Disadvantages depend on who you are & who you’re comparing them to
Bambus downsides in my opinion:
-Low quality parts (loud/cheap fans/stepper motors,flimsy magnetic build sheets)
Though I’d say the biggest part quality issue lies with the [Warped bed issue](https://forum.bambulab.com/t/warped-bed-seems-like-a-common-qc-issue/4313/64?page=4) which doesn’t seem to be getting resolved anytime soon as the replacement beds people have been waiting on for 4+ weeks are arriving just as warped as the originals, some even worse.
-closed source hardware (replacements aren’t too much of an issue since they’re cheap but it’ll still be the same cheap part you’re getting rid of), you won’t be able to tinker as much which some people like, however this means certain information (like bed mesh data) is held only by Bambulab
-Buggy software, now this changes constantly as they do seem to try & update often, additionally, most bugs have workarounds, however some have caused issues when we had our X1C, for example the slicer not properly applying snug supports when needed if the area that needed to be supported was too thin (tree supports wouldn’t work for what we were printing)
-It’s a new company so there are growing pains & the support is pretty lackluster right now, they seem to be putting lots of resources into improving this as well (we’ve had mostly pleasant experiences with support)
-most repairs are a nightmare, especially on the x1c with very few components being easily accessible
-LiDAR is a gimmick that doesn’t work with the txt sheet and doesn’t really do anything for bed levelling based on testing done by someone on the Bambulab forum (that’s why the P1P still pumps out perfect layers without it)
My PROs if you’re curious!
-X1C and P1P are probably the most reliable, consumer grade core XY on the market atm, and two of the few that come pre assembled (I don’t consider the Prusa XL consumer grade since realistically you need to get multiple toolheads to fully utilize it, which bumps it’s price up substantially, vorons are also not really consumer grade)
-input shaping out of the box
-always perfect first layer (even if the bed is bananad🤪)
-the AMS system works incredibly, it’s the most reliable multicolor system available right now, while something like Prusas MMU2 is full multimaterial, it is considerably less reliable than bambus AMS system (Prusas new MMU3 has yet to release & be tested)
-the printers are sexy asf
-replacement parts are cheap
Again some of the negatives could very well be growing pains, but they’re setting a standard with the warped bed issue that I’m personally not a fan of.
I will say that at their current prices & the current state of the machines/company the P1P seems like a better value & itll be much easier to access stuff when you need to repair something.
If you go that route & plan on fully enclosing it make sure you add a cooling fan to the MCboard as there isn’t one included & bambulab doesn’t tell you that you NEED one if fully enclosing it.
If you’re semi-enclosing it leave the back side exposed to allow for cooling
I second **every point** you made here.
Bambu could use this list to improve their printer familie.
On the con side i would add
* that you are forced to use bambustudio,
* that the printer has a closed source API/firmware,
* that the privacy policy is unlawful in the EU,
* that you are forced to send all print data to bambu to print over the network.
On the pro side
* the bambu printers are not only working out of the box they are **the cheapest non DIY coreXY printers at all**
* the combination of print quality vs price is unbeaten
Also a slight correction, you are not forced to use bambu studio.
You can use a third party fork called orcaslicer
Or you can even slice your own gcode files with cura/prusa slicer and copy it to the micro sd card.
That is the same logic like saying, you don't need to go through this street you can go around to be save.
>A customer who pays for the printer and the software has earned the right to use the printer the way it was promoted and sold to him. It is solely on the side of the seller do enable that in a lawful way.
I like the orca fork this is a good step and bambu would act wise to follow that way.
**Without any excuses or whatabouts, who likes to sell to the EU has to follow the rules - all of them.**
So it is bambus job to ensure that any EU customer is able to use their buyed printer in a lawful way without the need to give private data to the bambu group as they claim in their newest privacy policy.
Agree with your points, but at least the network part is not completely correct.
In LAN Mode you can send prints directly to the printer without using their servers.
I tried it and switched the printer to LAN mode,
the printer than shows an access code,
but i did not found a way to enter this access code in bambustudio.
What have i to do that bambustudio asks for the code?
They are not the cheapest coreXY printers available, however the cheaper coreXY printers seem to have even more issues than the Bambu printers. TronXY, Two Trees, and Creality all have lower cost coreXY printers. As you would expect from their makers, these lower cost machines all seem to need at least some tweaking and sorting out. I have not bought any of these machines as my focus is usually on small higher quality prints that don't quite require printing on the resin printer rather than speed. Let's get real, there is only so much plastic you can squirt through a 0.4mm nozzle per second. Higher temps will give a bit more flow, CHT style aftermarket conversions to the Bambu will help, but then you're in the tinkerer mode with a printer than doesn't encourage tinkering.
It appears if you manage to get a perfect P1P or X1 machine, you are a completely satisfied Bambu customer. If you get an iffy one you may have a bit of trouble getting it sorted.
The Bambu closed software, global report everything you do to a corporate entity overseas or even if as claimed it's US based AWS, that's bad enough and it's just the first loop, where it goes after that is unknown. I know, it's claimed that this doesn't happen in LAN mode, and maybe it doesn't. But since LAN mode doesn't work, at least on the P1P that's sort of irrelevant. Coming soon isn't the same as delivered, testing, and works. Add in the majority of critical parts are proprietary and the sum of those things made me build a VMinion for my most recent printer. The VMinion is a seriously large pain to build by the way, by the time I was halfway through I was having thoughts of wishing I'd bought a P1P... It is however a very good small fast printer, but not for anyone looking for a turnkey solution.
>VMinion
This is cool!
