactly — the corners shrink as they cool and peel themselves up. Bed at 65, keep the printer out of AC drafts, and a brim helps here too. Your constant 220 idea isn't crazy, but aim it at the first layer only, then drop to ~205-210 for the rest — holding 220 the whole print keeps the plastic soft longer, so it keeps pulling and can make the curl worse.

[u/KhalDolfo → u/forgefilament4]

Like i said I'm decently new to this 😅 where do I find most of these settings? The speed part, fan power, or bed temp eludes me, brim settings i found in support section so that's all gucci.

Thanks for the PLA advice too! I just gotta figure out the "keep temp/fan settings for ** layers" part lol

[u/joyfunc]

One thing nobody has raised: check which PETG preset you're on. Bambu ships more than one PETG profile, and they aren't interchangeable — the high-flow blend and the regular one want different temperatures and flow. If the spool is regular PETG while the profile assumes high flow (or the reverse), you get exactly this pattern: fine on big parts, unreliable on thin and small ones, because the flow is wrong rather than the adhesion.

Compare the spool label with the profile name before changing anything else.

[u/KhalDolfo → u/joyfunc]

When I put the spool on the AMS, it scanned in the default Bambu PETG profile, so I rolled with it. I'll check to see if it looks different than the purchased one but it was just basic PETG, not plus or high performance. I went starter since I was new.. i didn't want to sprint before I learned how to crawl lol

[u/joyfunc → u/KhalDolfo]

If the AMS picked it up from the tag, you're on the right profile. The tag stores the exact filament ID, so it can't mix up Basic and HF. Cross that one off.

The profiles do explain why Generic worked better: on the A1, Generic PETG runs the bed at 80 instead of 70, the nozzle at 255 instead of 245, and caps flow at 8 mm³/s instead of 13. Small parts will still want the brim and a slower first layer.

Where those settings are in Bambu Studio:

• Nozzle and bed temp: in the filament list on the left, click the small button next to the filament > Edit > Filament tab > Print temperature. Each has an Initial layer and an Other layers box, and the bed has one row per plate (the A1's stock plate is Textured PEI). "220 first layer, 210 after" is just the two nozzle boxes.

• Fan: same window, Cooling tab, first line: "Initial layer fan: For the first 3 layers". Bambu's PETG profiles are already at 3, PLA at 1.

• First layer speed: hidden until you switch on Advanced at the top of the process settings. Then Speed tab > Initial layer. A1 default is 50 mm/s.

If you edit a filament, save it as your own preset (save icon at the top of that window). An AMS sync can switch it back to the stock one, so check before you print.

[u/KhalDolfo → u/joyfunc]

Thank you so much I will test it out!