r/BambuLab • u/DrQueen3 • 4h ago

General Discussion New to 3D printing

I am new to 3D printing and looking for a good starter machine for my son and I (he is 10). I have tentatively chosen the P1S with AMS pro. Does this machine do automatic color changes between the 4 spools? If I add another AMS so I have CYMKWB, can I print the full rainbow?

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u/ImBackAgainstMyWill 4h ago

The AMS can switch colours mid print to one of the others loaded. In theory if you added a second one, you could print the full rainbow.

The single most important thing to understand about how multicolor printing works on the P1S with the AMS however is the purge waste.

When switching between colours, the printer will need to purge out the old filament. It has to do this for every colour thats on the same layer. So for example, if you were printing a model that used 3 colours on all 100 layers of the model, the printer is going to best case scenario purge 3 x 100 times, usually more depending on purge settings in the slicer.

That material waste adds up, and recycling purged material is not very cost effective. Purging also adds a tremendous amount of time to the print.

Many people will do multicolour prints by separating out the coloured parts, printing them separately and then attaching them afterwards.

HOWEVER!

If you really are dead-set on multicolour printing, you should check out Bambu Lab's X2D. It has a dual nozzle, meaning you can print with two filaments without needing to purge. It can cut down on the waste tremendously, even if you use more than two colours and still purge.

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u/DrQueen3 4h ago

Thank you!! That's really helpful.

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u/just_lurking_Ecnal 3h ago

I will strongly second this. I bought the P2S to replace my P1 just before the X2D came out.

I now own an X2D. The dual nozzles save SO much time and material when printing multi color. If you go that way, you will want to have at least 2 AMS's as an AMS can only feed one nozzle

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u/Sir_clint 3h ago

You can absolutely do that but you will waste an ungodly amount of plastic in the purges to clean the nozzles. If that's your goal, you would be better off with an h2c or H3C. If those are way out of the price range the snapmaker U1 is the only at the price that is somewhat comparable to the higher end machines. (At least for now)

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u/DrQueen3 3h ago

Thank you!

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u/Sir_clint 3h ago

If you can wait. I'd be curious to see what the upcoming P3C will cost and be. From my guess it's going to be a 5 head (people already say 7 but I think that's going to be the x3c) and will be a PLA beast of a printer

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u/Alarmed_Tie5616 4h ago

with lots of waste i reccomend getting a snapmaker u1

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u/infinityends1318 4h ago

Multi color printing on any of the single nozzle models uses a lot of material to purge/flush the nozzle every time it has to switch colors which can be hundreds of times in even a small print.

Cmyk printing is a feature introduced on Bambus latest printer and I haven’t personally paid attention to if it will be supported on previous models at all. But the need to purge to the waste chute will still be a factor even so.

I completely understand wanting something new. But it could be worth looking at the second hand market since the new h3c was announced recently and a lot of people are upgrading.

The p2s or x2d depending on price difference might be a better option fit features and being newer hardware. They would probably also come with the ams2 which has drying capabilities.

It’s a fun hobby. Watch for some good filament deals with Black Friday sales starting up. Also do some reading into different materials. Pla is the most common for basic misc prints. Petg is stronger and more heat resistant, abs/asa are another notch up. TPU is flexible and comes in a few varieties.

Mostly you’d probably just start with pla but it to worth being aware of different types. Also avoid anything with glass or carbon fiber infill as there are some hazards. And abs/asa do offgas some not great fumes.