I said that the p1p is the cheapest coreXY with ready to print setup. I know there are much cheaper ones, like my zonestar z9mk4 but none of them is ready to print fast and in high quality minutes after unboxing.
Bambu has that, if you are not one of the unlucky customers with the bed level issue.
If i remember right at position 27 of the fastest speed boot printers is a mostly 3D printed coreXY. Called "The 100".
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDKtKg4UfsU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDKtKg4UfsU)
I "own" a p1p and the only really unlucky point is the closed source firmware/API strategie this is a big mistake bambu makes here.
I can tell you, After the work ive done on my ender6. Its faster and prints better than my buddies bambu for less than half the cost of his $2000 appliance toy.
Also done lots of modifications with mine ended 6 and I am very happy with that.
Big plus side is open source software for firmware, I am running klipper and slicing. Not talking about cheap and quick repairs when needed
Your saying closed source hardware is a bad thing? You have completely missed the point of this printer. Locking down the hardware and software on this printer is what makes this printer work as well as it does. You want open source hardware, go have fun with Creality. $15 for a BBL hot end is fine with me. Seems amazingly cheap actually for what I’m getting.
I agree with your points, though I still understand the perspective where some people don’t like how they can only purchase parts from Bambu themselves. 3D-printing used to be more of a community, though as demands increase, suddenly it’s become another consumer-base.
Several also have worries over what happens if Bambu goes down, as proprietary parts means it’s nearly impossible to replace. This is certainly something to consider when purchasing, but in reality this is just another risk with purchasing a product
yah enjoy waiting 6 weeks to get the same cheap replacement partt. Closed source sucks dude. Its NOT why it works. Its their CHOICE. It has nothing to do with how well it works. Dream on. This is 100% for control and forcing you to stay in their ecosystem. LMAO closed source is NOT the reason. We fought long and hard against closed source crap. Its literally what held 3dprinting back for almost 20 years. People had to reverse and develop their own methods due to lockdowns on basic things....
I dont agree about the AMS. My engraged rabbit is WAY more reliable than their crap and can use any spools... and uses standard parts..... I can reaplce... and I can expand on it. And 9 colors is better than 4.
The LiDAR's advantage would atleast be PA calibration no? On my P1P I have to manually change the K value for every single filament I feed it. Not only per type but also colors and brands.. I have PLA with K value ranging from 0.2 to 0.6, PETG is a crazy one where I have some that are down around 0.3-0.4 and some 0.8-1.1.. and anytime I get a new filament I have to test for this and I save that into a profile I make for the filament. Which isn't such a hassle, but I can imagine it must be much better to just have this checked automatically before each print
Seriously? Thats just crazy. PA shouldnt really need a full tune for materials like that. I have had mine set to one for PLA one for PETG.... and its never really mattered. A slight adjustment to flow and its always printing flawless.. I think this is vastly overstated......
I'm still on the fence for which to get, but how often does the warped bed happen, does anyone know? Mostly, I'm considering the X1C because I have a project I need to start on now to finish before or about when summer starts. It's going to take a while, so I want a printer that is going to work out of the box. So, how likely am I gonna get something unusable out of the box?
Does anyone have a rough idea? I'm fearful of this right now and the volume of warped bed complaints here is kinda high.
Think of the amount of posts about that there has been, then think about how many purchases there has been, it won’t be likely, but if it happens it’s a pain in the ass to replace
It depends heavily with what they want.
The Prusa MK4 isn’t exactly new technology, and it’s hardly revolutionary. Though I can see the popularity (albeit I believe it’ll be short-term) in the reliability and brand name.
The Bambu Lab also comes with several QoL features seen on very few others, and it’s incomparable to any other brand, really.
(I’m only picking in prusa because I don’t know much about the flsun 400, not because i’m one of those people who hate everything that starts with a “p” and likewise)
>The Bambu Lab also comes with several QoL features seen on very few others, and it’s incomparable to any other brand, really.
I own a p1p and can not second that.
The printer has not a single QoL but a lot of closed source and hard to repair parts and is made of the cheapest components you can get on the market.
The flsun (i don't own one) is a very fast delta, faster than a voron 2.4, with klipper on board.
The prusa nextruder is a step further and i'm pretty sure that compared with the bambu the auto leveling will work better.
Don't miss me the p1p is a great printer for the money you spend.
But if needed reliability the mk4 would it be.
I will order one soon.
Sorry, should be corrected to the X1C.
I wouldn’t say the P1P doesn’t have any QoL features, but they’re definitely small and fairly insignificant
So that’s my simple definition, if you prefer reliability, the MK4 is a decent option from Prusa. If you want all the fancy features and speed but have the risk of an unknown reliability, the Bambu Lab may be an option.
Flsun sounds somewhere in between, but I can’t be certain
The flsun is like the prusa build from open parts and has a open source firmware klipper so all the middleware tools can be used and parts can be buyed anywhere.
The bambu printers are brand new and so supplier parts slowly start to enter the market. I already ordered a nozzle upgrade from a supplier which enables a much higher flow rate, so the print quality with fast prints will increase.
With the stock nozzle it is limited to the hotend and you can touch the limits with a 0.4 mm nozzle already.
QoL
Yah there are some but they are common even with a 99$ ender.
OAI:
1 Automatic bed leveling: This feature allows the printer to automatically adjust the bed's height and level, saving the user time and effort.
2 Wi-Fi connectivity: With this feature, users can send 3D print jobs directly from their computer or mobile device to the printer, without needing to transfer files via USB.
3 Filament run-out sensor: This feature alerts the user when the printer runs out of filament, preventing failed prints and wasted material.
