I am currently using two printers, the X1C and P1S, along with three AMS units. Occasionally, I need to switch the AMS units between printers, which is quite a cumbersome task.
As you know, unplugging the cables and tubes is no easy task.
That’s when I thought it would be great to have a switching device, similar to a KVM switch for keyboards.
Although Bambu Lab recommends turning off the power when connecting cables, I haven’t encountered any issues plugging the AMS in while the printer is powered on.
After several trials and errors, I’ve finally completed the device.
I used total 8-channel relay, with 6 channels allocated for cable switching and 2 channels for reversing motor directions.
Switching between the two printers is controlled via a USB IoT adapter.
When turning the power on or off using the smartphone app, the relays and motor activate to switch between Printer A and Printer B.
The device includes four USB ports, allowing you to connect LEDs or add additional USB IoT devices to control other equipment.
The components I used are: a 15mm stroke linear actuator, two 4-channel mini relays, a DC-DC converter, a USB hub, an AMS power board, one 6-pin bus cable, three M10 fittings, and a USB IoT adapter. The total cost was approximately about $35.
Caution:
This device may void the product warranty. I’m not responsible for any issues you may encounter while building or using this device.
If the holes don’t align properly or the tubes are too long, filament resistance may occur, leading to problems. It’s recommended to rearrange the printer and AMS to ensure smooth filament supply.
Pay close attention to the wiring. Incorrect power connections can damage the device, and improper signal wiring may result in filament loading errors.
Welcome to the forum… like seriously, WELCOME to the forum. Usually when I say “strong first post” I’m being super sarcastic but this is REALLY a strong first post. I don’t know if you’ve thought about putting this on Makerworld but I think it would be a hit. Good job and thank you for sharing this!
Thank you for your reply. I’ve heard that BambuLab isn’t fond of Mods that could potentially damage printers or cause problems, and they reportedly request such posts to be removed from Makeworld. For now, I plan to share this only on this forum. ^^
What he said , and looking forward to see the files and supporting documentation shared here or on github (whatever suits you best), and testing your moding
They put a few things In the wiki but they and allow them to stay up on maker world and they allow them to be featured and pop up in the algorithm so it’s probably more one of those things. We don’t want people doing stuff and then blaming us
As someone who loves sharing knowledge, I prepared a tutorial about the ‘AMS Switch’.
Through this job, I was reminded once again that teaching what I know is not an easy task.
While it’s not a particularly complex device, I found it challenging to explain how to align the holes and describe the wire wiring process.
Since I don’t want to receive negative feedback from providing inadequate explanations, I’ve decided to give up on offering more detailed explanations or tutorials.
I built a camera for my P1. It has 2 pegs on the housing that go into the holes in the back of the printer. It uses a Raspberry Pi zero, and the latest wide camera they make. I configured the software, and stream it on the network. I use VLC to view the video.
I shared it on printables, but I guess the project is a bit much for some folks unless they have detailed, step by step instructions.
Heaven forbid I would go a few weeks without logging on to Printables. When I would the messages I would get were pretty bad. Like I had cheated them out of something
I had some bad experience with printables users as well. Some users there are just silly and a bit of nutcase. They would blame you if you didn’t spoon feed them from A to Z.
, and looking forward to see the files and supporting documentation shared here or on github (whatever suits you best), and testing your moding