Lighting Mod that Connects to Board

Bambu Lab X1 Series User mods
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I though the chamber light was adequate until I printed a riser for storage of the glass top, build plates and parts/tool storage. That blocked ambient light through the top and it was just too dark to see very much in the chamber.

I used a few JST connectors to make a Y splitter to both the existing chamber LED and a 5V trigger wire to a Relay to activate a 24V LED strip in the riser, powered by the unused 24V connection on the X1C power supply. Turns on/off with the chamber light, so I can control it from Studio/Handy/Orca. Relay is in a small printed box stuck inside the rear cover, just over the chamber fan. I used one set of JST connectors to make the wire to the riser unpluggable for easy maintenance. Material cost was about $6. It provides plenty of light, even when looking through the tinted glass.

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69

Do you have a more detailed wiring guide and some more example photos?
I made a 3D printed LED bar that plugs directly into the board of the P1S and replaces the original LEDs, but I heard from BambuLab that you should only draw 0.3A from the AP Board for LEDs.

It would be awesome to allow for the original chamber light + extra LEDs. I was thinking the extras could be powered off the USB port inside the P1S.

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Oh man. This is so great. Cause it’s so simplester of them all!!

Would place the on/off switch somewhere off to the side though. But hey, it’s awesome still!!

#leds #light #p1s

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This is an awesome way of doing this, but do you happen to have a wire diagram or can you explain what hooks to what on the little relay board? I bough one but I’m not 100% how to hook it up. Any additional details would be appreciated!

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I did not take any pictures and I do not currently have time to disassemble the printer, but maybe this will help. (I need to apologize to somebody that sent a private message about this. I delayed my response with the intention of taking pictures but time just got away from me. Can’t find the message now in my mail)

The relay is delivered in three pieces, two sets of screw terminals and a circuit board. You will need to solder the terminals to the board, because $0.70 is too little to cover any labor costs.
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28 Volts from the vacant connectors on the power supply connect to screws 1 and 3 on the blue block.
The 28 Volt LED light strip connects to screws 1 and 2.

I soldered some of the JST connectors to make a splitter (1M & 2F) that plugs into the AP board, one side goes to the chamber light and the other to a wire (w/JST connector) to trigger the relay. So, no need to cut any of the wires and the mod can be removed by just unplugging.

The trigger wire connects to the PWM (+5V) and GND terminals.

All the wire is two conductor 28 gauge, routed alongside other wiring for the most part. Twist the +28V feed and the LED + wire together and they both fit (barely) into the relay terminal.

I printed a small box to hold the relay - not certain it’s needed, but it looked kind of naked and exposed. Relay and box are mounted with double stick automotive trim tape, because I had it on hand and I think it will survive high temps.

The relay is inside the back of the printer, just above the chamber fan. (Not my picture)
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I used the Wiki for heat bed replacement as a guide to remove the back panel and the power supply cover. There are lots of different screws. Print the pictures from the wiki, insert the screws in the paper at the correct location to keep them straight.

The wire from the relay to the LED exits the back panel and goes up into the rear of the riser. Another pair of JST connectors here on the outside can be unplugged if I need to remove the riser or the back panel for maintenance. I have no AMS so there were several holes available in the back panel and I picked one that a JST connector will fit through.

I’m not real happy with that wire on the outside of the printer, but that worked best with my riser and has not caused any issues yet.

There may be better relay choices, or better mounting locations, but this has provided plenty of light and no LIDAR issues. It was also pretty inexpensive, with components from AliExpress.

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73

I used the same connection on that board for three small led strips mounted to the top of the metal frame rail inside and there is zero obstruction of the print head as well as the auto off feature that the existing light used. I did not bother to connect the original light as the ones I am using are more than enough without it.

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There seems to be a updated variant from Juupine they are selling.

Description “For Bambu Lab Light P1p P1s X1 X1C LED Light Strip 0.3A LED Light Kit 5V 150cm High-end Lighting Lamp Super Bright For Bambulab”

According to the reviews they reduced the amount of LED’s (there is a image of both version in the customer reviews).
And it’s not as bright as before. But I think it should still be better then the original one, because the light is comming from all sides.

