I’m using only Bambu original spools on my P1S with AMS. I was printing a 4hr print overnight and when I got up this morning, the print had stopped halfway through due to not feeding… which turned out to be caused by the spool having separated. I looked up the support site and found that there’s a complicated way to repair the problem ( How to fix filament issues caused by unlocked spools | Bambu Lab Wiki ) but my question here is as to whether this is something that is to be expected and up to the user to just fix it when it happens, or whether this was due to a faultily-assembled spool from Bambu that they should replace? I haven’t done anything to the spool other than open the sealed bag it came in and loaded it to the AMS - just to be clear, this is not a reloaded spool - it came from Bambu already loaded. I had already printed a small item but this was the first one of any size with the new spool. So is this something I should submit a trouble ticket to support about, and ask for a replacement spool, or do I have to bite the bullet and print that repair tool and try to fix it myself?
I think you should ask for a replacement.
Thanks CoolUser123456 - being relatively new here I wasn’t sure what would be expected. I’ve now done that.
They twist and lock together with a little piece that seats on the inside of the spool , yours appears to be missing
Bambu Spool Locking Shim (STEP version) Remixed by RevHazlettMakerWorld: Download Free 3D Models
Interesting! Thank you. I’ll be watching out for that in future and maybe I should also print 4 of those fixing tools( Repair kit for spool / Reparatursatz für Spule by RoofusMakerWorld: Download Free 3D Models ) to pre-emptively make sure all spools are locked down in future…
I use an ams lite so dont really get a problem , its strange to see one unlock/untwist itself like that has.
You should take that empty spolol and see if it will lock the two halves together. The female and male notches are different sizes so it will only go together one way.
You should be able to feel the spools lock together and pop unlocked when you remove the empty cardboard spool or put a new refill on the spool.
See my picture. I have not heard of this happening before but I try to always buy refills. They ding you pretty good for a spool if you compare the cost of a filled spool vs a refill.
As a new owner you have to accumulate spools first but that is a money saver to buy refills if possible.
I did indeed buy reusable spools with the intention of using refills in the future but I haven’t yet used up the 4 pre-loaded spools that I initially bought. I’ve been looking at the reusable spools now to see how they work (they didn’t appear to open at all at first but I eventually worked out the technique!), but this specific full spool will not close any more. I think to use it again would require a rewinder which is either a significant expense or a lot of time to print and build. Which I may do eventually but I’m hoping that when Bambu responds to my ticket they’ll offer a replacement, especially as it seems that this spool may have been assembled without the locking component that @Neiljt mentioned above. This spool was the first time I tested automatic fall-over from one emptying spool to another and by luck I had videoed it to record the change-over, and reviewing the video I see now that the spool was slightly wider than the others from the start - I had actually noticed that at the time but I just thought that the new spool must have been wider than the previous one and I was getting more filament! But in hindsight I now realise that it was already unlocked and starting to separate a little even when I first installed it. Oh well, you learn from experience I guess. Small hiccups like this aside, this is still a much better experience than the Makerbot clone I had previously.
FWIW I built a winder/rewinder. Was quite the project.
I unspooled some non-Bambu Lab filament onto a Bambu Lab reusable spool this morning.
The only times ive had a problem has been due to user error
- was removing an half empty spool that lost its form
- and probably the most important was removing the tape that holds the filaments form before loading the filament on the spool.
both of these attempts allow the filament to spread making it a lot harder to interlock both sides of the spool.
best practice is to follow the instructions , leave the tape around the filament,make sure its seated in the slot and add slight pressure with your palm/fingers when interlocking both sides of the spool
Happened to me once. Since then i use spool locks on every spool and be extra carefull with refills.
I’m pleased to report that the Bambu customer support team came through and are supplying a replacement spool. Bodes well for the future. (and btw I printed the little device for locking the spools, which screws together well and I’ll be using them in future just to be on the safe side).
Replacement refill arrived, installing the refill on the spool turns out to be extremely easy, and I added the locking part just to be safe. Test print done and I’m back in business again.