The X1C comes with a box of various accessories including a glue stick that will probably last you for a few months. Glue not only helps the print adhere to the plate but it also is release agent prevent the print sticking too hard to the plate. I use glue with everything except PLA on a PEI plate. ( some will disagree). Elmer’s glue stick works well and are available everywhere, get the jumbo size. I am also having good success with a chunk of glue stick dissolved in IPA in a spray bottle that mists the solution evenly onto the plate. It pretty much eliminates glue marks on the print.
If you ordered the AMS you will probably want to use Bambu filament for the RFID tags which identify which spools are loaded. If you skipped the AMS, there is no reason to pay the slightly higher price for Bambu filaments. You will find more choices at cheaper prices with quicker shipping from other sources.
Hey @DaveHolland - do you have a good idea of the types of environments and workloads you’ll want your prints to survive in? Do you want particular surface finishes?
Also, are you designing your own models or do you plan to mostly print what others have made? Have you looked into overhangs and supports much?
Your answers will help us give you better recommendations about filaments, glues, and accessories. Speaking of, several accessories that many people find nearly essential really work best when printed in a higher-temperature filament like PETG or better. And if you’re new, it’s worth mentioning you should not print ASA or ABS without great ventilation.
The X1C was my first printer as well (though I had a few weeks experience using Ultimakers at a maker space) and I’ve really enjoyed it.
While I print plenty of PLA trinkets for my daughters, I have a lot of specific recommendations around learning to use it for functional design if that’s what you’re into.
I’ve printed about 60 spools of Bambu Labs filament and 15 spools from other vendors. I mostly find the Bambu RFID-tagged filament to be the right trade off between “I don’t want to spend time tuning filament to get both reliability and speed”, and priced between the extremes. Plenty of cheaper filament works just fine, but I’ve just never had a Bambu spool surprise me in the negative direction (as long as you understand what’s normal for a particular polymer and it’s dry). One AMS jam and you’ll be with me on this one In the US, Amazon is still 2-3 days faster but BL spools are worth the wait to me.
As for a filament dryer, this will likely become important when you print filaments other than PLA, or if you live in a humid environment and store your PLA outside a gasketed storage box with desiccant for several months. There’s a good reason why so many troubleshooting threads on every 3D printing forum start with, “DiD yOu DrY yOuR fILaMeNt??”
I believe that in the <$200 range, most comparisons with data that include an Eibos (Polyphemus or Cyclopes) tend to conclude it’s the most effective and thoughtfully designed.
I don’t currently have any specific projects in mind, but I went ahead and ordered a few spools outside of PLA to try out as well (and yes I researched which ones need to be done with increased ventilation).
Thank you for the information on the tape, that seems like a strange move. I guess the safest thing is to respool once it starts getting low enough to ensure your spool doesn’t have tape?
I live in Phoenix, AZ in the US - so I’m in the desert. Generally our humidity is in the upper teens or low 20s… that said, I hadn’t known about moisture issues until you posted this. I just spent about an hour researching and learning, thank you for this heads up. I am ordering some storage bins with seals. I also have a food dehydrator we never use so I can modify that for drying spools. I also have a vacuum sealer I could use if necessary. I’m guessing some rechargeable desiccant would probably be a good move as well to place in the storage.
With those kinds of humidities (I used to live in Tucson), I bet you don’t have much moisture issues until monsoon sets in or if using hygroscopic filaments. My moisture issues were minimal until our monsoon hit and then it was nearly two months of learning about moisture as prints started having issues.
In a dry climate like Phoenix, a food dehydrator should work well as a dryer. May plan on getting drying done on filaments you might use during monsoons before monsoons start though.
And silica gel stored with filament can help scavenge water and help keep your filament dry. But be careful - museums and archival storage places use silica gel to provide moisture too. It works both ways and what decides is if the silica gel is “wetter” or “dryer” than the filament it’s protecting. If it’s “wetter” than the filament it will provide water. If “dryer” it can scavenge water and keep it out of the filament. But you have to keep the silica “dry” if you use it like that.