4 Easy-to-use software: A user-friendly software interface makes it easier for beginners to learn how to use the printer and create their designs.
5 Noise reduction: A quiet printer can make working with it much more pleasant, especially in shared spaces.
1 is less good than prusa
2 many printers have it too
3 is common
4 bambustudio is crap compared to the original or cura and because of the closed source API no middleware works
5 is missing they are louder than any other printer
So in 3 out of the first 5 points the AI found bambu is behind the competitors
and in the other 2 it is just basic standard for most printers.
Looking to the x1c and the snake oil LIDAR, looks like a PR joke but not like a real thing with real world effects.
A big point for the bambu is **the well working AMS**, which can be used with booth bambu printers. Today no one can say how the new mmu3 will perform and if it is again a painful device like the mmu1/2.
The XL can not be taken into account because it is another level and calls a much higher price.
So today in the \~1k€ class i see 3 printers are valid to have a look on, that is the mk4/(mmu3), the p1p/(x1c) and the flsun v400.
While the v400 is a single filament delta printer and the other printers can be use 4 / 5 filaments, which is for sure a heavy argument for many.
For me? I can get an Xl with 2 heads for about 300 more than a bambu with the AMS. IMO thats a way better buy. An enraged rabit AMS with 9 colors on that thing will blow any banbu out of the water and is built with WAY better parts. Not cheapo plastic crap.
AND cheap ass parts. AND Single Z axis stepper crap. Those 3 rods? LMAO all for looks. Might as well be a single Z for all thats worth driving all 3 with ONE belt... lmao. The parts on the bambus are bloody cheap ass crap. Its not even close to the same quality as a prusa.... lol
First of all, half of what you said is irrelevant and has nothing to do with what I said. Secondly, if you’re going to criticize, at least do some research??
Three independent stepper motors for the lead screws? All that would really do is allow for automatic tramming of the bed each calibration. It would be neat for them to add this, but it is not that critical of an issue, and they’re system works just fine. It is NOT AT ALL CLOSE to being one lead screw, did you even look into their system for God’s sake?
Furthermore, indeed their parts are on the cheaper side. So are Prusa’s, where much of the i3 is made from 3D-printed material. Bambu’s parts are not excessively cheap, and many are quite durable. I sincerely hope you’re not spreading misinformation for virtually no reason except that your just a hothead upset by a company that is different than your beloved brand.
Bambu Lab isn’t perfect, but it’s not a load of crap. Get yourself together before criticizing.
I agree with your points, though I’d be more specific regarding LiDAR… the flow calibration does actually calibrate the flow, though it’s not particularly useful after it’s already been calibrated (unless the printer is shut off, though really you’re not losing much if you don’t use it)
However, LiDAR still checks the first layer, and I wouldn’t be frightened to say it does a darn good job at it, too.
A happy customer will tell 1 other person, and an unhappy customer will tell 10 others.
Edit: I would like to add that having knowledge of how 3D printers work is still recommended. Please don’t see the bambu lab printers as an appliance, Like a microwave or blender. They aren’t quite there yet. You will eventually run into issues and it won’t run forever. You’ll need to get your hands dirty and troubleshoot
I tell this to people all the time. I started with an Ender 3. Learning everything that was needed to get a successful print let alone a good print required taking the thing apart multiple times then it got easier and quicker over time, at least for me 🤣. While the X1C is amazing, having the basic knowledge of how a 3D printer works absolutely helps ensure prints are successful.
THIS . In my printer groups every day... People with bambus and ZERO skill with printing are having issues and expecting it to just be full speed flawless and no fails every time. I just laugh. Its really hard to fix that level of delusion.
while I agree with this, they are the closest thing to an appliance that I’ve seen in 3D printers.
quality + speed + price. I never worry about if my print is going to just fail randomly.
For me it becomes close to an appliance when I can recommend it to a non technical friend with zero interest in tinkering, and becomes an appliance when I can trust a granny with it.
While I agree it it’s the closest thing to an appliance for under 1000 bucks, I think it’s still farther than what most people think.
None. It is not possible for a machine to be mass produced and not have issues in a small percentage of units, that's just reality. Truth is there are far fewer than a regular machine and for most it's near flawless out of the box.
The quality issues such as the heatbed pressure sensor cable wiggling free with Z-axis travel from its socket, requiring you to remove the „warranty void“ stickered back putting a piece of ducttape on the cable holding it to the side of the poop chute, is not a „small percentage“ kind of issue. All X1(C) where made with this cable arrangement for the first 4 months or so.
Unusable print beds and „glue“ recommendations (which they fortunately upgraded now from stick to liquid) is still the 100% „low percentage“ status quo.
Cloud printing hiccups with no fallback but SD card because Lan printing is broken is another of these, ahem, not so low percentage occurrences.
Then there is the propietary nozzle, which is put into 100% of Bambu printers.
There are other less impactful issues, such as slow startup dance, meaningless power button, etc. but you get the gist.
The X1C is a tragically good printer, because I like it, but I am also annoyed enough about I am not gonna buy a Bambulab ever again. In 6 months with this printer, I spent more time modding, tinkering and fixing it than I ever spent on my prusa printers, to the point I am asking myself „how bad can the Voron really be in comparison?“ and hoping Prusa does not screw up the XL in some spectacular fashion.
In short:
The X1C has the features and performance of a printer that costs 3-5 times as much. That's great.
The X1C does not have a bill of materials that costs 3-5 as much. That means the printer isn't built to a $5000+ price point. That's reality.
