just got my X1C, upgrading from a creality Ender 3 pro. Quite impressed!
While I instantly saw a big difference in print quality, the only thing that surprised me was the visible seams, especially on round surfaces ( like a series of mushroom heads I’m currently working on). I thinks they quite break up the texture look .
So my question is, how come my lower quality Ender never showed those seams, on the same project? Is it because the seam points are randomized by default or is it a different printing technique altogehter? I saw that one can randomize the seams also on the X1, is that what people do to avoid long lined seams?
Thanks!
I used to use the Prusa slicer, never had any issues with visible seams. Also seems somewhat more user friendly, clearer GUI.
It seems that it slices differently though, and makes different calculations concerning the supports. might just go back to the Prusa.
I don’t think you can slice for bambu with prusaslicer out of the box. I suppose you could try setting up profiles for the X1C but it will be much easier to learn the layout of Bambu/Orca slicers. Orca seems to be the default for most new printers now anyway.
Thanks again. I don’t really understand why my prints never showed any seams with the supposedly inferior Creality / Prusa? I was genuinely scratching my head when I first saw them with my new Bambu.
I think it’s a just a bambu thing, that most of us have gotten used to it or found workarounds for it. I sometimes put a pattern or some ridges on the outer bodies to hide the seams on ojects with no corners, but I do most functional parts so I don’t really notice it so much anymore.
Maybe the big difference is print speed and imperfect pressure advance values?
You could try a print at the speeds and accelerations that you would use on your ender for a true comparison. If that looks good, you should look into pressure advance (in bambu speech: dynamic flow calibration).
Some other settings that can help to reduce seams visibility:
acceleration values
staggered seams
seam gap
scarf seam
not sure if all of those are available in bambu slicer. I only use Orca, which has some extra settings.
Depending on the surface texture you want, another thing I like for invisible seams is combining random seams with fuzzy skin. They just disappear into the overall noise. I’ve been using it with point distance equal to my layer height (often 0.2 for 0.2 layers) and a skin thickness of 0.15 or less and it gets a texture that reminds me a bit of sand-cast metal. Fair warning, it WILL slow down your prints, so contour or contour and hole are preferable to all walls. It’s worth it to me - I use it on nearly everything.
Thank you all for your help and suggestions.
I’m still only beginning to get into the depth of the new settings in Studio.
All I can say for now is that I did compare my last Creality print with the same print on the Bambu. The Creality, at roiughly a quarter of the price, printed the mushroom heads without the trace of a seam. Yes , it’s lower and overall a bit rougher and less precise, BUT there are no seams.
As to why , what the differences in technology are as suggested here etc, I still need to understand, but it’s striking nonetheless. It seems obvious to me that a seam is something to be avoided for primarily esthetical reasons - seams by “out of the box” settings just don’t make any sense to me.
I include a pic of the old creality project, with seamless spheres, and will post a Bambu clip later.
