So to answer my own question: the Calibration functions are not compatible. Why then does Studio allow the user to do this with an A1? Grey them out!
I am doing this because the automatic dynamic flow calibration with this particular Bambu Lab filament always seems to result in over extrusion.
I cannot seem to use the software to modify anything to do with the filament other than to change the preset filament types. I don’t understand why Studio has filament settings on the left under Prepare where you appear to be able to edit the preset, change temperature etc, save the custom preset but thenj also, under Device, have a K setting relating to some other filament preset list (your custom tweaked ‘Prepare’ filament profiles you have made do not seem to appear here) under Factors of Flow Dynamics Calibration where then a PA profile can be applied, apparently. Is temperature not a pretty important flow parameter?
I have changed the temperature for the filament preset in the Prepare section, saved it, but it is not being used during the print because the printer is telling me what temperature setting is being used and it is not the custom setting I put in. How do I get a tweaked profile to actually take effect with the current print file? (I can instead manually intervene and change the temperature on the A1 during a print which is a small mercy.)
I have created a new K value through Calibration → New, saved it, selected it for the external spool where I have the filament, confirmed, but I have no confidence it is being used (there is no discernible difference in print quality with dynamic cal turned off; I tried K=0.01, K=0.03, K=0.10). I know that the auto cal isn’t happening because the printer does not report it and it only prints one initial test line (or whatever it is) at the front of the plate. I have no confidence, however, that the printer isn’t just using a default K value, regardless of what I try to set. Photos to follow.
I love the way the Wiki says: “If you are familiar with the characteristics of a particular filament, you can manually create a PA profile for the consumable filament directly from the Flow Dynamics Calibration Management Result page in Studio”. How exactly does one become familiar with the K setting of a particular filament if there is no facility to perform a manual calibration with an A1?
This system seems great if it all works but how do you actually tweak any of the filament print settings?
What does “PA” stand for?
Is high K higher flow or lower flow? Is it not that simple?
It shouldn’t be so hard just to tell the damn thing not to extrude so much. Any help gratefully received.
I notice the gcode that you can see on screen after slicing and exploring layers and within layer but only a small section is shown on screen at a time. You can increment the scroll bars with the mouse wheel but is there a way to see the code that is beyond what you can see for one layer but before what you can see for the next layer/line?
These photos all of same print file, same place:
SUNLU Silk PLA+ Dual Color Black Gold using Generic PLA Silk profile (top), Bambu PLA Basic yellow (bottom), both auto cal
Bambu PLA Silk Dual Color blue-magenta using Bambu PLA Silk default profile unchanged (230’C) with auto cal on (top), same but half speed (bottom):
Bambu PLA Silk profile but some parameters adjusted (I do not believe they took effect - how to?), 225’C, not auto cal. Can you tell which one is K=0.01 and which K=0.10? My guess is that some default K value was being used.
Manual temperature change while printing to 205’C (top), 240’C (bottom) (I was unable to implement temperature or any other changes through profile edits - how do I get my filament parameter edits to actually manifest?):
Edit - later - eventually I have been able to implement an adjusted profile. I don’t really know what the solution was as I tried so many things, power cycling the printer, disconnecting, reconnecting with the printer, sending the print job multiple times (it indicated download complete then just did nothing twice, then it just decided to work third time), unloading and loading the external filament, but it does now appear to be printing with the new parameters as demonstrated by the new temperatures I set. Talk about flaky. I have ended up taking it off LAN mode (I read in one part of the wiki that the custom filament option did not work in LAN mode and the cloud has to be used - why oh why??), and I had to create a new profile pretending it is filament from a different manufacturer as it appears that you cannot choose Bambu as the manufacturer for a new custom profile; editing and saving an existing profile did not work - it never appeared on the profile list in the Device section. Creating a new profile seems to put it on the Device profile list. I set the external spool to that profile. Then at some point (was not immediate) the Prepare section acknowledged that this profile now represented the external filament. Maddening.
I still have not managed to alter the K value - that’s a battle for another day.
Edit: Last night received one SD card error message. Formatted the card. Prints started stopping on first layer or a few layers in with no error message; tool just rose with filament still loaded. Replaced SD card this morning. Maybe all this flakiness I have encountered was due to a bad SD card? Maybe could do with a bit more error reporting if so.
