I am in an off grid situation with no AC here in middle Tennessee. Our summers can be quite warm and humid. From what I have been gathering this does not present the best of 3-D printing environments. I was wondering if anyone out here has any experience with an X1 & AMS in this sort of environment?
Or is 3-D printing really just a pipe dream for somebody in my situation?
Thanks
If you stick to PLA, and perhaps print with the X1C door open, you should be OK. It would be best if you can store filament in a sealed bag/container with desiccant, but I wouldn’t worry too much about it. TPU is probably OK as well, and even PETG. Don’t even think about Nylon/PA or soluble support filaments.
Sorry I’m just trying to learn if I can even do this is my environment and I’ve been looking at the X1 with AMS as a potential purchase. Why would I leave the door open? Should I be looking at the P1P with it’s open architecture?
I’m also interested in using Carbon filament. Would that be out of the question?
The thing about leaving the door open when printing PLA is the concern that the chamber temp could otherwise approach where PLA starts to soften, leading to clogs. This could be an issue if the ambient temperature is high, or for when you use a bed temp above 50C. (The “Cool Plate” defaults to 35, which is fine.)
I’m not aware that CF filaments are more or less affected by humidity. Monitor things for a while and see how it goes. The AMS comes with desiccant, many people replace the pouches with silica gel bead holders. Note that the AMS has a humidity sensor that is displayed on the printer and in Bambu Studio.
I think it’s definitely possible, but you might have to print some materials from an actively heated filament dryer. PETG should print ok, even if it absorbs moisture it tends to just get a little stringy. There’s a few types of Nylon that would probably print ok as well. Look into Polymaker PA12-CF and PA612-CF. If you are able to print directly from an active filament dryer you could probably print PA6 as well.
Actually your fine for printing you will just need to adjust temps on the printer accordingly. (I would start with the base prints though) My first print room had no AC as well. If give me temps through day etc etc. It all factors in a bit. Some of the exotic materials may get a bit more complicated though, but PLA you can do just will need make adjustments. you may need to get fans in the room though to keep equipment cool enough operating.
Additional thoughts, X1 I think as you’ll have more controls and the extra blower if you get a p1p add on the extra blower.
I would use the Pla cold plate as it will need less heat in the printer for sticking etc etc. I also feel PLA+ will work better then regular PLA as it generally can handle more heat etc. Maybe try inland PLA+. I could ask my friend In IL he has X1 and same situation.
Hey, thanks so much for all your input. I’d like to give a positive update on what I’ve been experiencing since I’ve received my system. I decided to purchase a Bamboo X1- Carbon with a single AMS package. I also decided to start with a Wham Bam building surface. I purchased a separate filament dry box to house some TPU I intend to begin experimenting with using for gasket projects.
To be clear… We are off grid and have gotten used to no AC at all. The most hot, muggy and humid time of the year is right now (July and August). While we are in the dog days of summer here in Tennessee, my printer system is working flawlessly! Some may suggest I’ve not been using the system in this environment long enough to experience any issues. While this may be the case, (and I intend to posted if I begin to experience any significant problems.) I thought I’d post out here what I’m observing using this AMS with plenty of desiccant installed.
I printed a number of desiccant containers to place in the AMS and purchased some desiccant to fill them with. I’ve been very pleased to find the interior of the AMS remain a very, very low humidity reading with no electricity used whatsoever. I purchased a number of temperature/humidity sensors so I could choose a few that read identical to each other as my references when monitoring my printing environment. I was pleased to find that most of the 12 sensors shipped to me read about the same. The hydrometers I purchased cannot read humidity lower than 10% and this is where the interior of the AMS has remained since I configured the system. Should the humidity reading in the AMS begin to rise… I’d go ahead and switch it out with fresh stuff and dry the damp desiccant out and store it for reuse again.
I believe the picture below will speak for itself. Don’t let the temperature reading fool you… the picture was taken in the early morning hours. I’ve also listed the links to the material and models I’ve printed to help achieve these results. 
Thanks again for all your input!
Desiccant
Desiccant Tray (Inserted in the back compartments of the AMS)
Dry Box (Three blue printed boxes installed in the front of my AMS)
Hygrometer
I appreciate the update =).
