The woes of owning an X2D

[AlexM]

@Alex_vG

The point I want to carry over is: I can’t see any of the claims that you see in at least the review by Aurora Tech. What I see: Some prints benefit considerably, others do less. Your prints seem to contain far more colors than the most complex ones she tested. I can’t see any claims at all in her review. If at all, it is the explicit quote I gave above, that the printer is not ideal for multicolor.

I know I’m repeating myself, but still:

X2D compared to X1C: almost 40% less purge waste, More than 40% time economy.
X2D compared to A1: More than 50% less purge waste.

X2D Compared to single nozzle printers:
vs. Centauri Carbon 2: 80% less purge waste, 25% faster print (6 hours saved)
vs. K2 Pro: 80% less purge waste, 11% faster print (2 hours saved)
vs. SparkX i7: 75% less purge waste, 16% faster print (3 hours saved)

How is that not significantly better results than a single nozzle printer?

EDIT: Funny enough I just found this in the official Bambu documentation of the FTS:

Dual-extrusion 3D printers significantly accelerate multi-color printing by reducing the flushing time required by single-extrusion machines. Traditionally, ensuring filaments reached the correct nozzle required manually swapping spools between AMS units. With the Filament Track Switch, those days are over. It intelligently routes any filament from your AMS units to whichever nozzle the slicer assigns, giving you total hardware flexibility and faster prints.

@Alex_vG

@Alex_vG

Nowhere is said that those time and waste numbers carry over to prints with far more colors.

Before purchasing, out of curiosity, I downloaded the latest version of Bambu Studio, installed an X2D and sliced some files to see the time benefits, although that was not my main incentive (it was: no more contamination between different materials, heated chamber, the finer belts, better cooling & overhangs). That would have been a great option for you too, as the tests didn’t cover the type of prints that you apparently want to make.

I actually did a similar test shortly after ordering the printer. And the results were not good. On a 2-color print the X2D marginally less purge than P1S, while showing slight increase in print time. So in real world use cases, depending on the specific print, even 2-color prints are no better than 1 single nozzle printer.

See my post here: X2D showing slower printing speeds than P1, how is that possible?!

@Alex_vG

I could also imagine that your unit has a defect? Have you contacted support about it? Did you calibrate flow & flow dynamics for the used filaments on the aux extruder? Those are independent from the main extruder and not automatic. Maybe flow calibration solves your adhesion issues?

That might be. I have not done extensive testing on the issue. At least not recently.
And checking my printer I see it already worked 1,200 hours - so maybe it’s due for a re-calibration. (not sure how many print-hours ago I last calibrated it)

@Alex_vG

I don’t agree. Many use the X2D without it. I have installed a manual switch: The „Four In Two“ PTFE Adapter - Free 3D Print Model - MakerWorld

That’s a very interesting solution. And free to boot. I wasn’t familiar with it. (hopefully Bambu won’t decide to remove it because it competes with a product they sell)
The FTS does have one advantage over it - it’s controlled electronically. Which means the sliced file can use the same filament on different nozzle, in accordance to need. One of the features of the Bambu Slicer is the “Filament-saving mode” (it’s the default mode when slicing). Which tried to minimize waste by routing the colors to the relevant nozzle.

Introduction to Filament Grouping Strategy for Dual Nozzle Printers

Without the FTS, it can only assign specific colors to specific nozzles, and you need to manually place your filament in the correct AMS.
But when you have FTS, it can assign the same color to different nozzles at different times, thus supposedly reducing filament purge.

This is not a “Hack”, this is a feature of X2D.

As explained here : Filament Track Switch | Bambu Lab US Store

The filament track switch unbinds the AMS from specific nozzles, allowing any filament to feed into any nozzle regardless of configuration. This enables dynamic filament mapping, permitting mid-print color reassignments that significantly boost multi-color efficiency.