Never used a 3D printer before and I just received my X2D printer combo (and an extra AMS). I also bought 10 rolls of filament, problem is I bought “refills” thinking the AMS came with 4 spools. So my questions are: How hard is it to successfully print a reusable spool if you never printed before? Should I by one filament on spool so I can start printing up to 8 reusable spools or jusy buy 8 reusable spools and print the things I wanted to print? I have read, and learned A LOT about 3d printing, so while I am a virgin 3D printer, I learn fast and a problem solver. Advice and thought appreciated.
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Yes, you will need at least one spool to be able to print something. So, buying one is an option or you could check around where you live, there are surely other 3d printer enthusiasts who might print the spool for you or even lend/give you one.
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If I were you I’d just buy 4-8 full spools of filament. You will never have enough filament.
You did not mention what material(s) the refills you purchased were but make sure you match high and low temperature spools with refills. If you dry high temp material with a low temp spool it could deform due to the higher temperature.
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Well, you’ll probably run out of filament in 8 to 16 days anyway 
So you might as well order another batch, this time at least 2 with spools 
But don’t go overboard. Empty spools tend to pile up quickly.
Have you unboxed your printer yet? Do they still include sample filaments as they did previously (3 x 500g rolls with my X1: PLA, PETG-CF, Support, all with spools)?
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I wouldn’t buy empty spools, full spools are only slight more expensive
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No, I didn’t receive any sample filament. The only store around here is a Best Buy about 25 miles and from their website, it looks like they don’t have filament at the store.
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So most here don’t use reusable spools that you can load a refill onto? The refills are $13 which is $3 cheaper than spools. So after the purchase of four spooled-filament rolls you start to get a return on your investment in a reusable spool. Am I missing something?
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I dont think your missing anything.
To ignore cost, after awhile, spools start to pile up. Refills are nice because all you have left is a little cardboard ring that you can easily throw away (without feeling like your being wasteful)
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I appreciate everyone’s comments here, I guess I will order two filaments with spools,l and two reusable spools. I will use the one spool of filament to practice printing and another to print 4 reusable spools. Depending how that goes, I will re-evaluate if I print the last 4 reusable spools or buy them.
Again thanks for all comments and suggestions and hope to participate in this community going forward.
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@user_3454396445 I bought mostly PLA, but one PETG for the PLA support (from what I read, PETG and PLA are cross polarized so they don’t stick to each other very strongly), and one roll of ABS for some interior car items. If both the Low-temp and Hi-temp reusable spools cost the same, why would anyone buy a low-temp reusable spool?
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I would not actually order re-usable spools. You’ll have more than enough empty spools in no time.
When I got my X1 a few years ago, I did print one re-usable spool with the free green PLA Basic I received. I used it exactly once.
While refills are great (as long as you do not forget to give them a good massage after closing the spool to ensure the filament goes right to the edge of the spool 
), Bambu:
- Has some interseting filaments that do not ship as refills at all
- Is notorious for running out of stock during sales and after (i.e. Sept/Oct to Feb/Mar). During that time you’ll be glad to be able to order your colors on a spool, nevermind a refill.
The tricky thing about an all-refill starter-pack is that you really do not want to open one without a (printed) spool! But you could substitute a quick Amazon delivery using any PLA to print a spool with Generic PLA settings. Just do not use PLA spools for drying…
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The full spools from bambu come with reusable spools.
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No way! The full spools are reusable! OMG…I didn’t know that…I just thought they were “recyclable trash” once empty…I didnt realize they split in half. Oh, man thank you for that info, will just order 8 full rolls. OK, now I am understanding why people are just saying to order full spools. I feel kind of embarrassed now. Thanks!
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I don’t know why anyone would buy an empty spool to begin with much less a low temperature one. I have personally only printed two spools because I needed speciality spools for 250/500 gr speciality filaments to fit in my AMS.
I used ASA for most of my high temp needs. I really don’t enjoy printing ABS unless I have to do so.
All BBL spools are reusable. So purchasing a fully loaded spool of filament is more effective to me than an empty spool.
BBL makes the distinction between low and high temp spools. PLA/PETG will be low temp light gray spools and high temp ABS/ASA will be dark gray with them spools. Nylon, if I remember correct, is even higher temperature and they are black.
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hello there, you can buy Bambu spools on various auction sites, not knowing where your based etc, UK eBay have loads.
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My personal opinion (and only that): quality filament can be purchased cheaply enough from sources such as Amazon to not have to worry about refillable spools. You can save money using refillable spools, but what is the value time-wise having to refill those spools? Bambu is known for selling some of the best filament on the market at a steep discount if you buy in quantity. I have researched using both Copilot and Gemini… and both of them will recommend Bambu and other brands of filament by name, and give you the reasons for those recommendations. They also both recommended buying plain GRAY filament as the “most reliable” filament type, unless you have plans to print in color. When you have two prominent A.I.s making the same recommendation, that’s convergence of global data analysis. I followed their recommendation, bought 4 spools of gray, and have never regretted the decision. (I paint my models by hand, so I don’t care about the color.)
Bottom line: Do what’s best for you, but for myself, I just buy new spools at the lowest price possible, making sure I’m buying from a reliable company, and I don’t worry about the hassle of refilling spools. If you have ONE refill come unraveled during load, you’ve just lost whatever cost savings you may have achieved. I greatly prefer opening the package, loading the spool on my machine, done deal. : )
@Wayfinder7 I was referring to the reusable spools that you just twist apart, put on the refill pack, and twist back together. I found a friend who gave me four reusable spools so now I can print in some color. I will be buying four more colored filament with spool which will bring me up to my 2 AMS units with reusable spools. After that, I will be back to buying Bambu refills at $12.99/roll. Sucks I learned the hard way but I am back onto a path forward.
Ah I see. I was replying from what I’d read on forums, where people spoke of refill spools unraveling when they tried to install them. But thinking about your description, being able to put a refill pack in a spool, twist the spool halves together and then cut the bindings certainly sounds safe enough. And at 12.99 a roll… that is indeed a terrific savings.
100 percent user error.
Refills are the way to go.
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Just make sure you click the spool halves together correctly when installing a refil
They must click at and end stop when rotating , if you don’t the spool may come open when it’s in the AMS and the day will get a little harder
Ps The latest Spools by Sunlu filament are as good as BL and can be used with BL refills
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