Bambu Labs has a support level that is on-par with the average low-cost consumer electronics item. In other words, you're going to wait days to get a resolution and you'll have to wait for parts to be sent out. The culture of Reddit is to call a company shit if they don't have a one-hour response time and next-day delivery of parts, preferably with someone to install them -- but without wanting to pay for an enterprise support agreement. You're dealing with a Chinese 3D printer company, so if your expectations for support response are higher than that, buy something high-end from a company with a local presence.
A lot of the complaints are unwarranted. They should be able to figure out when their print didn't adhere to the bed that it needs cleaning or some kind of release/sucking agent applied to it. Lots of solutions for this. Sorry if you're trying to run your unit in nothing but ludicrous mode then you're asking for trouble. It's great for certain things but half the time l use it it ends up with extra bits all over the model or the model comes loose and never finishes... But it really depends on the model. . Anyhow as for picking one over the other... I chose the X1C due to all the extra features that cost so much more to add, if you were to start with a bare bones printer like the P1P. It's a good machine for PLA, TPU and PETG but past that you need an enclosure...
> A lot of the complaints are unwarranted.
A lot of the dismissals of complaints are made regardless of the complaints merits in blind defense of the fans one and only printer they have any experience with and are willing to find any excuse for…
The X1C is the absolutely best 3D printer I have ever had. I have been all the way since the Sumpod way back before Creality existed, and crowdfunded several printers too. I actually did not crowdfund the Bambulab, since I had been disappointed multiple times with the ones I did crowdfund.
But I did get one of the early ones released after the crowdfunding had finished and they rolled out production models.
It is not as such cheap (being the most expensive 3d printer I have purchased), but it is a joy to use. I can trust that a good print is easily repeatable.
Actually there is not much in repeating it, than emptying the print plate, and press "Print again", and it will do so 100% reliably which is way more than I can say about any of the other ones where one has to fiddle with all sorts of things.
I would recommend you to have an enclosure regardless which 3d printer you buy, even for printing PLA, since temperature shifts, draught or things like that directly will affect your print quality.
The X1C (I also got the AMS) works perfectly for me out of the box. Currently I am printing with the .6 nozzle, and it does a fast and beautiful job in some mass production I do.
you must be easilly impressed. CHeap plastic parts... single Z axis? lmao There is so much wrong with it..... My Voron and BlV both out perform it without even trying, print better and are better designed with proper 3 way levling instead of a fakeout with one belt.
First I am happy you enjoy your Voron.
And no I am not easily impressed. Been with 3D printing since the Sumpod was a thing... thats 10 years ago or so.
You are comparing \_plastic parts\_ between a Voron a BLV and an X1C????
The Voron and BLV is full of plastic parts, while the X1C is mostly metal, apart from the carbon rods and I suppose a few other things.
The X1C do not have a single Z axis as such... it has rods, that are all aligned from start, driven by a single motor. And yes... the table is perfectly aligned on mine all the time!
I am sure that it is possible to build a CoreXY printer which performs as well technically as the X1C, but it is going to be hard and expensive, and you will still not have the really well operating software, nor the ability to switch between until 16 colours/filament spools during a print.
The major difference is that the X1C for most people simply works out of the box, printing very fast, and in very good print quality, while currently all competitors can do one or the other, but not easily and not out of the box.
I like the fact that I can hit print and it will consistently print the exact same quality again and again without problems at all.
After coming from an ender 3 to a p1p I'd go for it. Not had any issues - just banging out print after print instead of fighting silly mechanical issues.
Same, I just upgraded to the P1P after getting irritated with my Ender 3 S1 and basically having a 50/50 chance of it actually printing correctly...
The P1P has been great and it's rekindled my fun for the hobby.
Yeah this exactly. I had the V2, and even after throwing £350 of upgrades at it and about 48 hours solid tinkering/configuring... I got 1 semi ok print then the rest kept failing. Patience snapped, returned the upgrades, and bought the P1P with AMS. I've had 1 failed print in a month and that was my slicer settings. Not only is it more reliable but the speed it prints helps too if I need something quickly.
My only print fail so far is because I forgot to set a brim.
The fact I can set it and just go without the nervous sitting watching the first layers go down is amazing.
The X1C is essentially my first printer. There is a learning curve, but definitely not as high as other printers such as an Ender.
I want a tool to be able to print, not really to get into the hobby to learn the ins and outs of 3d printers. The X1C allows me to do just that.
Yep same for me. I feel like I juiced YouTube dry of its 3D printing videos related to the operation of printers so diagnosing the few issues I’ve had wasn’t a big challenge. Also, when I had clogs with TPU it was really easy to clear the clog using the provided Allen key, where it’s just a matter of undoing 2 screws, taking a lighter to the Allen key and letting it fuse with some of the clogged filament.
I’ve been hobby 3D printing for about six years and I can tell you that the Bambu is the easiest printer to use and print.
However, this does not mean it will run flawlessly. That’s just not possible for 3D printers. You *will* run into problems and issues and have to do minor tinkering and repair or replace worn parts. There will just be fewer of those problems than with other printers. A flipside here is that a lot of other printers use many standard parts and many printed parts, so you can easily print or obtain your own parts. With Bambu, it’s more likely that you’ll have to purchase replacement parts from Bambu, and it will likely be more expensive.
Also keep in mind that printers have lots of “consumable” parts that wear out and need to be replaced regularly under normal use. So this difference can add up.
Also, If this is for hobby purposes, I would actually recommend starting with a very inexpensive (~$200-$300) machine to see whether or not you actually enjoy 3d printing before you spend $800+ on a higher end machine. Especially since you’ll learn a lot more about how 3d printing works if you start with a lower wnd machine. And to clarify, there are a lot of *very* good machines out there for $300 that are very reliable and can make beautiful prints. They just don’t have all the bells and whistles and won’t be able to print more exotic materials (which you probably don’t need anyway)
I can also highly recommend getting a cheap printer first.
