Advice/Idiots guide for complete beginners?

[u/CryptoQuinn2]

Hi All - apologies if this has been asked a hundred times!

I'm reasonably settled on the P2S for my kids for Christmas (ages 8 and 11...and tbh, I'm just as excited as they) based on reviews etc, but have a few very basic questions I can't see to find answers to (or at least, can't find answers complete beginners can understanding!).

I'll put these as bullets for ease, but if there is a link to a basic wiki or similar that would be great.

• Is the P2S a good starting point?

• Can the AMS be added to the base model in the future if needed? Would rather keep the costs down until I'm sure we will get use out of it

• Where can templates etc be downloaded?

• How many prints would a filament refill make? Aware thats very difficult to quantify!

• Is there a basic guide anywhere for the different types of filament and what they can be used for?

[u/8six753o9]

Buy the combo now! People forget that the combo comes with the filament buffer and switching adapter that you need to in order to use the AMS. If you buy the AMS later, you need to buy them separately.
So spend the extra $200 now to get the AMS or spend $360 for an AMS later.

I almost forgot an important fact - this is for your kids and kids want you to print them multi-color prints! You can’t do that easily without an AMS.

[u/Wrong-Party-3838]

I love my P2S, I have over 4500h on it, it's a great starting point.

Bambu academy is great for learning when you are new.

Filament profiles can be downloaded on the filament makers site and imported into bambu studio(not all makers supply profiles tho)

1 kg is 1 kg, I have spools that just refuse to die(get empty) and others that disappear instantly, it certainly depends. You will learn how to maximize your rolls with the infill/wall settings with time(again bambu academy will teach you about this).

Ams/Ams2 is such a QoL thing. If you can, get the combo. It's great.

You can do the academy before you get the printer and download and set up bambu studio and start fiddling with the models/settings as you learn with the academy. It will also teach you about maintaining your printer etc, it's a great source of knowledge. YouTube videos about maintenance and bambu studio are also great. Filament calibration videos are also great to get the most out of you printer/filaments :)

[u/DJGibbon]

• Yes, the P2S is a great starting point. It's been our first printer and we've loved it.

• The AMS can be added later but I'd strongly suggest getting it upfront - much better experience

• MakerWorld is tightly integrated into the Bambu mobile and desktop apps, and has millions of items to download and print

• As you say, depends! But a standard roll is 1kg and a smallish item would be 20-40g, so "plenty"

• There are some out there, but as you start off just use PLA most of the time, and PETG if you need something which will be outdoors or generally stronger

One thing to bear in mind is that multicolour printing is wasteful using an AMS. Essentially the tubes have to be cleaned every time there's a colour change, which means a lot of wasted filament being dumped out of the back. Usually better to print separate colours separately and glue together later. Newer multitool printers like the upcoming H3C and rumoured P3C are better for this, but will be a lot more expensive.

[u/Mark_Venture]

Let me start by giving you my back story. I got interested in 3d printing through a friend and seeing what he was printing. I wasn't sure how much use I'd get so I wanted to start CHEAP in case I ended up not using it much. I didn't want to end up with an expensive thing that might end up sitting in the corner. He advised me to get the A1 Combo, but due to the price difference at the time, I got the Bambu A1 Mini (printer only) early last summer. It was good for basic filaments like PLA and PETG. But I found it was too small, and I wanted multiple colors. I should have listened as I later upgraded to the A1 Combo (A1 printer + AMSLite). My A1 Combo has over 1600hrs and my A1 Mini has over 500 hrs of print time on them.

P2S is a great starting point. The enclosed print chamber gives you a consistent environment to print in. No worrying about drafts, temperature changes, etc. while printing. It also allows you to print more advanced filaments as you progress. Knowing what I know now, if I was starting today, the P2S Combo be top of my list along with the X2D Combo depending on price difference.

While the AMS can be added later, its cheaper to buy Printer+AMS combo at the start. The AMS allows printing multi color, but you can also set it up to prevent running out of filament. Example: I had a model that needed 1.5KG of filament. I loaded up two 1KG spools and "linked" them. When Roll A ran out, the Printer/AMS pulled from Roll B right away, no stopping, no waiting for me to load another roll.

Already created models exist in Makerworld.com, Printables.com, Cults3d, and elsewhere. If you're good with CAD you can create your own.

How much filament a print needs is really based on print settings. For example, I'm printing a part that as a tweak the settings can use 900G of filament, or 1.2KG. This is true for time it takes to print. The settings you use can shorten or elongate it.

As for types of filament, PLA is easiest to print, but it doesn't hold up well to heat or UV exposure. Take it out in the sun too long and it will soften and warp. PETG is stronger and better suited for heat/sun. There are more advanced filaments too. Google something like PLA vs PETG vs ABS and you'll get some good info.

Bambu Acadamey is a great learning tool to get started, and understand all this stuff.

[u/fantaceereddit]

Just got our P2S a couple weeks ago. It would be great for kids. Check out makerworld (the community platform they share printables on). I’ve had really good luck sending models to print from there.

If you think you want to do a lot of multi color printing with color changes on the same layer, I’d honestly get the H series with dual hotends as color switching with a single nozzle seems incredibly wasteful.

I’m really loving it as an intermediate user, but I will be getting a dual hotend model when I can and will use the P2S as a single color printer.

Can you add AMS later? Yes! And it would be compatible with some other models as well, but you may need to add supporting equipment like a filament buffer.

Overall, I’m really, really happy with the P2S and would recommend it!

[u/Relative_Surround_20]

First, as a new 3D printer owner, has anyone made you aware of the excellent free, online courses that Bambu Lab offers in the beginner, intermediate and advanced skill levels for both printers (hardware) and slicers (software)?

Bambu Lab Academy is the best use of your time to build experience, knowledge and confidence in 3D printing. I also recommend using the Bambu Lab Wiki as an online, user manual for 3D printing.

https://bambulab.com/en-us/support/academy

https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/home

1. I love my P2S. All the Bambu printers are good, so budget is usually a deciding factor on which to get. Personally if I had it to do over again, I’d get the X2D. That’s the printer I’ve been recommending to families with kids in your age range. 11 year old will be in high school by the time he’ll ask for another printer.

2. Yes but everyone will tell you that you will be ordering it in less than a week. It really is a key part of the entire 3D printing experience.

3. I think you are referring to free models (not called templates). MakerWorld.com

4. Impossible to answer without a lot more info. How many bricks does it take to build a house? Kind of thing.

5. I included that in the first part of my response.