And about wetter vs dryer - how to know? It takes a hygrometer and an impervious sealable container. Even a gallon ziplock will work but they don’t do so great at blocking water. Anyway, put a filament spool and hygrometer (no desiccant) in a container and seal it. Let it equilibrate for 10 to 12 hours and read the hygrometer. The reading is directly related to the moisture content of the filament. Try the same thing with desiccant. As long as the desiccant reads lower than the filament it is guarding, having the desiccant guard the filament will help. Let the desiccant get well hydrated where it reads higher than the filament and the desiccant becomes a water source to help wet your filament.
About the tape on the spool thing, I don’t think this is the end of it and Bambu changes it again (or not - they already declared mission accomplished) but with lots now in inventories, we’ll be dealing with it for years regardless what they do.
Respooling is definitely a fix and will probably solve another issue with Bambu filaments and refills some are seeing now - loose spooling that leads to tangles, filament being pulled into thin gaps between the filament and spool sides, etc. Threads on this here too. Kind of a pain.
I just pay close attention as spools run low and when I’m sure it will run out before being pulled back into the AMS, I cut the filament where it comes out from under the tape. Very much manual intervention. If you don’t respool, I wouldn’t recommend enabling fail over where another spool picks up where an empty spool left off. Too many reports for my tastes of the tape not letting go and filament pulling tape into the feed mechanism.
Good luck! There’s lots to learn but it can be very rewarding.
I don’t have many specific plans right now other than playing around. There are several things my daughter wants like storage for paint brushes, etc that she found on thingiverse - all indoor things. My son plays D&D and wants minis.
I’ll start with printing existing templates but I’m sure eventually I’ll branch out into designing things that I need when I find use cases (which will also require a software purchase). I did research on filament types and what needs ventilation - but thank you for mentioning as I think that’s something not a log of folks would consider.
Regarding your recommendations around functional design learnings, and thank you for your insight on filaments. Good to know the BL spools are worth the wait. I’ve ordered a storage container with a gasket already. I was thinking about the fact that I should check the humidity levels regardless - just because I live in Arizona may not be enough. I have to consider that the filament shipped from somewhere else. I should check it before use, dry it if needed then store it properly.
Great insights. Do you have any specific recommendations for a hygrometer? Yeah I was thinking the same thing regarding monsoon, and after doing some research I’ve also seen the ability to print right from a dry box which might be a good idea during monsoon on long prints. One upside is the art room where I’ll have this printer - I have a portable heat/ac unit in there with a dehumidifying function due to some of the crafts my wife/daughter do are sensitive to humidity.
Nothing specific. I’m still looking for the best way to go on this myself. I bought wads of the little round ones to use in cereal poly box storage of my filament. They work great, all have agreed with each other (no defective outliers), and were quite cheap. They would be perfect if they didn’t stop at 10% RH.
I only have a couple of hygrometers that go all the way to 0/1% RH but they get very slow to respond that low and aren’t convenient for building into things.
I’ve only done BL filament so far. I guess it’s the safer choice if you buy into the marketing that some of theirs works better with an AMS. But I’m no expert on 3DP, there’s plenty of experts here that can speak better to that stuff.
Yes! I had this happen just recently. I managed to just back it out a bit and move the filament to a better location, re-winding a short section that was way too bunched up by the side.
The really frustrating thing was that I couldn’t find a way to get the AMS to just unload the entire spool so I could do a better job, so it re-jammed once or twice. And I had to pause and do it all while it’s in the AMS. I guess I’ll be looking for one of those filament jam threads to read about workarounds.
Even with that, I’ve been amazed at how well the system (normally) works.
Buy a snip cutter like this if you haven’t had one, for cutting filaments.
Buy a few rolls of Bambu Lab PLA Basic filaments. I recommend getting the filament with spool. Don’t get the refill yet even though they are cheaper. The idea is to simplify things to get an easy and good start.
Go to the Bambu Lab Wiki page and bookmark it. That is the best resource one can have. Use that as the go-to for questions or trouble shooting. The second choice is to contact BL support. The 3rd choice is to ask on this forum or BL Discord.
1 - I actually have probably half a dozen or more of these in the house. I tinker in electronics and my wife and daughter both make jewelry.
