Hi everyone. Roughly 2 hours ago, after many videos and articles, I purchased my very first 3D printer, a P2S. My first question concerns filaments. Can I buy filaments on Amazon, or other sites, and still use them in my Bambu? Anything I should watch for if doing so? My other concern is the ‘spools’ that come in the AMS Pro. Are they a 2-piece spool, so I can easily install refills, or do I need to order the ‘reusable spools’ from Bambu?
Thanks, in advance. Sorry if these questions have been asked before.
Its in bambu labs interest to be able to print with all compatible filaments , so yes to Amazon , (i do) spools come in two pieces from bambu lab so you can use them with refills , always worth buying an extra one or two
Yes, you can use most filaments with BL printers and AMS. If there isn’t a preset in the BL system you’ll need to run a calibration to dial in you settings.
Some come with a 2 piece but many don’t. I use a few non-BL or Sunlu filaments and they work fine. You don’t want to use the cardboard spools as they can mess up your AMS.
I prefer to use BL or Sunlu filament due to the refill packs and most are dialed in to the existing BL system settings.
Once in a while, I want a different color they don’t offer and I’ll make it work. I’ll respool if cardboard or use the plastic reel it came in.
If you are going to use polymaker filament get it right from them. They have a points program where you can save up for items and over a certain amount you get a free spool.
They are cardboard spools, which I printed out petg adapters so it runs on the petg instead of the cardboard edge. Im still new myself and need to figure out if i can spin the cardboard one onto a plastic one easily or if the adapter is good enough.
Edit: Watched a video and the cardboard is very easy to swap over. Now i need the bambu spools
I have a couple friends who use Overture and Polymaker that have cardboard spools. They use an adapter like this:
And have stated they have not had any issues. I’ve not used the adapter and just respooled. The adapter would be easier so if you use a lot of filament that has cardboard they would be worthwhile.
For a complete 3D printing newbie, I would recommend using Bambu Lab filaments for at least the first month or two. This will help make things simpler at the beginning.
The Winter Sale is on for a few more days until the 5th. To get the bulk savings, order 14 rolls of filaments, most if not all, PLA Basic filaments. This is a very good deal for Bambu Lab filaments.
There are a few color choices of PLA Basic that have the option of coming with a spool. Buy a few of those and you would have some spools to use with refills later.
I use Sunlu PLA 2.0, PLA Plus and PETG and just use Bambu settings.
I do buy Bambu filament when the sales are on, but they are double the price of Sunlu filament when they are not, mate. I live in England, and I use Amazon for Sunlu and Temu as well. Nevsby is a good filament but costs more on Amazon, but sometimes they have discounts on them. I like the Tinmorry metallic PETG. Hope this Helps you get going and happy printing.
Thank you, everyone! I appreciate all of your inputs! I’m still reading, and watching videos. Printer doesn’t ship until mid-month. Lots of time to educate myself. Thanks again.
They are the same 2 piece spool that refills go onto, but note once you put a refill on you can’t remove it until it is used up (or discarded). So you need one spool per refill, not one spool to share among refills.
An option - When I get refill packs from BL, I will leave the plastic strips in the spool. I release them after I installed the refill pack into the spool but leave them intact.
If I need to remove the spool, I simply tape those plastic strips closed and it’s works well. It doesn’t happen a lot, but has an occasion when I didn’t have an extra spool laying around. I usually just make sure I have enough spools on hand but as Murphys law states…….
If one buys at the very beginning of a sale, there are more color choices that come with spool. After one accumulates enough of these, about 20-30 rolls, there will usually be some empty spools available for refills.
If you use bambu’s refill spool cores, I recommend literally adding 10cm or so of tape to the inside inner seam after you’ve mounted it - as insurance. It is a full on disaster if that thing unclicks its rotation lock and moves 1mm, respool is the only recourse. Once those coils shift outwards once and get recompressed, theyll get pinched and unable to feed, every couple % of the spool. dont waste time powering thru it, just respool
To respool, You can find adapters to print to make a normal handheld drill do most of the work, but it’s still fiddly and unpleasant. It also doesnt wrap as neatly which isnt a big deal but it does waste space, so you can only fit like 8-900g before a 1kg-sized empty spool is “full”. Be careful on the refill process and hopefully youll never encounter the respool process Although, you may want to, to make an uncooperative/bent spool behave in the AMS rollers.
Although, you may want to, to make an uncooperative/bent spool behave in the AMS rollers.