H2S or H2D?

Bambu Lab H2 Series
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I recently purchased a P2S as my first 3D printer and now I’m looking at the H2D or H2S for a second one. I don’t want to get another P2S because I’d like to have something a little bigger so I can print larger objects on one and print some of the smaller things I’m doing on the other. I purchased the H2S yesterday but haven’t taken it out of the box yet because because I don’t want to regret not getting the dual nozzles. Since the price difference is $400 now between the two I’m thinking it might be a better buy to get the H2D. I don’t plan on converting either one to the H2C.

I’ve been researching this to death and it seems like i keep reading about people having more issues with the H2D than the H2S. I understand the issues when it was released but I’m not sure if everything has been resolved yet. I watched a video on filament waste on the H2D and it really made me start rethinking my decision. Anyway, if I’m only using the H2D for single and multicolor printing (probably more single) is it worth the extra $400?

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Can’t tell you about the H2D. I have an S.
I went back and forth with the decision, asked some here in PM. Agonized over it a little but in the end I went with the S. I love it, but as a business decision it was iffy. Really I’m printing ABS and PETG mostly, but a decent amount of PLA too. The printer is quick enough, nozzle changes quick and I use it for cutting as well.

Unless you see yourself doing a lot of dual material prints I’m not sure it’s worth it. I have times where it would make things easier but not enough for me to regret not getting a D. So yeah, just ask an honest question, will I need dual material for printing? If not don’t worry about the FOMO, you’ll be happy with the S.

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I’ve been wanting to print a Panda and it has a print time of 10 hours, but when I changed the printer over to the H2D it dropped the time down to a little over 3 hours. I think if I could print some of these projects faster I’d be more inclined to print them. My biggest concern is spending the money on the H2D and having issues with it. Thanks for your input.

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For what’s available I would either pick the H2S or the H2C. The good thing is you can still start with a H2S and upgrade your H2S to a H2C later if finally you decide that you need multicolor for a total price close to a new H2C price.

If you purchase a H2D it will cost you a lot more if eventually you decide to upgrade…

My 2 cents.

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I use both of these machines and I prefer the H2D, but I’ve always preferred machines with dual extrusion. I can have the machine loaded with two materials I use often, or one nozzle running AMS and the other running external, and keeping loaded. There really aren’t any downsides to the H2D now that I’ve had it long enough to compare long-term against the rest of Bambu’s machines, but at the same time the H2S is less expensive and basically simpler, which is an advantage unto itself.

H2D is a fairly advanced machine for a more advanced user perhaps. For most people, the H2S is the better buy for larger-build-volume, while the P2S (with 1 or more AMS) is the best bang period among enclosed printers, since most parts will fit fine.

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For what it’s worth I have a H2S and a H2C (albeit not H2D so not your actualy question!) but I absolutely love the H2S more for some reason.

I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s like the trusty older car you know will always turn on no matter what the weather. I’ve had no issues at all with my H2C but I dunno, It might be because of the bigger bed size and I use tree supports a lot but I just absolutely love it.

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I also went through the internal debate and opted for the H2S at launch. I also considered waiting for the H2C but I didn’t want to wait and thought I could always upgrade the S to C.

Having bought the S on the basis I didn’t think I needed 2 print heads I started finding it was so much better to use PETG to for the support interface on PLA and vice versa, I also discovered that this adds a huge amount of time if a model has a complex enough shape that support is needed on many different layers.

When the upgrade kit came out and I realised none of my build plates were going to be usable I was conflicted. I also worried about the warranty situation if I had a problem after doing the upgrade. So in the end I bought an H2C rather than upgrade the S.

I often use both nozzles to either reduce time of a multicolour model or to have one as support filament. Having the Vortek cuts down the filament waste hugely and with the PTFE routing re-jigged for shortest run the filament swaps (beyond 2 filaments) are much faster.

But I also have situations where the larger build area makes me use the H2S in preference.