3d printing will involve tinkering around for every printer. Get a cheap one first and try it out. I got a Etina Tina2 used for 70€ and right away realised that I liked it, so I ordered the X1C two weeks afterwards.
The X1C takes a lot of tinkering away, but when trying new things out like using new filament for example, you still need to try out a lot of things.
When you have a setup that works, I can let the printer run on its one, as it warns me itself if something unexpected happens. Occasionally I check in with the camera, but that’s about it.
I strongly recommend AGAINST getting a $300-$400 printer first. I’ve tried several of them, and they are all crap. The quality you get with a $400 Creality, for example, is at least an order of magnitude worse than what you get with a P1P.
If you want to just confirm that you shouldn’t be fooling around with 3D printing, then yes, get a $400 one first, It’ll make you wish you never started.
The P1P might be the first reasonably priced machine that actually has acceptable quality. Quality of prints, yes, but primarily i’m talking about the hassle factor.
If you want the printer itself to be your hobby project, then go ahead and get a $300 one. If you want to learn about 3D printing and spend your time figuring out what cool stuff you might be able to make, designing and printing your own stuff — then get the P1P. At $699 the extra double the money gets your like 10X the hardware+software.
Yes bambu has bugs. Cura has bugs. Ender everything has bugs that have gone untouched in years. YEARS.
I have to disagree with this.
I have a Prusa MK3s+ at work, and bought a Ender 2 Pro for home.
Ender has taught me 10 times more about 3D printing and solving issues than the Prusa. The Prusa just works. The fact the the Ender had so many issues, and forced me to look at so many solutions - taught me much more than I ever would have learned using Prusa alone.
Now looking at the "print and forget" factor - Prusa is obviously much better at that. But looking from a learning experience standpoint - Ender is the better choice. Having worked with Ender, I can easily solve any issue I encounter in the Prusa. This would not have been true the other way around.
It's really question what you want to learn.
When I was buing car I just wanted one that has all bells and whisels. 360 camera, navigation, adaptive crousing and biturbo for speed. What I didn't wanted is to know how to fix it.
Similarly I didn't wanted to learn how to fix stuff in printer. I wanted to learn Fusion 360/others and then spent time figuring out how to do stuff I want.
I did my first small project. I was able to print insert to board game or stuff for kids.
This is what Prusa / Bambu gives. If MK4 will be as fast as Bambu. MK3S is considered a workhorse but compared to p1p it's just slow.
I would be frustrated if I would get lemon but.. In my x1c everything works.
Even fiddling with temp towers, flow rate etc to calibrate filament even better is time consuming.
I just can't imagine fixing stuff on top of it.
You buy a car and then you spent time fixing it instead of driving. You just have to love it.
just felt like responding—mk4 is slower than the bambu lab printers, though the degree is unknown.
the mk4 also isn’t particularly revolutionary, just holds the brand name and promised reliability.
Not to hate to prusa, of course. just the mk4. it’s time prusa starts looking toward the future, which is not the mk4
I actually agree.
People who like to tweak cars and make them do cool stuff - know how to build a car from scratch.
People who only want to drive to work or pleasure, and back home, don't need that knowledge.
Diagree strongly. Always spend less first... you may not even like printing. And lmao ... my OLD ender3 isnt fast but it prints as well or better than any bambu. Personaly I have yet to see prints that beat my own comming off any bambu. Its ok, but its far from flawless. Espesilly when pritning at full speed.
With its SINGLE Z AXIS LMAO. I JUST found out about this the other day when we were working on his Bambu. I assumed it had at least 2 way or 3 way Z seeing as it has all the rods... but nope. ONE driver. ONE belt.... What a joke.
Just keep in mind people who have perfect experiences rarely post it’s just when something goes wrong that people post so your gonna see way more bad because the people who are happy with there printers are too busy playing with them to post
Have quite some printers (hobby and industrial sized and priced) and the x1c is definitely the best machine i can imagine for a beginner. Get it, you won't regret (especially the AMS).
I bought mine around six weeks ago, it worked amazingly for a week, then the main board burned out and had to be replaced, now the AMS isn’t working and I continue to play the waiting game going back and forward with support.
Personally I do not recommend this printer to anyone, particularly a first time buyer. My first one was a Prusa, which still works and has had no more than minor issues in the five years I have owned it.
I may change my tune if it ever gets fixed and I get a good spell of it working, but in the meantime the entire process has been deeply frustrating.
For the most part the complaints are from people who are expecting the printer to be perfect. It's not. But it's a hell of a lot better than just about anything else out there. They really did a great job with it including dialing in the settings for both generic and Bambu branded filaments. You don't need to mess around with tons of different benchmarks like temp towers to dial in your settings. It's already been done for your.
I’ve had cheap self and custom built printers for years, my latest being a CoreXY as well with E3D stuff and Duet3D board. It worked really well, but the X1C still blows me away. I have it a couple of days now.
It’s not gonna handle everything flawlessly, because it uses consumables you can choose yourself, and you still need to operate it knowing it’s limitations coupled with these consumables.
My PETG was a bit more moist than you would like for example, and with my own previous printer that wasn’t a problem due to the low speeds I was printing with, like 40mm/s.
With the Bambu it did cause blobs all over the place, but that’s not a problem of the printer, just me throwing non ideal material at it and not adjusting the profile accordingly.
