I’m thinking of jumping from the A1 to P1S or X1C due to this recall mess. I’m still trying to figure out if I have the budget. Those who have used both. Which do you prefer and why?
Also, is it possible to use Octoprint with a P1S? Like is there a way to work a camera in the build so I could get AI detection?
Octoprint cant be used with any Bambu. I dont know any Project that has been Setup for the.
I have both and if you plan to get the AMS the X1 screen is a huge help with managing filaments etc. If you plan to do one filament at a time with no AMS, then the P1s is fine. The screen and buttons are quite terrible but you can use an old iPhone as a dedicated printer controller bypassing them completely. If you can afford it go for the X1 + AMS, its much nicer in daily frequent use. No need to unload/load filaments as you switch projects, nice interface.
Ya I was thinking if I get the P1S then I will do this (xtouch) since it’s like a $10 thing that will get me a touchscreen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Av64TRznlI
That or maybe panda touch. I think it’s $60 but it looks like it has a better interface.
But ya, I think any 3rd party screen won’t compare to the X1C.
The 2 major things I was wondering is if LIDAR and AI really makes a difference, and if so how
And the other thing I’m wondering is about the texture plates. No matter which I get, I’m planning on using texture plates because it has a easier time in dealing with prints without needing glue. Is there any Texture plate that works with the X1C? Or has this problem been fixed?
The Xtouch is a nice effort but quite rudimentary and cant do some things and you still have to go to stock screen for some functions. The stock buttons are just terrible, you press “down” it registered as “left” or “right”, its borderline unusable. The Panda touch is better but expensive, you could put that money towards an X1 in the first place. Also bambu is talking about doing a firmware update that will cripple both of these devices. An iPhone or android phone will do everything the stock screen can do and is the much better choice then either one those, and you can buy an old iPhone 6 for a few bucks used if you dont have one laying around. The X1 screen will do even more like selecting custom filaments, which not even the bambu handy app on an old phone can do.
The Lidar is useful for running flow rate and pressure advance anytime you get a new filament and setting those and forgetting about it, so you wont have to do calibration before each print as that saves time and space on the print plate. It does not always work with all filament types (translucent for example). You have to run the tests on a smooth PEI plate or an engineering plate, does not work on textured PEI. You can do those manually on a P1s but its much much faster on the X1 with the Lidar as instead of printing a two full plates of those flow squares (one coarse, one fine) then eyeballing it, it just does one small square and then scans it.
The AI is great at detecting the odd failure like spaghetti, it saved me a lot of time and filament.
Best plate for adhesion is PEI smooth by far. I prints 24/7 and the things I print are all problematic with adhesion. I use 60 degrees on a smooth PEI for best results. If something is super stubborn and wont stick, I use smooth PEI + nano polymer adhesive, that combo will make anything stick. Textured PEI was made for better releasing of model, not for better adhesion, I use that for projects that are less demanding or for nice texture (PET, PEY etc)
ive got a P1S, X1C, and A1. they all have there ups and downs. but when I comes to P1S vs X1C unless you need the extra heat from the bed to go over 100c on the X1C, just get the P1S. the Lidar hardly works and is sooooooooo not worth the extra money it cost. the A1 has better detection methods then the X1C frankly
in short P1S unless you need over 100c on the print bed
Yes for ABS/ASA the extra 10-20 degrees of heat help. I print my ASA at 110-115 most times and it works better then the stock profiles 90 or P1s 100 max temp. Again depends how much you print, I print 24/7 and the X1 screen and AMS are a big help compared to P1s without an AMS and totally worth the extra price to me. If you are a casual printer and dont print often the P1s is more then fine. Lidar does works for me for calibration quite well as I go though a lot of filament and get different brands each time, whatever is on sale at amazon. YMMV
the screen can be fixed with the Xtouch for $7 and you can get an ams with the P1S just like you can on the X1C. also I even print PA6-CF and PA12-CF on the P1S no issues. only filament I had to use the X1c on to work was with PC ABS mix everything else is more then fine
Yes printing is functionally the same as its the same motion system, hot ends etc. I prints ASA and Nylon on both. Yes you can get AMS with P1s but you can not set the filaments on the P1s screen and have to do it in slicer, its much more convenient on X1.