Often I have projects that need multiple plates printed, either identical copies or different components. I find it great to have 3 printers (including my first buy of an A1).

It’s easy to get concerned by others posting problems but I think the vast majority of owners don’t have big problems (they of course don’t need to ask for help so most will not ever post here).

I’ve disassembled the toolheads on both H2S and H2C to deal with filament jams (once each) the wiki articles are excellent at guiding repair processes and many spares are available.

I didn’t think I’d even need an AMS when I started but now i often use multiple colours.

If you want bigger build volume then it’s worth carefully assessing if the H2D (or H2C) are big enough for you. It depends on your use case. For example people printing cosplay helmets, large SciFi droids etc seem to really love the H2S as the best volume but also the H2C for multicolour.

If someone broke in and stole both my H2 machines I would definitely buy an H2S and an H2C to replace them

On the other hand if you can live without the ultimate (Bambu anyway) build volume and you are confident your multicolour printing is going to be (and stay) extremely rare then the H2D might be right for you.

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I have an H2D and H2C. If you’re looking to reduce filament on multicolor prints. Save up for the H2C (your Panda comment makes me think you are thinking multicolor). If you want to do multi-material prints, the H2D is great. Don’t get me wrong, the H2D is great at multicolor, too; it’s just not in the same league as the H2C. I run a lot of TPU through my H2D. I haven’t even tried it on the H2C yet.

While the H2C feels a little more refined, I have had zero problems with either printer. My H2D has 2800 hours. I’m not saying there are no issues, but the forums can make it feel like there are more problems than most users experience. Keep up with maintenance, and you will likely be on smooth sailing.

You will be happy with any of the H-Series printers; they are all great.

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Right now I’ve an old X1CC and a H2D. I probably would have waited on the H2C if I had know it was really coming out as soon as it did after the H2D. But I like the H2D well enough. 1200 hours and counting, 5000 on the X1CC. The H2D is really good at being used for interface material on one nozzle and the model material on the other. I’m running something now that would have taken double the time on the X1CC and used roughly 200g more material purging. Or I wouldn’t have used an interface….. and have a poorer finished item. I still am on the fence on the H2C, I think it could still have more finishing…..

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I appreciate everyones feedback. The H2C definitely looks nice, but it’s definitely up there in price too. I said earlier that I didn’t plan on upgrading the H2S or H2D but I’m starting to think it might be better to keep the H2S so I can upgrade it in the future if I decide to go that route. Upgrading the H2D isn’t cost effective.

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If it helps,

I own an H2D which I bought thinking I needed the bigger bed which was before H2S was announced. My needs never panned out and price in hindsight was way too much (tariffs).

If I was to do it again, I should have waited and bought a P2S.

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I have all three of the H’s H2S, H2D, H2C. Right now my question is if I’m going to upgrade the H2S or the H2D to an H2C. Get the H2C. If you really only want a bigger bed and don’t care about multicolor get the H2S. But the filament and speed saving from the H2S to the H2D isn’t worth it. But the H2C is AMAZING! I printed a 9 color print with two purges for practically no waste. The H2D isn’t even close to that. It only saves a little vs the H2S unless you are only printing two colors. Get an H2C.

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I got an H2D and with a single AMS I’ve only used 1 nozzle 95% of the time. When I have used the second nozzle via external spool holder and it ran out of filament mid print I could not get it to recognize reloaded filament and had to cancel the print. Bambu support has been zero help. I don’t want a second AMS but seems like the printer is designed for material feeder use, either AMS or HT. I should have got an H2S.

My opinion. The H2S is a large format printer. The H2C is for multi material/color users. The H2D is for people who don’t know what they need and think they are buying a middle ground printer but as a first 3d printer I would have been happier with the H2S. My desire to minimize waste is what got me to buy the H2D but as I said its basically a smaller build volume H2S for me so far.

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At this point I’ve decided to keep the H2S. My P2S has been problem free after 270 hours so I’m hoping the H2S will be the same. I appreciate everyones feedback.

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