Pre-purchase questions - Build surface, noise, computer upload

Bambu Lab X Series
1

I’m very interested in the X1-Carbon. A little background, I have a small 3D printing side business and currently use several Prusa MK3S+ printers. I’m very interested in the X1-C for the speed and multi-material AMS system. But I have some questions:

  1. What build surface comes with the printer? I’m used to using a smooth PEI sheet on the Prusas which I really like. Despite printing with PETG exclusively, I never have to use glue sticks or other release agents on the PEI sheets because I have carefully dialed in the first level height etc so the first layer still sticks well but does not cement to the PEI after printing. I REALLY don’t want to use glue and I’ve read several places that the Bambu textured surface plate works well without glue, but many of my models looks best when printed on a smooth surface. Is a PEI sheet available for the X1-C, or something similar that wouldn’t require glue for PETG?

  2. How noisy is the X1-C compared to a Prusa MK3S+? I know it will be more noisy, but is it a toy train vs a locomotive or more like a small train and large train difference?

  3. Another feature that I really like with the Prusa is Octoprint. I can slice and store my hundreds of models on the Octoprint instance tied to the printer and wirelessly start printing from Octoprint quickly. Is there a comparable system with the X1-C, or do I have to load a saved/sliced model in the slicer before I can then start printing it? Basically I want a repository of all my sliced models where I can just click on the model and start printing it from my computer.

Thanks in advance.

2
  1. It comes with one steel sheet. One side of the sheet has a “Cool Plate” sticker applied, which is for PLA only (a couple of extra sheets are included as well.) The other side is bare and is termed “Engineering Plate”, for use with other filament types. I don’t use either of these anymore.

Bambu sells a smooth PEI sheet, but it is again a “sticker” type. Many of us have bought the Wham Bam PEX plate, which is mirror-smooth and works better than PEI in many cases and works with most filaments (but PETG can be a problem - see their web site for details.). I have the PEX plate and the Bambu textured plate.

  1. When printing, and you have not selected Sport or Ludicrous speeds, I’d say the noise level is comparable to the MK3S. You don’t get the stepper noise the Prusa has, but you will hear the carriage sliding back and forth. There will be extra noises at the start of the print, and on filament changes if you use the AMS.

  2. There is nothing like Octoprint, but you can save models on the SD card (if you have one) or internal memory and initiate printing over WiFi from those. You can also select these from the display on the printer.

3

Thanks for the reply. I didn’t really consider the PEX plate because everything said glue glue glue with PETG, but after reading the Wham Bam suggestions for updating how it is printed it sounds like the PEX plate is a possibility.

So if I understand you correctly, I can upload models to the printer internal memory, and then initiate a print either over wifi from my PC or by the display on the printer? Am I correct in saying that I can slice and upload models to the printer via WiFi as well?

4

Yep! IDK what you’re making that requires PETG but a lot of us who favored it are switching to ASA which this machine prints quite well.

Another thing you’ll like is the Slicer - called Studio - It saves your projects on a Home screen and is based heavily on Prusa slicer. One click to open a previous project.

5

I don’t “have” to print with PETG, it’s just what I’ve opted for. It is stronger and more temperature resistant than PLA, and is also recyclable unlike ASA. I’ve never printed with ASA or ABS but I’m turned off by the idea of it producing toxic fumes while printing.

I’m going to check out the SoftFever slicer and play around with it.

6

Where are you finding someone to take PETG for recycling?

7

I haven’t actually done it because it’s not like I throw away things that I print, but I called our local county recycling department and they said they would take PETG during special collection days that they hold twice per year. I know it’s probably not a common thing for many areas, but PETG is the same plastic in water bottles ad “can” be recycled.

8

PETG is not PET. It’s related, to be sure, but the G means glycol and recyclers don’t want that mixed in with PET.

9

Huh, that’s my bad. I kept reading that PETG was recyclable (although not in normal, household recycling) and that plastic water bottles were PETG. But digging deeper you’re right. It’s PET.

That makes me wonder if the person I talked to at my local recycler knew what they were talking about or just meant they would take it off my hands and throw it away themselves.

10

I have seen some filament makers say they will accept PLA for recycling, but this is uncommon and seemingly impractical. Perhaps the person you spoke with misunderstood PETG as PET.

11

Not you, it was them, and they led you to believe the wrong thing.

There’s a lot of confusion swirling around the subject, it is polymer chemistry we’re talking about here! :wink: :grin: The guy who answers the phone at your local recycling plant likely isn’t a Polymer Scientist (although these days ya never know LOL).

This is the big problem in 3D printing. There’s a number of hobbyists who have come up with methods of re-using the plastic by breaking it up and re-extruding at 1.75mm, but it ain’t easy.

IIRR There’s some companies in the EU that sell filament and offer to take back the waste and recycle.

The big problem is that if you have 100 kilos of one kind of plastic and you have 2% of the wrong thing it can kill the whole batch. That may just be urban legend but I do remember reading about it.

Back to you - take a look at PC (polycarbonate) blends. They offer high temp resistance and strength and are less prone to toxic vapors than ABS or ASA.

You might take a fresh look at it and check for other filaments, you may find a new fav! There’s a lot of change that’s happened in the industry in the past two years with the rise of 3D. For example it rare now to get wildly varying filament thickness which used to plague us. Blends are greatly improved too.

Here’s a discussion of types (has affiliate links but the data is good, as is the site. You may fall down a rabbit hole …) - https://all3dp.com/1/3d-printer-filament-types-3d-printing-3d-filament/

Here’s one from Polymaker that’s a bit scientific, not an article but a great resource for comparing various filaments strengths and properties. It’s for their filament of course, but the data holds across brands with some small variations: Microsoft Power BI

That’s one reason I favor Polymaker, they have great documentation - EVERY filament’s sales page has PDF’s with optimal settings, strength charts, particular characteristics of that plastic, etc. Even if you don’t settle on one of their filaments it’s a great resource. They also have a very wide range of filaments and I’ve found great consistency.

Good luck and have fun!