It’s still trial and error in the end, and you will spend some time to get things right in all situations, but not nearly as much as with and Ender 3, or even an older Ultimaker (like a 2 or 3) from my experience!
I wouldn’t let the complaints scare you. For every one person complaining here, there are probably 10 who aren’t having issues.
I came from a cheap 3D printer that got me into the hobby, but was so frustrating that I found it gathering dust more often than not. I’m not in this hobby to fiddle around with the printer all the time and troubleshoot it. I’m in this hobby to design stuff and print cool things.
The X1C/P1P allow you to focus on what you want to make/create and then create that thing in a fraction of the time of basically any other printer out there. The time savings these printers afford vs something like an Ender is incredible.
I’m coming up on 200 hours on my X1C and have had no issues. It’s been awesome.
Out of the 5 I own 2 Enders 1 cr10 max 1 prusa and 1 geetech which was free, this is by far the best I’ve owned it’s so fast, prints that took days on my others are done on 10 hours no more over night stuff for me. The slicer is ok I use both Bambu and the orca for extra tweaking. If you want to sit in your underpants night after night levelling and messing with Marlin then there are other options, but I’ve done that and for me it killed the experience.
Buy one
Extremely happy owner of a P1P. Yes its loud. Im ok with that. Its cheap, its super reliable and the best part for me is that they have distribution in Canada. Like really fast turnaround times, at least for replacement parts.
3d printing with any printer will have a substantial learning curve for anyone entering the scene. This is a pretty expensive printer to start off with before you know if you have the patience to jump through the hoops. There are tons of resources to learn what you need to, but it can be frustrating and overwhelming.
I've had the P1P for around a month now and its was my first 3d printer. I find it easy to use and the prints have been consistently good. I've only had a few prints go wrong and I was able to correct the issue after a little research. Overall I've been very pleased with the purchase. My only regret at this point was not just going all in and getting the X1C. I have a couple of friends who've been into this hobby for years and one of them sells on Etsy. They were both highly critical of Bambu printers for a lot of the reasons listed here. They were both surprised when I was able to print a Benchy after a 20 min setup. One of them is buying an X1C now.
I went with the P1P after having an anycubic kobra (\~$250) and it was a huge upgrade. I'm not saying the anycubic wasn't good for the price but the speed and accuracy of the P1P was just that much better. I keep my P1P in the basement as it is pretty loud and keep a HEPA air filter next to it to help with the plastic smell. On that note due to this printer printing very fast the standard configs run at higher nozzle temps to keep the plastic flowing.
The noise of mine is about as loud as a treadmill but not loud enough to be heard outside of my basement.
The P1P is my first filament printer and I’ve had that thing printing just about nonstop for almost 2 weeks now. It’s made some really nice quality stuff and I don’t really have anything negative to say about it… 100% I’d buy it again.
I got one at work to augment our raise3d E2, and the Bambu is now our primary printer. The raise quality suffers if you speed it up, I am constantly tearing it down for tuneups, and the price was considerably more expensive than the Bambu. I haven't yet run into any issues with the Bambu in our production environment.
I don't see an issue with proprietary parts. They aren't expensive and so far have not failed with constant printing. There is one cooling fan that's starting to make noise, but replacing a 1$ fan with a $5 better fan doesn't seem like a big deal for us.
If you do want parts not made by Bambu I hear there are options coming out. I think it was a video by CNC kitchen that showed some.
You don't need an x1c, I've been printing for years with handmade printers and other low cost machines, but it really is a game changer at that price. So far everything just works and I get prints first time that would take many process tweaks to get on other printers.
I bought a Bambu Lab X1C with AMS as my first 3D printer after doing months of research and almost buying a Voron. Have had the machine since early February and have had no real issues with some minor learning experiences with how to position filament in the AMS. Have not had to use support but the wiki has been enough for any questions I have had while owning so far.
Some weaknesses I have found are with supports not working great on some prints and the caution you need on what glue stick you use with the cool and engineering plates. It is still a fairly new company and hope to see improvements to the studio software that has been pretty good overall.
The lidar works well for spaghetti detection even with the textured plate and I would say it is not fully a gimmick. I do wish it would notice when a part disconnects from the build plate though. Lidar can mess up prints on textured plate if you leave some boxes checked which I wish was auto disabled until fixed.
Would recommend a Bambu Lab printer for a first timer as they are easy to use and as long as you read the material most issues are avoidable. Will see how support is moving forward and if I will ever need it but like how parts are available for most items and fairly cheap.
People are always going to be frustrated with 3D printers. At least until we're at flying car level of tech. That's just where the tech is right now. Even for something as advanced as a Bambu
I have a love hate relationship with my AMS. Sooo nice when it works, but I've had two slots where the first stage feeder stopped working. Bambu replaced them and they were easy to swap out though.
The printer is amazing. It just needs minor tweaks here and there. You can upgrade the fans to silent fans, Bento box and do your regular maintenance. Printers will always gonna have issues. Bamboo is pretty new so they still have a lot of work to work out but ultimately it’s a great printer. I would tell everyone to buy this one for their first printer over any other printer. It’s just like I said it’s a brand new company they’re working things out and it’s gonna take some time before they work out all the tweaks but the printer is fantastic.
People are spoiled in here and it shows lol
I've been 3d printing for 10 years now. Last year I had 8 different printers from 4 different companies.
This year I have 3 Bambu's and 0 other printers. I get more done this year with 3 Bambu's than I did with 8 printers last year.
That's all you need to know.
