Hello all, I am in the market for a 3d printer. My only true plans with it are to build my children a 3d printer city for their hot wheels cars. And then whatever else happens along the way. I am currently leaning towards the carbon X1. But I have a couple of pretty big questions as far as start to finish printing. 1. I have not used much in the way of CAD software, most of my building has been done on tinkercad simply because it’s free. So my concern there is will I actually be able to take my tinkercad designs and print them or am I limited to only a few specific softwares for compatibility to this machine. Looking to get an order placed sooner rather than later, would be stellar if some one knowledgeable might be up to swapping contact information and helping me in finalizing a decision. Thanks ahead of time!
Save some money and get an P1S and AMS. The extra features of the X1C are not worth the extra cost if you’re mainly going to be printing PLA or PETG. You can use whatever CAD program you want to create your model. Bambu studio or Orca will slice your model for use with the printer.
Welcome to the forum!
I agree with @RMB here, a P1S is what I’d recommend to most anyone who’s starting out with 3D printing. It’s quite a bit cheaper than the X1C while getting most of its functionality. But if your budget allows for an X1C then you’ll find that it’s a more refined printer than the P1S. If you haven’t looked into it yet, I’d also suggest getting the printer with the AMS combo to allow for multi color printing. I think you’d like the option to be able to print toys for your kids in color.
3D printers, including the Bambu printers, print using what’s called gcode. It’s the language that describes what the printer should do, such as what temperature to use, what movements to make, and how much filament to extrude. To simplify the creation of gcode, people created software called Slicers that take a 3D model and “slice” it into layers that are translated into gcode for the machine to read. Slicers accept common file types for 3D models, with the most common being the STL format. Most if not all CAD software can export your designed 3D models as STL files which you’d directly import into the slicer. Tinkercad can also export models into the STL format, so you can directly open them to print.
While you can technically use any slicer with Bambu’s printers, it is recommended to stick with Bambu Studio or Orca Slicer if you want to be able to print with it over the network and use all of its features. While these are “specialized” for Bambu printers, they are in reality just forks of PrusaSlicer, which is a very popular slicer for most other printers.
So I have been looking into them for about a year now, and am just finally in the market to buy one. I have been in the air between the k1 max and the cX1. Because the size of the build volume is very close I’m ok with losing 1.8 inches in place of the ams. The Ana is what is ultimately tearing me between the two. I would prefer to have the LiDAR and I believe the p1p doesn’t not have that feature? I think I am pretty well decided on the cx1, it’s just a matter of importing stls. I’m seeing a lot of forums talk about closed source and open source, is that in regards to importing, or is it about how files are stored via cloud or personally? I have lots of questions, would be greatly appreciative if anyone would be willing to exchange contact info to have a more in depth conversation before I make a purchase I potentially regret. I just don’t want to buy a lesser machine and then want another need to upgrade in the near future
I guess I should also include that I have been a CNC operator for the last 6 years, so I am familiar with Goode and mcode, just have been reluctant to buy any software such as alibre or solidworks until I actually had a printer so I didn’t have to pay a renewal fee and everything else while not even having any actual models printed out. I just don’t want to be closed off from what I can print from any cad software that I may chose to use in the future, so just wanting to verify if I can export from any source I suppose. I’ve heard that micro sb uploading can be very trouble some as well
I’d actually recommend the X1C over the P1S. They are very similar, but being new to it all, I think the extra quality of life features will help your journey get started. I opted to add another X1C to my lineup, over a P1S because of those quality of life improvements.
There’s obvious things, like the screen. It is much nicer to use! There’s other things too, like the bed can get a little hotter. The micro-lidar is nice, it does seem to help a little. I feel like overall I have less issues with first layer stuff and nearly-perfect extrusion with the X1C, although that’s not to say the P1S isn’t nearly spot on too. That’s just talking about out of the box performance and it’s mostly indistinguishable. The performance of the camera is much better! Which the P1S is serviceable, but I still just prefer the smoothness of the X1C. Like I said, it’s quality of life improvements!
The open source stuff is about the firmware and other aspects of the hardware design and software aspects. For most users it shouldn’t be any real big concern. The tools we use and how we operate the machine doesn’t change really. Traditionally the one aspect users might change/tweak is firmware settings, however if the machine is configured right from the manufacture, most users shouldn’t have any need to tweak settings, so shouldn’t be a concern. It’s a bigger issue if down the road you wish to modify the printer heavily.
for the couple of hundred more, get an X1C
This shouldn’t be a worry. They support the standard stl/obj/3mf/step files, and I doubt anything would change there. Everything I use, I can export and 3d print. The slicer itself is still open source, and based off of the excellent prusa slicer. It’s the network connectivity portion of the software that is closed source.
I’m pretty confident in saying that any cad software you want to get into, should easily export a file that is usable. My father uses Autocad and Fusion360. I use 3dsmax, maya, fusion360, zbrush, blender, rhino3d. Yeah, just point being, you can pretty much use whatever you want.
If you can get someone who’s willing to provide contact info for this then you are good. But if not, all is not lost. Here is a short outline of resources and a couple of tips to get started.
- Looks like in your situation, the X1C + AMS combo is the best choice.
- CAD software are independent of printers. One can use any to design models. Fusion 360 is another free CAD software that’s much more powerful than Tinkercad. Tutorials are plenty online.
- Bambu Lab Wiki (link below) is the best source of info and help for beginners and experienced users alike. This should be one’s first go to place for help.
https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/home
- To make things easy, use everything Bambu Lab: Bambu Lab filaments, Bambu Studio for slicer.
- Keep things simple: Use default settings for everything.
- For assistance not available in Bambu Lab Wiki, ask questions in this forum, or in the Bambu Lab Discord which is better moderated in my opinion.
