Fun fact: Also the “High Precision Nozzle Offset Calibration” (which is part of the H2C calibration menu) can not be started when FTS is installed…WHY?!
Same here. I had the FTS at the front of my AMS chain and tied everything up so now have rework putting it at the end.
Reworked the wiring for the AMS’s and the FTS (putting the FTS at the end of the chain. Now at least I can have the AMS drying when the FTS has been unplugged. Considering printing the manual filament switch and putting it south of the FTS so I can redirect both AMS’s to the aux when printing TPU. Has anyone tried this?
Ran into the same with an X2D. Just baffling that it won’t allow you to bypass the FTS if you’re doing a print.
Aside from the fact that physically unplugging is a terrible solution if you’re bypassing the AMS/FTS anyway, having to get behind your printer isn’t always a simple solution. I’m sure most people with an FTS have at least one AMS on top, and unless your FDM tower is in an open space then you’ve got to make your way behind the whole stack.
My cables are neatly tucked into a printed cable run so I don’t have enough slack to unplug anything on a whim, so it seems like now I have to redo that whole thing if I want to print TPU.
My external spool is just spliced after the buffers right before it enters the printer housing with Bambu’s own 4-into-1 PTFE junction.
A real shame on this one.
Bambu’s documentation says the FTS should be at the beginning of the chain - I suspect that’s best practice to ensure the FTS gets power as a priority in case of many AMS units being used, or any poor cable connections down the line.
Just mentioning this in case you encounter difficulties.
The other thing - I get the rationale, but I’d always try to run your AMS 2 Pro from a dedicated external power supply. It’s a lot cheaper to replace one of those than the printer’s power supply. It also allows you to do dry while printing.
If it was truly that simple, don’t you think they would have already done it?
The answer is it isn’t. Firmware needs to handle the mapping, Bambu Studio and Handy need to recognize and properly handle the mapping, and there needs to be communication of the mapping states between the printer and applications.
This was easy for single nozzle printers. One nozzle mapped to one AMS to one filament slot.
It was more complex as soon as dual nozzle printers showed up (that’s why there’s now a “filament savings mode”, " convenience mode", and “custom mode” ) - two nozzles, AMS(es) could be mapped to each, and within each AMS mapping pointed to each filament slot.
When the FTS entered the picture, things really got ugly, as now it’s nozzle mapping to FTS mapping to AMSes mapping to filament slots - this literally doubled the permutations to keep track of.
Studio could always handle this - it’s just a matter of more permutations, there’s no hardware limitations there, but the printer itself is another story. The hardware controllers in Bambu printers - and all consumer printers, really - are very limited, they’re meant to operate the basic printer functions in realtime during a print, and that’s about it.
What do all of these things have in common?
- AMS unloading and preloading the unused nozzle prior to a print
- Telling an AMS to start drying while a print is underway (partially resolved)
- Telling an AMS to read a spool while it’s doing something else
They’re all things that would be very useful, but all can’t be done because the controllers can’t handle the simultaneous operations needed.
Bambu has already said they’re trying to find a way to make this happen, if they can do it, I believe that they will.
On small glimmer of hope I see is the filament screen on the printers does still show external spools, and seems to hang onto their identities over time.
The thing that makes me a little bit crazy is everyone saying “it’s just a little change” without realizing the only way to do it is if the change can handle any permutation of AMSes feeding to any side of the AMS and either nozzle getting the external spool - it isn’t just your personal setup at home. It has to work for the absolute extreme edge cases of the most AMSes, two external spools, TPU assists, the whole gamut.
In my setup, I feed the external spool in after the FTS (directly before the H2 filament buffer), which means the filament from the external spool doesn’t pass through the FTS at all. Is this setup not intended to be used this way?
It does not make any difference as the software won’t allow you to print from external when fts is connected…
@CarbonForge In my opinion it is quite simple, just add a “Are you sure you want to disable the FTS to print from external spool? Please make sure everything is setup correctly” Bingo that’s it… It must not be overengineered…
I’m also on the verge of removing the FTS again… the downsides are slowly starting to outweigh the upsides.
Not only does it create incredible resistance for the filament, but you also can’t load Silk filaments with it anymore. The external spool (and thus the feeder module) becomes completely useless - WHY? What’s the point of having a bypass in the printer if you can’t use it while the FTS is active?
So with Silk and TPU, you have to take half the printer apart every time just to deactivate the FTS. Not everyone has their printers set up neatly on a table in the middle of the room, like in YouTube Studio.
I’ve seen a lot of aftermarket solutions, but the FTS really ranks in the top 3 of the most crappy devices out there.
What’s the issue with silk in the FTS?
You get a warning from the printer when you load a silk filament in the ams … and it really doesnt work. The whole setup chew up your silk filament and barely get through the FTS, but doesnt arrive at the extruder.
“Certain filaments—such as PLA-CF, PLA Glow, and PLA Silk—are more sensitive to feed resistance and may fail to load or unload. Avoid using these filaments through the switch. If problems occur and printing must continue, try:”
Thanks for the response! Both AMS’s are running on their own power supplies. I did a quick search and did not see that recommendation. I did make the change and have not had an issue with the FTS at the end of the chain. So far…
This is a really frustrating issue. I don’t know why Bambu Lab set it up this way. Installing the FST also prevents hotend calibration.
I’ve fully explained it here: