Bambu X2D Concerns

Bambu Lab X Series Bambu Lab X2D
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I’m looking to purchase my first 3D printer. Closest experience I have is about 8 years with a CAMaster CNC. From my research, I’m very interested in what the X2D has to offer in features at the price point. Considering just the X2D and also the X2D/AMS combo. Youtube video comments, Best Buy reviews, and postings on this forum seem to indicate a lot of problems, including filament feed issues.

Now my questions:

  1. Are the machine issues this common in the first few weeks of this machine’s release? Or does it seem that way since people are much more likely to voice problems as opposed to good experiences.
  2. If you’ve acquired and used the X2D, what are your thoughts?
  3. Are there usually some bugs early in a model’s release?
  4. Are the known problems exclusive to AMS integration?

Thanks in advance for your perspective

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I’m about to file my first technical support ticket. I’ve been printing pretty solid for two weeks now and suddenly my plate can’t properly perform a homing calibration. It raises the bed to the top and keeps pushing it up, grinding the lifting mechansim.

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I have a feeling that what you’re reading here is coming from a handful of users who are just stirring things up — or possibly even competitors. Like the guy above who posted for the first time in his life. I don’t want to do any “betting,” but a user who created an account just to report issues sounds super sketchy.

On the second day after I got my printer and posted how cool it was, three posts from fresh accounts immediately appeared about problems. When confronted and asked for photos… crickets. Just ignore the noise.

The X2D is an awesome printer. People who own Prusa and others seem more envious than objective, they paid double and got half, but their loyalty blinders don’t allow them to admit they missed the mark. There are posts about “issues,” but when you ask for photos… crickets.

The X2D is an amazing machine, it’s way better than the X1C. At this point, it will not only make any beginner super happy, but it also won’t be outgrown like many other printers in a few months. Once you’re ready for technical filaments, it will be able to deliver 100%, if not more.

Buy it, follow the manual, get Bambu Lab filament, and see for yourself. Don’t try to tinker or do any monkey business with it. Use it as it was intended — just print.

I have around 300 hours on mine, and I can guarantee that all manufacturers are feeling the pressure at this price point — especially Prusa and Creality. At this point, it’s incredible value, and these machines just work.

If there are feeding problems in some regions, it could be due to parts sourced from a bad batch. A few of my friends bought theirs in Canada, and everyone is blown away. We all thought it would cost $400–$500 more.

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Are you using the AMS with yours?

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Both. How about waiting for a few months before buying? By that time, most of the issues would have been fixed. There will also be enough users who have reached over a thousand hours of printing without much problems, a sign of reliability.

The caveat is that by that time there could be a new X2 printer coming out. One would need to resist the temptation to buy that just because it is the newest :slight_smile:

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Yes, I have 2 AMS2Pro and filament switcher

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For example, if you only want to print PLA, get the P1S and just use it—have fun (for PLA, the P1S is the best bang for the buck right now). If in 6 months you find yourself needing a heated chamber, sell the P1S and buy the X2D (currently the best all-around value).

None of these printers are “for life.” Their lifespan is probably 2–3 years, 4 years max. Buy it, use it, enjoy it—analysis paralysis doesn’t help in this process.

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I would count by hours of use and not years.

I can easily see someone having the time of their life with a P1S in 5 years from now.

I have seen few people actually get to the point that it was not worth it to repair or could not be repaired.

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My first Bambu experience was the X1C a year ago? Out of the box the experience was Amazing! I’m sure the X1C had issues at first. Probably took time to iron some out. Now and then it has connection issues but the usually clear up. But it just prints! Far better experience than the Prusa bed slingers.

No machine will be perfect. But if you wait, the next new machine with new machine issues will tempt you and so it goes.

On a forum like this much of the time you see complaints. Few ever post just to tell how good it is.

And like other have said there are those intentionally stirring the muck.

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One thing I will say is Prusa’s support is stellar. Bambu’s? :melting_face:

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I don’t have an X2D, so I can’t comment directly on that machine, but I do have an H2D and I would not skip the AMS combo.

The combo is usually the cheapest way to get into the AMS system compared to adding it later, and I think most people end up wanting one. Even outside of multicolor printing, the quality-of-life improvement is huge. Loading/unloading filament is easier, and for single-material prints it can roll over to another spool when one runs out, which is especially useful on dual-nozzle machines.

For a dual-nozzle setup, I would normally want two AMS units or two AMS HT units so each nozzle has its own source, but the new filament switching box may reduce that need. Also, the AMS 2 Pro and AMS HT can work as dryers, which matters if you plan to print more than basic PLA.

I’d read up on both the AMS 2 Pro and AMS HT before deciding. Personally, I think one of each is probably the best starting setup.

If it helps at all I was an early adopter of the H2D and H2C, both have been solid out of the box. The H2D is a lot better a year later with firmware updates but it’s always been great.

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Think of the AMS like material management. It makes it easy to load and unload filament, and you can have a few rolls on hand. It also keeps your filament in an enclosed environment which is much easier to manage, to help prolong the life of your filament. More or less, I think you should go for the AMS, all the way.

I can only speak from personal experience. My X2D has been running well. I haven’t had any feed issues with the included AMS 2 Pro, or an old AMS with it. I’m sure people do have issues, to how wide spread those are is hard to say. I think some level of it is yeah, people are more likely to voice their issues. When you’re heaving fun, you’re busy having fun.