I was in the same boat for a while before I purchased my X1C. I found that the K1 Max was really just a cheap knock off of the X1C and had a ton of issues with quality control. And like you, I really liked the idea of the AMS unit and that helped sell it for me. I originally thought the AMS would be more gimmicky before I started using it and now I’m not sure I’d want to live without it.
You are correct, the P1S does not have the lidar sensor. It helps, but it’s pretty marginal on how much it improves on quality of life. You can look up videos comparing the P1S and the X1C and you’d be hard pressed in seeing the difference. The only reason I would suggest the P1S to most new users is that you get 90% of what you get with the X1C, but for almost half the cost. I’d hate for someone to spend $500 more if they aren’t certain they are going to want to stick with the hobby. But if spending the extra money isn’t a concern, then heck yeah go with the X1C, it’s just a better printer.
The discussions around closed source and open source are mainly focused on the firmware of the printer and how it would be preferred if it were open, which will more than likely never happen. The printer is unlike most consumer grade printers made today and has closed firmware for the printer, closed source software for the network driver, and a lot of proprietary hardware that isn’t widely available on the open market; though we are starting to see more and more 3rd parties creating hardware replacements/upgrades. None of this will effect your ability to create 3D models in your CAD software of choice and print with them on the Bambu Labs printers.
You will be hard pressed to find a printer as good as the X1C right now, other manufacturers are trying to play catch up so you can expect to se better competition in the future. Now there is one other printer that’s hasn’t been mentioned and is technically better and that’s the Bambu Labx X1E. For a measly $1000 more you can have an X1C with a built in chamber heater, an onboard ethernet port, and a 20c hotter hotend. Sarcasm aside, that’s currently the best printer that Bambu sells, but it’s their “business class” version and can only be purchased through authorized resellers.
This has all been extremely helpful to say the least. Is there any reason to stick to Bambu filament? I found a list of filament brands that people have tested on the AMS and say they work. Only asking for the sake of cost at bulk vs buying straight from the manufacturer.
Start with Bambu PLA filaments for at least the first few rolls. This way you can just load the filament and let the printer does its thing. It reads the tags and knows what filament it is. This is also the reason for using default settings. Simplify things, at least at the begining, will make the first experience more likely to be enjoyable.
You want to have the sort of an “open the box and print” experience.
Remember to read and keep going back to Bambu Lab Wiki if you have any questions. It’s the best info source for a new Bambu Lab printer owner, more than the info one can get from any forum.
Last one I swear lmao! Any suggestions as to spare parts and or extra beds that I may want to get off the rip?
Back in July 2023 I was doing the same research, I had never used a 3D printer before. I learned a bit of using Onshape which is Free for personal use and web based. I designed my first project before I purchased the printer, I ended up with the X1C Combo because I knew I needed to print ASA and ABS. I probably over purchased on the spare parts because I like to be prepared. I would say get a .2 nozzle if you want to print fine detail, I have only used mine a few times but I am glad I have it. I did try the .6 nozzle but just prefer the .4. . Get a couple of Charcoal Filters. A spare Extruder can be nice, if it gets clogged you can swap and get printing quickly while fixing the clog. Extra Build Plates are nice to have I have both Bambu and 3rd party plates. Get a few Extra Silicone Socks, they wear out. I use Bambu Filament as well as many other brands. Get the recommended Grease for the lead screws and a good supply of Isopropyl Alcohol.
When I purchased the printer I only had a few projects in mind , I thought I might run out of things to print after a few months but after using the printer and getting better with Onshape I have many things to print and I am enjoying the Printer.
You need a snip tool like this one in Amazon (link below), if you don’t already have one. This is for cutting the filament. This is the only thing missing from the box that I think Bambu Lab should have included for free. The printer package comes with everything else that one needs, including a pre-installed build plate (random), and some random filaments samples (not full rolls).
Note: The sample filaments may include some support filament. Don’t open it. Don’t use it. Only use the PLA filament sample and load it in the first slot inside the AMS.
If you want, you can add a Bambu Textured PEI Plate. When using this build plate, glue is not needed. Read about it in the Bambu Lab wiki. But you can also get it later.
Everything else you can wait to get them later. I bought a few spare parts and they have not been needed so far. This is more than a year later.
https://www.amazon.com/Hakko-CHP-170-Micro-Cutter/dp/B00FZPDG1K/ref=sr_1_17?
The X1C comes with the Texture PEI plate now, It does not come with the Cool Plate / Engineering plate so get that combo plate, I like the Engineering plate for PETG. No glue stick is provided but I prefer Aquanet Hairspray, easier to apply and works great. A good set of Hex wrenched is a must (1.5, 2.0, 2.5), the proved wrenches are junk…
I didn’t know that X1C combo now comes with the textured PEI plate. On the store page, it says …random …
It’s helpful to start with because it has RFID that tells the machine what color, and how much is left, but once you get into the swing of things, you can go crazy with multicolored Silk PLA off of Amazon. I like the brand Amolen a lot. 
If you are completely new to 3D printing and want to read about the basics, this might be a good source of information Basics of 3D printing with Josef Prusa | Original Prusa 3D printers directly from Josef Prusa
Be aware that with any printer, you ought to be able to use a screwdriver and have no fear to change parts here and there. May be not in the beginning, but it will happen.
If you want to print single colour only, there might be other choices of printers.
There are a lot of different webpages that do provide stl files for download, many of them free. stlfinnder.com is a good source as a link to many other pages.
Good luck
Agree with what others have said - extra build plate, and get an extra hot end. I bought my X1C with an extra .4mm and a .2 nozzle, and as mine came with a smooth plate, I got the Textured PEI plate. I’ve never had to use hairspray with it, oddly enough, and have always had great adhesion!
You’re going to have so much fun. 