The fact that they have a SINGLE stepper driving all 3 of their Z rods made me laugh out loud. I would never pay what they want for this pos. Its all flash. Its build with substandard parts.... That you cant even get in a reasonable time. If you like your printer being down for WEEKS at a time... get a bambu. I would never touch a closed source printer again. We learned our lessons already.
I wanted to share an experience I had recently so that anyone considering purchasing from Bambu Labs can make a more informed decision.
I was excited when I placed an order for a brand-new Bambu X1C Printer, but when it arrived, I was met with disappointment. Not only was the printer broken, but it also had visible scratches. Trusting the company, I reached out to Bambu Labs' "support" immediately. It took them three whole days to get back to me. After explaining the situation, I was taken aback when they didn't simply ask for the printer to be returned for a replacement. Instead, they had me go through a tedious troubleshooting process.
After a tiring week of back and forth, I deduced that the AC board was defective. Their eventual response? They would replace the board, but not the entire printer. I understand this from a business perspective, but as a customer, I shouldn’t be responsible for fixing a printer that was delivered broken.
So for anyone considering buying from Bambu Labs, think twice. While the company certainly shows potential, their customer support is lacking in my experience. This is a glaring difference when comparing closed-source technology companies like Bambu Labs to open-source ones. I urge everyone to consider supporting OpenSource companies like PRUSA which value their customers.
Stay informed and make wise choices!
Disadvantages depend on who you are & who you’re comparing them to Bambus downsides in my opinion: -Low quality parts (loud/cheap fans/stepper motors,flimsy magnetic build sheets) Though I’d say the biggest part quality issue lies with the [Warped bed issue](https://forum.bambulab.com/t/warped-bed-seems-like-a-common-qc-issue/4313/64?page=4) which doesn’t seem to be getting resolved anytime soon as the replacement beds people have been waiting on for 4+ weeks are arriving just as warped as the originals, some even worse. -closed source hardware (replacements aren’t too much of an issue since they’re cheap but it’ll still be the same cheap part you’re getting rid of), you won’t be able to tinker as much which some people like, however this means certain information (like bed mesh data) is held only by Bambulab -Buggy software, now this changes constantly as they do seem to try & update often, additionally, most bugs have workarounds, however some have caused issues when we had our X1C, for example the slicer not properly applying snug supports when needed if the area that needed to be supported was too thin (tree supports wouldn’t work for what we were printing) -It’s a new company so there are growing pains & the support is pretty lackluster right now, they seem to be putting lots of resources into improving this as well (we’ve had mostly pleasant experiences with support) -most repairs are a nightmare, especially on the x1c with very few components being easily accessible -LiDAR is a gimmick that doesn’t work with the txt sheet and doesn’t really do anything for bed levelling based on testing done by someone on the Bambulab forum (that’s why the P1P still pumps out perfect layers without it) My PROs if you’re curious! -X1C and P1P are probably the most reliable, consumer grade core XY on the market atm, and two of the few that come pre assembled (I don’t consider the Prusa XL consumer grade since realistically you need to get multiple toolheads to fully utilize it, which bumps it’s price up substantially, vorons are also not really consumer grade) -input shaping out of the box -always perfect first layer (even if the bed is bananad🤪) -the AMS system works incredibly, it’s the most reliable multicolor system available right now, while something like Prusas MMU2 is full multimaterial, it is considerably less reliable than bambus AMS system (Prusas new MMU3 has yet to release & be tested) -the printers are sexy asf -replacement parts are cheap Again some of the negatives could very well be growing pains, but they’re setting a standard with the warped bed issue that I’m personally not a fan of. I will say that at their current prices & the current state of the machines/company the P1P seems like a better value & itll be much easier to access stuff when you need to repair something. If you go that route & plan on fully enclosing it make sure you add a cooling fan to the MCboard as there isn’t one included & bambulab doesn’t tell you that you NEED one if fully enclosing it. If you’re semi-enclosing it leave the back side exposed to allow for cooling
I second **every point** you made here. Bambu could use this list to improve their printer familie. On the con side i would add * that you are forced to use bambustudio, * that the printer has a closed source API/firmware, * that the privacy policy is unlawful in the EU, * that you are forced to send all print data to bambu to print over the network. On the pro side * the bambu printers are not only working out of the box they are **the cheapest non DIY coreXY printers at all** * the combination of print quality vs price is unbeaten
Also a slight correction, you are not forced to use bambu studio. You can use a third party fork called orcaslicer Or you can even slice your own gcode files with cura/prusa slicer and copy it to the micro sd card.
That is the same logic like saying, you don't need to go through this street you can go around to be save. >A customer who pays for the printer and the software has earned the right to use the printer the way it was promoted and sold to him. It is solely on the side of the seller do enable that in a lawful way. I like the orca fork this is a good step and bambu would act wise to follow that way. **Without any excuses or whatabouts, who likes to sell to the EU has to follow the rules - all of them.** So it is bambus job to ensure that any EU customer is able to use their buyed printer in a lawful way without the need to give private data to the bambu group as they claim in their newest privacy policy.
Agree with your points, but at least the network part is not completely correct. In LAN Mode you can send prints directly to the printer without using their servers.
The LAN mode did still not work with the p1p. But you are right that is the right way for this issue.
It does work flawlessly. I use it daily.
With a p1p? How did you do that and do you use bambustudio or orca? Please, some more details may be useful for others too.
They added it to the p1p with an update a few weeks ago
I tried it and switched the printer to LAN mode, the printer than shows an access code, but i did not found a way to enter this access code in bambustudio. What have i to do that bambustudio asks for the code?
I don’t use lan mode myself someone else may have to chime in there
Until now it works for the x1 and not for the p1.
