Other appropriate methodologies are employed for original drying of the filaments that need “oven baking” [ie, >80º C].
Storage is not a problem either.
Maintaining good dryness during printing is the grail here. According to practical experience, for example using the Eibos Cyclops at 70º C with two rolls of Qidi PA12CF and their “S-White” support filament for lengthy prints on the iFast which always works great - so in my experience and use cases, the effective process in practice is to have an evenly heated box with proper airflow so the moisture can escape and maintain the dryness of the filament while printing.
If the HT can do that, with aesthetic aplomb as an added bonus, it’s worth it to me.
But I can only find out for sure by using one, which costs what it costs, and to me the price vs likelihood that it does what I need is very worthwhile to me.
And if it turns out to be a “pig wearing lipstick”, oh well,
This information is subject to change with future firmware updates.
Can I print and dry at the same time?
Printing while drying is not yet supported, including all the AMSs that are related to the on-going print job (eg. The AMSs assigned for auto-refill). However, you can dry filament in AMSs that are not assigned to the on-going print job.
Filament Supported:
PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA, PET, PA, PC, PVA (dried), BVOH (dried), PP, POM, HIPS, Bambu PLA-CF/PAHT-CF/PETG-CF/Support for PLA/PETG, and TPU for AMS.
Bypass Filament Outlet:
TPE, generic TPU, Bambu PET-CF/TPU 95A, and other filament that contains carbon fiber or glass fiber.
So, in reference to what @AutomaticLogic wants to do, can the HT do even a small amount of heating during printing to maintain filament dryness? I’'m guessing not–at least not at the present time?
For me its worth it. I print a lot of PC FR for work sporadically through the week. I just leave that filament in there. Dry it from time to time. If I’m going to use something with a higher temp it goes in the blast oven. If I’m printing on/off with that filament I would stick it in there after and print as needed. This way when I use PLA, PETG, etc I’m constantly opening the AMS2’s and what ever sensitive filament I will be doing randomly in-between can stay in the HT sealed. When ever I’m printing engineering filaments its always one color. Now I might start using a support material and get a second HT if needed, haven’t looked at high temp support materials yet for what I use.
If you insist on heating while printing just use the bypass port in the back. You will not get auto loading/unloading but it will dry and print at the same time.
According to the Bambu FAQ, the AMS HT heater is currently not active during printing from the AMS internal extruder.
Maybe they’ll add if you’re using Bambu filaments, or if you attach the ID tag to your preferred filament roll…
However, not all filaments require constant drying, which might explain why they’re hesitating to implement it and are still deciding on the approach they’ll take.
The reason to dry filament is that it’s too wet to use. However, in the general case, you can’t dry it fast enough while printing to make it dry enough to use.
If the reason to heat the filament is to keep it dry while printing, just use desiccant instead.
Maybe the HT gets wonky if it’s heated while printing? Maybe the motors overheat, for example? The filament gets sticky and clogs the tubes? Some other malfunction maybe?
Maybe the required power to dry while printing exceeds the power supply built into the machine? Maybe the power budget accounts for just either printing or drying but not both at the same time?
Please post any other pushback reasons I may have missed.
Seems like a rather glaring shortfall of the HT, if we’re being objective, is that its capacity of one roll means no automatic failover when a spool runs out of filament. That’s unlike the AMS 2 Pro, for example. I suppose maybe it could be configured to use more than one HT? I think I read somewhere that either 4 or 8 may be possible. I don’t recollect exactly, but something like that. If that’s the case, the capability would exist, but at a price.
The Bambu Lab AMS HT isn’t a bad product in fact, it’s a great idea for those who don’t want to invest in the four bay AMS. It offers a more affordable, compact solution, along with the option to control humidity in a smaller area.
I suspect it originally began as a TPU solution for the H2D then they added to the idea.
I can envision a future model with support for larger spools, higher heater specifications, and the ability to dry filament without requiring the printer to be powered on. It will be compatible with more filaments, including TPU
Thanks! I see now that it has a better arch for the filament path, so adjusting the PTFE tube should be straightforward - just need to relocate the filament sensor.
New data. If you’re using Bambulab filament, it’s evidently expected that you will use a Bambulab AMS of one kind or another, because of the way Bambulab tapes the end of the filament to the spool:
Golly gee, I guess the external spool holder that comes with the H2D and that hangs off the back of it is only there for use with other filament brands that don’t tape their filament to the spool like Bambulab does. Wow. Go figure. I never saw that in the brochure.
Bambu obviously is making [or having made by some filament company] “their” filaments to use “seamlessly” with their AMS units [to induce more purchases of AMS units?]…
Now the questions arise: does the fact that 3rd party filaments don’t tie the end of the filament to the spool interfere with end-of-roll performance on the AMS units? Is the tension in the filament measured by the AMS in order to detect “end of spool” condition? Does the AMS falsely detect “end of spool” if the filament gets/is tangled and can’t feed out (like in cases where a spool is wound badly and turns into a slipknot around the spool at some point)?
Regardless of intention or motivation, the end result is that if you use bambulab filament, then the answer to the OP question is, “Yes, it’s worth it, because – Surprise! – you have no alternative other than to not use Bambulab filament.” Well, maybe one alternative is to respool your Bambulab filament so that you can excise the tape. Raise your hand if you view that an an attractive alternative, versus either buying an AMS of some type or simply not buying Bambulab filament. I for one don’t like being cornered after-the-fact and then forced to make these kind of all-or-nothing decisions. A printer as expensive as the H2D should have full disclosure in big bold and red 24 point font about material gotcha’s such as this right at the top of the H2D product page. Then, at least your are informed in advance about the true cost, not further nicked after-the-fact.
I had no problem so far. E.g. I often use Polymaker and Sunlu filament. With both, my X1C keeps printing until the end of the filament reaches the print head. It then asks for a new spool in the same slot and continues seamlessly.
Until now I didn’t experience something different with BambuLab spools. Apparently I haven’t used up a single BambuLab spool so far
Looks like a clever solution! As the officially bambulab recommended stock solution, I’m hoping the AMS HT does the business. I mean, a walled garden ecosystem should be self-consistent…one would hope. Truth to tell, I’m looking forward to the power windows. A nice convenience to improve overall user experience.
For the AMS 2 Pro, I’m using the inch thick packing foam that came with the H2D acessories to provide insulation. Functional, but it bestows an unfortunate trash look. on an otherwise nice industrial design. Is it overkill? I’m thinking the lid will be conducting 65C heat, or at least some portion thereof, into the AMS 2 Pro. Depending on ambient conditions, like a sufficienty hot garage, maybe not too hard to imagine? I was concerned that it might amount to too much for a low temperature filament sitting in the AMS 2 Pro to withstand during a lengthy PPS-CF print. The foam was free insurance. Anyway, maybe a topic for some other thread. Anyone interested? Should I start one? Or I could simply use a temperature probe and do the experiment… Then I would know for sure.
Truth to tell, I’m looking forward to the power windows. A nice convenience to improve overall user experience.