Still worth a read though. There’s an error about switching the nozzles, uhh, I forget exactly what it was. I got it when I first tried to print, but manually switched it a couple of times, bob’s your uncle, and it hasn’t come back. I have seen others have the same error though, with varying levels of success in resolving it.

I like it just fine so far. I had a X1C that I replaced with a X2D. I haven’t used the aux nozzle yet, and it’s not something I really wanted/needed from a X1 refresh. I mostly wanted the other improvements, like the nozzles and venting system. The quality from it has been nice so far.

I bought a H2D at release, and it seemed pretty bug free. Or at least that’s to say that I’ve been lucky enough to not have experienced any major bugs. I think it’s more so that early on, it doesn’t always feel like every feature is fully implemented. For example, I don’t think you could dry in an AMS2 Pro you’re also printing from previously, but you can now. We got a power saving mode on the H2D finally too, and now my lights don’t flicker as bad! Haha. So, that’s more so what I’ve noticed.

The only other one I’ve seen mentioned, that I can remember off the top off my head is the one to do with the nozzle switching error.

I’d agree. I have it on the second nozzle of my H2D, and I’ve used it a few times with multi color prints. Mostly I dry a particular roll of filament with it, haha. I prefer drying filament that way though, vs using the ams 2 pro.

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I’ve had an X2D for about a week. Having a dual-extruder setup isn’t new for me; I switched from an old Ultimaker 3S that finally died. The AMS is the new part. And I have to admit, I was on the fence about it when I ordered the X2D combo package. It still seemed a little gimmicky. But after just a few days of using the printer, it’s already starting to feel essential. Not just for multicolor jobs… and I haven’t even used the auto-refill feature yet… but because it takes so many little tedious bits out of the printing process. In particular, humidity is a factor where I live… it’s not a huge problem, but it’s high enough that some filaments’ performance definitely suffers if it’s left out in the open for any length of time. The AMS means that I’m not constantly shuffling filament spools in and out of vacuum bags; I can have several colors ready to go at all times, nicely dried and ready. I’m printing with ABS while I’m typing this. On the Ultimaker, I’d have had to do some pretty elaborate preparation and drying in order to get good results with ABS. With the X2D and the AMS, the results are gorgeous… and I can glance over and see that the humidity level inside the AMS is at 4%. That’s a beautiful number. :slight_smile:

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As is normally the case with generalisations, there are always exceptions. I had a big issue with a mk3s that required support, which was far from stellar.

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Coming from a P1S I bought the X2D on release day. I’m not experiencing any issues since then.
I have the combo version + an AMS HT for the aux nozzle. No FTS.

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If you want to buy it, just buy it and don’t ask for others for opinions. In my country there is a phrase that roughly translate “9 people but 10 opinions”. There literally nothing can satisfied everyone. I bought mine directly from China after the release and it has region lock to China mainland only. Cannot bind it to Bambu handy and still using pre launch firmware but it run as I need it to be that is all.

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Yeah, haha, and if you read enough opinions on the internet, you’d think everything was the worst thing ever, in the entire existence of humanity.

I stopped enjoying watching youtube as much when I started to realize how much content revolves around criticizing. It can be entertaining, but at some point I realized it’s just negativity for views, feeding off that human need to see things fail. It’s warping how we see things, and ruining our ability to just enjoy the things in life we have. (Not everything is perfect, and we need to realize that. It’s okay to have trade offs, it’s okay if not everything is perfect).

I read all the complaints about the X2D, everyone’s opinions, and it poisoned my view. Like I haven’t had any issues with my X2D, but all the negative things people have complained about, it still sits in my mind. Like I’m just waiting for the thing to explode, and wondering if I should have maybe not got it, or something. But dang dude, like it’s running, and I’m enjoying it, and I realized if I had never read all the complaints online, I’d be an even happier camper. All the need to be negative has in some small part taken away from my ability to just enjoy my printer.

When I got my X1C, I hadn’t watched any videos, anything. I just vaguely knew that people made a big deal about it. At the time, I just couldn’t afford it, so avoided all content because I didn’t want to be sad because I’m poor, haha, but when I actually got the money, I just went for it, and it blew my mind from day 1.

When I got my H2D, I hadn’t looked at any of the comments, hype, disses, whatever. And I loved it from day 1!

The Hype train is just as misleading as the hate train, haha. I think the key is to avoid taking the train all together and just take a walk instead.

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I was doing mods. They were great. Beyond helpful. Mines been upgraded a couple times a 3.5 now. Some flashing issues. Just got tired of tweaking things and upgrading.

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My first print with the X2D wasn’t great. The next one was much better. The third one I used the second head for PETG supports on PLA. Did great! Minor tweaks to the part that needed support, the bits that needed support didn’t change but the results weren’t great. I’ll be rethinking how I design to add objects to act as support instead of relying on the slicer for support to see how that works.

And Youtube? Pretty wild, but understand most of these guys are trying to monetize… sometimes I wonder for who? I generally like the ones who bought their own and tested it.

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If it were my first 3D printer, I would start with an A1 ($299) or A1 + AMS Lite Combo ($399).

A1’s open frame allows me to see everything. It is a good learning experience.

After using A1 for a while, if one decides 3D printing is the thing that one would enjoy long term and later need to upgrade, the A1 can become a dedicated printer for printing TPU. No waste.