I ordered a X1C yesterday after owning a Ender 3 Pro for around 5 years and I wanted something better and a little bigger. I didn’t read or watch any reviews but have heard that Bambu were one of the better brands but after ordering I signed up on here and watch a bunch of reviews and I ended up canceling the order. I’m still in the market for a decent printer and I’m a hobbyist but would like higher quality and better print material options but there was a lot more negative than I was expecting. I kept hearing how Bambu were the Apple of 3D printers and were easier and more simple to use with less hassle of constantly re tuning the printer and the poor customer service reviews were also putting me off. Overall how happy are you with the X1 carbon and how much do you have to mess with the printer once it’s set up. I don’t want to spend hours messing with the thing to get it to work. As I have a full time job and barely enough time to load files and filaments. Let alone dealing with failed prints and constant file changes before printing and then dealing with blockages 
I don’t mind staying with Bambu’s filaments if that’s the way to keep it less of a hassle to use. Is the X1 carbon a good choice or will I still be spending a lot of time messing with it.
Welcome to the Forum.
Still a minority vs the amount of printers that are out there working flawlessly. Always remember that people are more likely to report bad things vs making posts or reviews of how much they like it (in general, not just Bambu).
9.5/10
0
I came from an Ender 3 and do not miss a single thing of that machine.
The supports main issue is being understaffed with several setbacks before having had the chance to solve it… Chinese Holiday, A1 Recall, combined with being understaffed left many to be frustrated but to my knowledge they always did or try to make it right. The 3 times i needed support (2x Minor Hardware and 1x Software in August and November) were solved within 2 days and i had replacement parts on the 3rd or 4th day. Haven’t needed support since - from what i personally experienced at that time it’s a 10/10. Can’t rate how it is now as i said i haven’t needed it since.
Using 3rd Party filament does not cause any hassle. It works just as good (Minus not having the NFC tags)
I have 2 X1Cs, a P1S, and an A1 mini, and they’ve all been flawless for me. My father has an A1 and a P1S too and they’ve been spot on for him. This is with a decade of experience in 3d printers on my part. It’s not that I have the skills to know how to fix problems, it’s that I know well enough to recognize a quality printer when I see one, and I see a whole line up of them from Bambu, that is even despite the issue on the A1. The A1 Mini in particular is just my favorite. Like, ever. It’s the small fry of the line up, but it’s just so… Chef’s kiss.
I think the problems with Bambu printers gets over-hyped to a degree by those that don’t like Bambu for various reasons. I mean, people have legit issues, like with any product, but I think a lot of that gets amplified by those that have a bone to pick with Bambu. Creates that negative feedback loop.
Very little messing with. The AMS in particular helps to make the workflow smooth. I feel ya on the work, it limits my time a lot. The Bambu printers have boosted my production a lot, and have freed up a lot of time so I can focus on design as opposed to fussing with the printer. I would almost argue the Bambu printers shouldn’t be sold without an AMS! Even if you don’t do multi-color, it just makes material handling a million times better.
You mentioned about not having time to even load filament, which is something I always hated pre-bambu. Going through the process of switching filaments was always annoying to me, and part of what cut into my workflow. Loading/Unloading with the AMS is a breeze!
Thing is, for me, I might be working on a few different designs at the same time. Material color is always super important, as it’s part of the overall design and presentation. Being able to quickly swap colors around while I’m jumping around on different things just makes life so much easier and smoother. Previously I’d load a roll up and try and do as much as I can with that single color before I had to swap it again. Running different projects at the same time? forget about it! I didn’t want to spend half my day loading and unloading filament. Now I can be a spazz all over the place with different things going on, and the AMS units are there with the colors I need ready to go! In particular on the X1/P1 series, I like that the AMS is enclosed. Just yeah, overall, material management with the AMS is a game changer.
Speaking of work though, I’ve gotta get back to that.
Definitely. I still haven’t done any major multicolor things but just the switching between filaments is worth the money in my opinion. No more unloading and loading process, changing the spool on the outer holder, having it exposed to the humidity etc.
I should’ve bought it much earlier!
I LOVE my X1C. I’ve only had it about 6 months, but it’s an absolute game changer. I’ve printed more stuff with my Bambu in 6 months than I have in the last year with my other two printers. I’ve been printing constantly, and the only issue I had was a clog. I had to disassemble the extruder and while I had it apart I swapped out the nozzle for a new one. It was really easy to do, and I got my machine back up and running the same night. I use all kinds of filaments, from Amolen to random stuff off of Alibaba that my dad sends me. I also got mine because I wanted a larger build volume and so far that’s been the best part. I’ve made lots of stuff I couldn’t make before, I rarely have an failures, and it’s been so fun just to see what I can design and print. The speed of it lets me iterate on designs really quickly, too, which is an unexpected added bonus. 