i would hardly say thats worth 500$ for that when your phone or the xtouch can do it for free
As I mentioned above, you can not set custom filaments in Bambu handy app currently, maybe in a future update. I mostly use 3d party filaments with custom profiles so its worth it to me together with the other features like faster processor, smooth camera streaming in high quality, hotter bed etc. But to each their own. I print 24/7 and those little things make a big difference. For a casual user maybe those are not a big deal.
so do I. Hence why i have 18 Bambu printers lol. i love the X1 dont get me wrong but the P1S is just the better machine for the money sad to say
I meant the OP, if he does not print much or interact with the printer daily. Better value? Maybe. Better machine? No. Just depends on your priorities and how much you value ease of use. Im an Apple tech and i appreciate elegance in design and UI/UX interaction.
its 100% better value its 500$ less. P1S with AMS is less then just an X1C. the X1C is better if you need some niche engineering filaments that need a bed temp of 120c. that still leaves out PPS PEKK and PEEK that you cant print on the X1C. so for 99% of people the P1S is the better buy. i get you like the screen but that’s not worth 500$. attach an Ipad to it for that price lol
My rule in life is to always be sceptical of anyone doling out advice such as “this is better for 99% of people”, if that was true Bambu would not sell any X1s. Some people swear a Corolla is the best thing on wheels, some prefer a Lexus. To the OP, i gave you the pluses and minuses of both and the reasons why, decide for yourself what is important and good luck with your buying decision, cant go wrong with either one. 
Personally I print as often as I can. Like I sell things online and sometimes business is good, and sometimes it isn’t. It isn’t good enough to ever get a printer to pay for itself in a few year time, but it is something.
I am the same way when it comes to whatever is on sale on Amazon. I mostly go for Sunlu, but if something else is cheap then I will go for it.
But I mostly print PLA, PETG, and sometimes TPU. The only reason why I don’t print ASA is it’s actually hard to find it as cheap as PETG and my money maker is more PLA.
Oh, I thought it was meant for keeping the model on the plate due to more surface area. Prior to the A1 I was using others like the MK3 and only used a smooth plate there. I honestly haven’t seen any difference in the release. But I have seen differences in prints staying on the plate.
In fact, I have had a harder time getting PETG a few times.
What about the AI detection?
Also, what do you mean by it isn’t worth the extra cost? Like I’m trying to be as informed as possible in my next buy.
It seems the only difference between the 2 at the end of the day is
Is that about right? I mean I know there is a difference in camera, but it isn’t like I’m sitting there all day. I only use the camera for a quick check to see if all is good.
Lots of the ai features are making their way in firmware like pressure advance and soon spaghetti detection if you have an AMS, the Lidar on all 4 of my X1C has been ok at best. Manual tunning filiments is still very needed to get good prints. Plus you can’t use lidar on textured plates. Smooth pei is awesome but it dose not adhere even half as good as the textured pei plate. Even look at the product page for it they say the same.
No matter if you print all the time or just every little bit the P1S is the way to go. I have a print farm for my side hussle . 4 X1C 8 P1S, 4 P1P and 2 A1s currently.
Only the bed of the X1C can get to 120c instead of 100c and I’ve only found that useful for PC ABS mix filament, it’s the only one that will not work at at 100c but it’s a super niche filament that’s stupid expensive
What I mean by extra cost is you will not get better prints or a longer lasting machine, it has nice features that I love to death but they are just that. 500$ for a touch screen that dose the same thing as your phone or the Xtouch is a lot. I would save the money get the P1S with the AMS and some upgrades, spend the cash you save on stuff you need
Hope that helps clear things up any more questions feel Free to ask
Likely this is what is going to happen. Like for the cost of the x1c I could get 2 AMS, but I am still researching it.
Do you have anything showing this? This was actually the major thing that was pushing me to the X1C since I can’t hook up octoprint.
Honestly, I couldn’t care that much about the first layer thing since I’m right there when the print starts and I’m not dealing with a print farm.
Like I can see a point in it if I have 3+ printers running all the time. But at that point I imagine $500 won’t make or break the deal.
Is that that flow calibration like on A1? Or is that something else?
Pressure advance is a bit different then flow dynamics on the A1. Not as satisfacted but it works well to compensate when tuning isn’t quite right
They just put spaghetti detection on the A1s with AMS in beta witch is what they have been doing with new features before moving them to the P1 and X1, also you can use a Wyze camera to alert you when a print fails and kill it from the app, that’s what I’ve been doing the last year. But if this feature works well that’s a huge plus