2 - Thanks for this, I might have missed the spool / no spool otherwise. So the idea is buy a bunch with spools and then refills later and spool them I suppose?
3 - Bookmarked. I actually am already on the discord, started chatting there the day I purchased the printer.
Buying filaments coming with spool when one just starts the 3D printing journey simplifies things: one less thing to do.
After the initial period of getting used to the printer and printing process, buying the refill filament is a better choice. Putting (swapping) a roll of refill into the reusable spool is simple. There is a printed instruction that comes with every refill. Also a video on the store page, and the video and step-by-step instrucion on the best resource of all: Bambu Lab Wiki. https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/general/swaping-new-filament-with-bambu-reusable-spool
Another note: I don’t know if BL still includes a sample of support filament when shipping out a new printer, but if it does, don’t mistakenly use it to print the Benchy or other models. Use the sample PLA Basic filament. The support filament is for printing support structure on some models that requare it. Don’t worry about it now if you don’t know what a support filament is. That knowledge will come later.
I forgot to mention something important in my post above. Here it is:
Read the iinstruction that comes with the printer carefully and follow it to the letter. The printer should work and be able to print out the benchy (the small boat model) and other models that come loaded with the printer.
If it doesn’t print, go back to trace your steps to make sure the instruction has been followed. Also read the Bambu Lab Wiki if the instruction that comes with the printer is not clear. If the printer still doesn’t work. contact BL support via a ticket. One can also ask for help on this forum or BL discord. Important: Do NOT take the printer apart trying to fix any issue, unless being told by BL support to do so. A BL printer is designed to work right out of the box, after a few simple initial steps. If anyone on this forum or discord or any other sites tells you to open it up, or swap this swap that, or change this setting and that setting, don’t do it
If BL support cannot resolve the problem soon enough, ask for a replacement. But hopefully the printer you get works without any issues.
Many people have mentioned filament but I don’t know if they’ve stressed it enough. As soon as you read this I need you on the Bambu store ordering hundreds of rolls of filament. I need you to have a second window open on Amazon ordering floor to ceiling shelving. Do you have a garage? CLEAN IT OUT! You’re going to need that space. Thank your daughter for helping pick out the filament colors, then you look her square in the eyes and tell her she’s going to have to move in to a tent in the back yard because you need her room for filament storage. Does your son have a treehouse? I assume most boys do… good, his room can be more filament storage! Ok, go, that sale ends in 18 days. What are you waiting for??
Listen to this fella; he speaks from his long-term experience with these matters… and if you don’t believe me, just ask his daughter and son… they’re still in the backyard tent…and they’ve moved out there 10 years ago.
Are you recommending this to deal with that jam issue where a spool comes wound all messed up?
So it’s cool to just cut the filament at the feed point in the AMS when it gets stuck, let the printer run until it runs out, meanwhile you can take the messed up spool out to fix it?
I quickly stopped buying it on a spool not just for the savings, but… what the heck are we gonna do with all these dang extra spools laying around? One of the best ways to combat plastic waste is re-use. Also re-using a spool is kinda fun (maybe I need to get a life? nah).
BL is still sending out sample support filament as of a few months ago. It’s a really cool must have for me now.
I make a fresh cut when loading a new roll of filament to ensure the end is clean. I used to cut it at an angle to make it easier for the filament to go into the nozzle. But with the AMS on BL printers, a flat cut works just as well.
When a spool of filament stays too long in the open or in a container not sealed well, the end of the filament can become brittle due to moistures getting absorbed. I have found that by breaking off or cutting off about an inch or two off the end, the filament can be loaded in without risking the brittle tip part broken inside the AMS.
I remember one time I cut the filament when trying to fix a tangled mess of filament, but can’t quite remember the circumstance. In general though I have not had to cut when fixing issues inside the AMS. But in the situation that you mentioned, cutting can help.
The upside is that we have a very large loft in the house dedicated to art-related activities and I have an empty section in the garage… the downside is I don’t want to admit to how many spools of filament I’ve already purchased.
In the US, Amazon is still 2-3 days faster but BL spools are worth the wait to me.
(he’s into that sort of thing)…