I really like the serviceability of the X1/P1’s print head. It may not be the A1 levels of easy nozzle swap, but still. Compared to printers of the past, it’s just so much nicer. In my experience it’s one of the top places that needs service/maintenance, so it always boggled my mind how inaccessible manufactures have made the hot end.
I just got my first clog a week or so ago. It was easy breezy as I had a spare nozzle assembly on hand. I do not miss the days of ol’, especially trying to tighten E3D style nozzles with the hotend heated up, and all the potential issues that can happen if you don’t tighten things up right. The ooze, the ooooooozeeeeee.
Bambu printers, even apparitions like 'em!
The X1C is really the best printer you can buy, unfortunately Bambu’s customer service is a complete polar opposite. I’ve had my printer since 10/23 and have almost 900 hours on it now. The only thing I’ve had to do to it so far is maintenance services. Lube and clean basically. I think I’ve had 10 prints that I can think of that failed for one reason or another. It just prints and does it very well 99.9% of the time.
I too am very disappointed with Bambu’s customer service, but my only needs with them so far have been with order fulfillment. Lost shipments, missing items, etc. But in their defense they did correct them albeit in weeks vs days. I dread the day I’ll need to rely on them for spare parts that aren’t listed on their web site tho…
Regardless of which printer you decide to go with, expect some sort of trade off.
Pretty much any printer today would be an upgrade to the Ender 3 Pro. The X1C is currently the best option in today’s market; everyone else is trying to play catch up. Bambu printers are the closest thing to a turn key solution you’ll find and are setting the new standard/baseline for consumer 3D printers.
If you scratch just below the surface of most of the issues you find on this forum, it’s mostly inexperienced users not knowing why things aren’t working. You’ll occasionally find someone with genuine hardware issues, but that’s pretty rare. It’s mostly layer adhesion issues, stringing, poor print quality, bad overhangs … rinse and repeat. These are all usually solves after covering the basics. The best thing a new user can do is spend some time in the Wiki going over basic usage, care, and maintenance.
In regards to Bambu’s support, I have no real feedback since I’ve never needed them. From everything I’ve seen, it’s hit or miss on whether your support experience will be good or bad. It all appears to stem from being under staffed. Most of my problems I’ve had were my fault. Only real issue I’ve had was the AMS unit itself not properly feeding filament. It’s a common enough issue that there’s “fixes” on MakerWorld that help with smoothing out the filament path. Printed a couple of those and it solved the problem for me.
My experience with the X1C has been pretty much flawless. As @Josh-3D pointed out, I no longer have to spend time fiddling with the printer and can focus on my CAD design. That’s been a huge game changer not having to constantly dork around with the printer. I learned enough with my Ender 3 v2, I think I’ve paid my dues . The only real downside to the printer is it doesn’t have any real fume mitigation. The activated carbon filter is a joke and isn’t even used when printing with filaments that could use it.
Basically you don’t have to worry.
I had problems with mine but you have to put the whole thing in perspective.
Say you’re safe of all for the first 1000 hours (except for maintenance) - That would be the first 40-50 kg of filament (without changing the color). I think 40-50 kg for a hobbyiest is hugh…and by running 50 kg of filament thrugh a Ender 3 Pro you will definitely tinker more - a lot more. Will the Ender 3 Pro even survive these first 40-50 kg?
Some problems can arise between 1000-2000 hours, but these can be recognized with long 3D printing experience. A little more complicated to solve, but if you’re a hobbyist who has time and the 3D Printet parts aren’t absolutely necessary, can wait until the printer is up again. If I need parts and the printer only stays there for 3 hours my arteries are close to exploding - I need a backup and reliability. And I organize these backups whether with or without the respective 3D printer manufacturer.
We also know times when the 3D printers were delivered in such a way that they didn’t even work when they came straight from the factory. Who is the ender 3 Pro from again? I forgot the name, at least not from the European printer manufacturer where the printers were at least running when they arrived. What is the name of this manufacturer again? Somehow I forgot the names of this two companys…
I complain here at a very high level. If I spend $600 on a printer, I’ll let things slide - if I spend $1,500 on a printer, I’ll be pretty damn critical. And when everyone praises this to the 7th heaven, I find not only every fly but also the smallest mosquito in the soup…just to get people back on the ground. Otherwise we’ll just have the next gods who won’t be able to do anything for the next 5 years…emphasis on again and again and again. New developments in the 3D printer sector only come from new 3D printing manufacturers. Somehow everyone always falls into hibernation since they normaly only get praised until they are exchanged through the next one.
And no, Bambu Lab filament are not necessary at all. I even threw away the last roll of white PETG and unpacked one that did the printing. Bambulab fillament is helpful at the beginning until you understand the system…
If you’re completely risk adverse, buy it from a retailer, just as you would a washing machine or other appliance. Then give it a full shake down while you’re within the return window. If there’s a fundamental problem, you’ll find it, and if there isn’t, you’re golden.
Thanks guys. Seems the forum is pretty active too so likely I would be here for advice. I will look back at purchasing again soon and it seems you lot are very happy with the printer/printers overall.
Tu peux acheter cette Bambu Lab X1 Carbon, les yeux fermés. Tu la déballe du carton et tu imprime sans problème. Plus de réglages pour mettre le lit à niveau. tout est automatique. J’ai une Creality CR10S Pros V2 et une Ender3 V2 que je n’utilise plus, tellement cette Bambu fonctionne super bien.
You can buy this Bambu Lab X1 Carbon with your eyes closed. You take it out of the box and print without a hitch. No more adjustments to level the bed, everything is automatic. I have a Creality CR10S Pros V2 and an Ender3 V2 that I don’t use any more, because this Bambu works so well.
People don’t post when they have no problems. negative posts outnumbering positive posts is the way it always goes. It 's the norm for any tech product.
I see posts on problems with the P1S, mine is a workhorse, as is my A1.
3rd party filaments may need some tuning to get perfect results, but you can often get excellent results using either the Bambu defaults or recommended Bambu settings by the filament manufacturer.
I’d recommend going and watching some of those reviews, and watch reviews on printers that are supposed to be direct competitors. What you’ll find is the competitors fall short and often have a number of issues the Bambus don’t have. I’d have no problem suggesting other brand printers if they could compete with features and reliability at the same price point as the BL printers. But none of them do.
There’s a reason these printers are selling like crazy (which is why support is always behind). For the VAST majority of people they just work.
You might want to peruse the successful prints topic.
The first one wont be your last, welcome to the community
Your post reminded me of something else I like about my X1C - I’ve printed an entire roll of Amolen ebony wood filament with no issues. I gave up on printing with wood filament with my last printer because it was just guaranteed to clog. On the X1C it didn’t even wear down my nozzle significantly! I’d bought another, figuring I’d have to replace it after doing a few rolls of some of the harsher filaments (wood, and a glow in the dark glitter) but so far it’s going well! Here’s hoping I didn’t just jinx myself, heh.
Omg I wish I bought the black version. So clean…
I bought my P1P last year just before they came out with the P1S. So i ordered the enclosure and let it sit until October. The main reason i went with bambu, was because i didnt want to tinker with everything its made of. I’m a machinist by trade and do enough tinkering at work.
Long story short is i have 967 hours on my printer with a few failed prints self inflected ones and some because of not so good filament. It just prints and it does it well.
I bought one for ny 6 year old and he has had no problems using it and he uses it a lot in his new business.
Any manmade machine & tech will fail at some point no matter who makes it as I’m sure you well know, or should, anyway. It’s just a matter of how well you’re able to maintain the machine & how comfortable you are repairing or replacing parts within your tech ability & how well you accept any given failure(s) when they do happen. The old adage of you usually get what you pay for rings true 99% of the time, at least in my experience.
Anyway. I’ll also echo what most others are generally saying about Bambu printers. As compared to Creality products, although they are decent for their price points for newbs & for hobbyists (myself included), Bambu outclasses them on most accounts. I had my V3 KE for one day, it failed on the third easy print & took two months to get a replacement from Creality. In the mean time, I bought a P1S the following week after the KE died & have had this P1S printing almost everyday for as many hours as I could whenever I was home during progress.
It’s not failed yet. Only the first three test attempts at a Benchy & that was because I was too timid & fought the learning curve when trying to figure out what I did wrong. Not the machine’s fault in the least that’s not just hyperbole. I finally did get the K3 replacement about three weeks ago & that one has also been fine. The Bambu will poop the bed at some point, too, but I’m not as concerned about it as I would be with the KE based on the gap in quality.
I’d say it’s how much you want a good printer, how much you can afford, what your intended use for it is planned & if you’re willing to overcome the anxiety of paying the higher price. Of course, we all expect performance from any major purchase & the P1S was a major purchase for me. It’s not a home appliance, car purchase/repair, your child’s schooling, etc. but it’s not a required purchase I use mine mainly for printing RC model airplanes to supplement the foam planes I fly purely as a hobby.
Let us know what you decide on & later how it’s working out for you. I suspect you’ll like the Bambu products, but everyone’s expectation or standards can vary widely. Good luck!
Semper Fi,
Masterguns