I’ve ordered this version and now I’m waiting for the arrival.

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The new one is still pulling around 1.3A.

The Old style was above 2A

I can give proper measurements tomorrow if needed.

Edit: memory was wrong. New one pulls 1.3W, not 1.3A.

Old one pulls 2A+ @6v, not @5v like any USB port. At 5v its 1.7A

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I measured 800 mA after cutting off 16 LEDs from that strip so it fit for my riser (P1S) by Larsvommars (Bambu P1 / X1 Dreiseiten Lüftung / ohne Aussparung by Larsvommars - MakerWorld). I plugged it in the JST GH 1.25 LED connector on the AP board first but then saw this thread (Aftermarket LED fried AP board), and opted for soldering a USB A connector on the LED cables instead. Also, I put in a relay as suggested by user @philch in the same thread. It works like a charm. The USB of the AP board is rated as 1.5 A max, while the original connector is rated for 300 mA or something. Very happy with the result, although my cabling is kinda meh. I am still new to soldering an electronics stuff.

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I have a problem with the LED strip I put in my riser. Yesterday, I found most of the LED strip hanging down on the bed. I pressed it back into place, but today it has fallen again, although I have not used the printer.

I think heat has damaged the adhesive.
I printed with ASA last week for about three hours, with a chamber temperature reaching about 58°C, and several days this week my shop temperatures have reached 36-38°C.

Any recommendations for an adhesive that can stand high heat?

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So what exactly is the purpose of the relay? I don’t quite get it.

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The USB A of the AP board delivers power when the printer is on, which means that the LED is switched on all the time as well. The relay is connected to the JST GH 1.25 connector for the original LED for the signal, so I can turn the LED on and off through Bambu Handy or Bambu Studio/Orca Slicer by clicking the button for light.

@lkraus My chamber wasn’t as hot yet since I installed the strip but 3M 467 or 3M 468 should to the trick for you.

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A Google search for “How does a relay work?” will provide better explanations than I can provide, but a relay is basically a switch for a high power device that can be controlled using low power switches and wiring.

Using a relay here avoids damaging the AP board by attempting to draw too much power from it directly for the lights. The relay operates with only a tiny amount of power from the AP board, triggered by the light . When it operates, it connects the LED lights directly to the power supply.

Stock, the AP board provides 5 Volts to my original chamber light. When that light is ON, that circuit also activates my (electronic) relay, which completes the 24 Volt circuit between the power supply and the additional lights in my riser.

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Thanks, 468 looks best, I have another application in mind, on a rougher surface.

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That was the missing part for me to make sense. Just using the AP board as a signal source, not as power. That’s why I was wondering “what is the purpose of the relay if you are pulling power from the AP board anyway?” Got it got it

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I would appreciate it if you could do some detailed measurements

And is it possible to cut it connect with soldering wires and reducing the leds ?
Like making 4 shorter parts so that we lower the consumption.
Sorry if the question is dumb, but I’m new to LED stripes.

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Yes, that’s possible. Less LEDs, less power draw. As noted before, having 16 LEDs cut off I get 800 mA of draw. The AP board connector is rated to 300 mA, afaik. I measured with a multimeter and an USB connected power meter.

/edit: I have the exact same Juupine LED strip that you posted btw.

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Assuming you have a strip that allows for segments to be cut off, yes. Just cut off what you don’t need and connect the rest as usual.

I’ll get them tomorrow. Almost midnight here.

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Ok my memory was somewhat off when it came to the amps of the “old” strip. More about that at the bottom.

As reference:

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This is what the “new strip” consumes at full strip length @5v

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This is what the “old” strip consumes at “cut to fit in a riser” length (missing about 10cm) @5v

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I have to correct myself here. It was 1.3Watts, not Amps!!
I looked at the wrong part of the display.

The old strip does consume 2.55A when run at 6v, not at 5v as i had thought i remembered.

So yes, the new strip is technically safe to run from the AP board.

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Thank you. I Appreciate your help.
It reassures me that your meassurment shows that it should be safe to use the redesigned stripe.