Hi there, I just started using Bambu Lab A1, and so far I like it.
I used up my first bit of sample filament, and then used the BL filament spool that I ordered with the machine.
I ordered 4 colors from Amazon, specifically, 3dHoJor (3D Printing Filament High-Speed PLA Filament 1.75mm 300mm/s 1kg Cardboard Spool Dimensional Accuracy +/- 0.03 mm Fit Most 3D FDM Printer-Green) (I got white, black and blue too).
None seem to work.
During printing I hear a clicking sound, and realize it is the stepper motor skipping. At first I thought it was stripping gears, but after taking apart the extruder mechanism I find there was nothing wrong with it.
Since I am having issues with all 4, I wonder if there are manufacturers of filaments that just don’t work well with the A1.
Can I get some help with recommendations of filament brands to avoid, or buy?
That’s odd. Does it feed off of the spool easily? No tangles or anything? Is this out of an AMS (and if so which one) or the external spool holder?
I’ve never heard of the brand, but it has 78% 5-star reviews on Amazon, for whatever that is worth. I wouldn’t buy based on price alone, I’d stick to some of the more known name brands. Elegoo, Polymaker and Overture come to mind. Finally, you can’t go wrong buying Bambu filament (assuming it is in stock). You get what you pay for.
Hi DMeader: thanks for the reply. I started by using the AMS Lite, I thought it was pulling back too hard, so I switched to the external spool holder. No Joy. I just tried to use another brand of filamant, (SUNLU 3D Printer Filament PLA Filament 1.75mm, Neatly Wound 3D Printing Filament 1.75mm) (this one clear) and it is working fine using the external spool holder. After this print job, I will try the AMS Lite.
So, the evidence is pointing to this manufacturer 3DHoJor, being the culprit. Bummer. I will try to return it, but since all 4 have been opened…??
Cardboard spools can be a headache in any AMS. Do these fit the spindles on the AMS Lite and rotate freely when the filament is pulled by the feeder motor and then the extruder? Feeding through the PTFE tube to the toolhead smoothly? Any too-sharp bends in the PTFE tubes? Does your Lite actually push the filament all the way to the toolhead? When I load mine I take over and push it manually until just before the toolhead, if I don’t do that it often stops midway (my tubes are a bit longer than stock tho).
Visually it looks compatible. Their product images show it with an A series printer.
Cardboard spools work without issues on the AMS Lite (not as easy on the non-Lite AMS units).
Provided it fits on the spool holder and the filament feeds when you offer it up, it should be good.
The only obvious problem would be a tangled spool. I see this often, maybe 1 in 20 non-Bambu Lab spools. Only very occasionally from Bambu Lab and not recently. This should be visually apparent if you take it off the AMS Lite and manually try to unfurl (spinning backwards, not off the sides) one loop will be trapped under another loop. Manually free this and try again on the AMS.
It could be that has the filament fused together (think sticky spaghetti), I have only experienced this once from over 500 spools.
If you have callipers measure the diameter of filament in several places. If it’s not consistent and close to 1.75mm you might end up with problems. One of the reasons I’ve stopped buying cheapest/ no name brands was because of bold claims of accuracy that were not true.
The latest print I did (6 hours with the SUNLU) came off perfectly using the external spool holder.
The AMS did have some issues pushing the 3dHoJor filament through to the extruder and needed a bit of my help. That may be a clue.
There are no unusual bends or kinks in the filament path, and the AMS axles rotate freely.
I note there is some kind of watch spring and friction mechanism to rotate the spool backward when filament gets unloaded, I wonder about the tolerance of the friction parts in the AMS, but it seems to work OK with the other filaments so I am not going down that path just yet.
And, yes, MalcTheOracle, that is the filament(s) that give trouble. Visually, it seemed perfect. no tangles, no fused together stickiness and the cardboard sides seemed to be no problem. Also it fit the AMS spool holder well.
The only issue, as I have said, was it seemed difficult to push through the AMS feeder secion.
I already have it packaged up for return, so I won’t unbox and measure the thickness, but good advice next time I have issues.
