It is unbeliavable this is still happening. I have >10 kg batch of multi-hour PETG HF prints going on with a deadline and I have to oversee every spool change, manually pause the print, and save my AMS from clogging because a piece of black tape is attached to the end of filament almost without execption. Clearly not what I expected.
I think in EU this clearly a breach of consumer protection as misleading marketing. Maybe EU citizens should start filing complaints to their national consumer protection authorities.
AMS marketing pitch “Your print never stops with automatic spool changing. With AMS filament backup function, never worry about running out of filament during your sleep or absence, ensuring a seamless and uninterrupted printing process …” is clearly untrue and misleading.
Technically that statement is correct.
The ironic thing is that it’s only ‘untrue and misleading’ when you use Bambu filaments…
Any other filament manufacturers spools (that fit in the AMS) will works fine.
Another follow up. Bambu has shipped me 5 black PLA refills. This was the remaining rolls of the “bad” stock I had. All my newer rolls seem to be fine.
While going through this I decided to save a few spools and compare them. Below is a pic with 3 different spools.
From left to right.
Oldest spool, filament was bent to 90* and stuck in one of the holes. Notice the 4 holes.
“Bad” spools. Tape either covering too much of the filament or applied incorrectly. Notice there are only 2 holes.
Newest spools. Tape only covers about a quarter inch of the filament. Notice there are no holes in the spool.
All of the spools I had issues with had 2 holes from the time I started observing empty rolls. Mind you, this is just a single users observation and may not be indicative of the entire production.
Point being, when you put a new roll on take a look at the inside of the spool, if it has 2 holes, set yourself a reminder to watch for the end of the spool.
AND for Heaven’s sake, if the tape comes off, put in a ticket!!!
Now that you mentioned it, I think you are spot on. I believe all of my bad ones had two holes and the good 30+ rolls prior were four holes. I haven’t ordered any newer filament yet; however, I plan on soon and I’ll check it out.
This was a very helpful observation and one that you can tell early on prior to printing!
A print used up the last bit of material on a spool but didn’t detect the lack of filament in the extruder when the material ran out, so it continued to print air. I was quite puzzled and suspected a blockage. I went rummaging inside the extruder assembly, and lo and behold:
The tape crammed itself down the feed tube and into the extruder but, thankfully, didn’t make it into the hot end. It didn’t look like it caused permanent damage, so I cleaned up the gears and put the extruder back together. Prints fine so far.
I didn’t even know this was an issue until looking it up today. From now on, I’ll be keeping an eye on small spools.
I just became aware of this issue, though have not be using my A1 with the AMS Lite for long enough to get to the end of any of the 4 spools of Bambu filament I bought. Fortunately I don’t depend on the auto-runout detection or spool switching features yet, but am disheartened to find that Bambu apparently has not effectively addressed this issue. I will be following this thread and will look to other brands until I can see they have corrected this issue and purged their suspect inventory.
Well if you don’t want any issues with tape being dragged through your AMS and possibly into your printer, then another brand is the way to go.
Some people wave no issues and some do. Bambu just say the the problem is solved, and I think that they won’t change this stance, even though it’s not true…
Yesterday i had one of my last bambu spools ending. It was a white roll, ordered last month. This one had the end of the filament tuck in a hole. Another white roll that came in the same order had a big chunk of black tape and got stuck.
The inconsistency is insane at this point.
I quit using their filament and started going eSun since last month and haven’t got a problem until now and at least eSun Basic white is really white and not yellowish finished.
Show your satisfaction with your wallet and companies will learn with time that quality must be met to sell these kind of products.
Same problem here. Bought some spools of black PLA 2 Weeks ago and still got the tape-version. The automatic refill failed 4 times now and didn’t work once because of that.
Hope i have more luck next time
The Bambu PLA Matte Black and Jade White (full spools, not refills) I got as part of the starter pack offer in the last month were both taped, although it was only a short length, like 3-4cm, and was in the same direction as the filament, not across it. Neither jammed my AMS lite. Will be interesting to see when the red and green filaments run out soon (both refills). AU warehouse.
I recently bought a filament splicing tool so stop using the spool when I can see the card hub through the strands. I then secure the rest of the tape onto an old hub (of the same material) with blue painters tape then wind on. The next leftover filament gets spliced and wound on. Doesnt matter to me if the colours are not the same as long as the material is the same. I eventually end up with a spool of multicolour filament. The splices are nigh on perfect and do not adversely affect the AMS or the extruder. If anyone is interested, the tool is a Sunlu Filament Connector model FC01
I just encountered the same issue. The end of the filament (PLA Basic Black, shipped to me in the fall, I think, this year) pulled the tape off with it and I had to fight the AMS from sucking it in. At the end, the AMS gave up but thought there was a clog as there was nothing to pull back out. I ended up have to take the AMS apart and pull the remaining filament out and then reset to resume printing with a.new roll. Attached pic of the tape.