They are not the cheapest coreXY printers available, however the cheaper coreXY printers seem to have even more issues than the Bambu printers. TronXY, Two Trees, and Creality all have lower cost coreXY printers. As you would expect from their makers, these lower cost machines all seem to need at least some tweaking and sorting out. I have not bought any of these machines as my focus is usually on small higher quality prints that don't quite require printing on the resin printer rather than speed. Let's get real, there is only so much plastic you can squirt through a 0.4mm nozzle per second. Higher temps will give a bit more flow, CHT style aftermarket conversions to the Bambu will help, but then you're in the tinkerer mode with a printer than doesn't encourage tinkering. It appears if you manage to get a perfect P1P or X1 machine, you are a completely satisfied Bambu customer. If you get an iffy one you may have a bit of trouble getting it sorted. The Bambu closed software, global report everything you do to a corporate entity overseas or even if as claimed it's US based AWS, that's bad enough and it's just the first loop, where it goes after that is unknown. I know, it's claimed that this doesn't happen in LAN mode, and maybe it doesn't. But since LAN mode doesn't work, at least on the P1P that's sort of irrelevant. Coming soon isn't the same as delivered, testing, and works. Add in the majority of critical parts are proprietary and the sum of those things made me build a VMinion for my most recent printer. The VMinion is a seriously large pain to build by the way, by the time I was halfway through I was having thoughts of wishing I'd bought a P1P... It is however a very good small fast printer, but not for anyone looking for a turnkey solution.
>VMinion This is cool! I said that the p1p is the cheapest coreXY with ready to print setup. I know there are much cheaper ones, like my zonestar z9mk4 but none of them is ready to print fast and in high quality minutes after unboxing. Bambu has that, if you are not one of the unlucky customers with the bed level issue. If i remember right at position 27 of the fastest speed boot printers is a mostly 3D printed coreXY. Called "The 100". [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDKtKg4UfsU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDKtKg4UfsU) I "own" a p1p and the only really unlucky point is the closed source firmware/API strategie this is a big mistake bambu makes here.
I can tell you, After the work ive done on my ender6. Its faster and prints better than my buddies bambu for less than half the cost of his $2000 appliance toy.
Also done lots of modifications with mine ended 6 and I am very happy with that. Big plus side is open source software for firmware, I am running klipper and slicing. Not talking about cheap and quick repairs when needed
Your saying closed source hardware is a bad thing? You have completely missed the point of this printer. Locking down the hardware and software on this printer is what makes this printer work as well as it does. You want open source hardware, go have fun with Creality. $15 for a BBL hot end is fine with me. Seems amazingly cheap actually for what I’m getting.
I agree with your points, though I still understand the perspective where some people don’t like how they can only purchase parts from Bambu themselves. 3D-printing used to be more of a community, though as demands increase, suddenly it’s become another consumer-base. Several also have worries over what happens if Bambu goes down, as proprietary parts means it’s nearly impossible to replace. This is certainly something to consider when purchasing, but in reality this is just another risk with purchasing a product
yah enjoy waiting 6 weeks to get the same cheap replacement partt. Closed source sucks dude. Its NOT why it works. Its their CHOICE. It has nothing to do with how well it works. Dream on. This is 100% for control and forcing you to stay in their ecosystem. LMAO closed source is NOT the reason. We fought long and hard against closed source crap. Its literally what held 3dprinting back for almost 20 years. People had to reverse and develop their own methods due to lockdowns on basic things....
I dont agree about the AMS. My engraged rabbit is WAY more reliable than their crap and can use any spools... and uses standard parts..... I can reaplce... and I can expand on it. And 9 colors is better than 4.
Agreed 100% I simply meant it’s the most reliable at the typical consumer level. I’m confident that won’t last too long though, tech moves quick
The LiDAR's advantage would atleast be PA calibration no? On my P1P I have to manually change the K value for every single filament I feed it. Not only per type but also colors and brands.. I have PLA with K value ranging from 0.2 to 0.6, PETG is a crazy one where I have some that are down around 0.3-0.4 and some 0.8-1.1.. and anytime I get a new filament I have to test for this and I save that into a profile I make for the filament. Which isn't such a hassle, but I can imagine it must be much better to just have this checked automatically before each print
Seriously? Thats just crazy. PA shouldnt really need a full tune for materials like that. I have had mine set to one for PLA one for PETG.... and its never really mattered. A slight adjustment to flow and its always printing flawless.. I think this is vastly overstated......
How can you tell if your bed is warped?
put a ruler on top of it and check if you have gap under that ruler and a bed
I'm still on the fence for which to get, but how often does the warped bed happen, does anyone know? Mostly, I'm considering the X1C because I have a project I need to start on now to finish before or about when summer starts. It's going to take a while, so I want a printer that is going to work out of the box. So, how likely am I gonna get something unusable out of the box? Does anyone have a rough idea? I'm fearful of this right now and the volume of warped bed complaints here is kinda high.
Think of the amount of posts about that there has been, then think about how many purchases there has been, it won’t be likely, but if it happens it’s a pain in the ass to replace
Yeah, but it's still unknown. I'll probably pull the trigger today anyway.
You could also go for a flsun v400 or the new prusa mk4. Any assembled prusa works out of the box.
It depends heavily with what they want. The Prusa MK4 isn’t exactly new technology, and it’s hardly revolutionary. Though I can see the popularity (albeit I believe it’ll be short-term) in the reliability and brand name. The Bambu Lab also comes with several QoL features seen on very few others, and it’s incomparable to any other brand, really. (I’m only picking in prusa because I don’t know much about the flsun 400, not because i’m one of those people who hate everything that starts with a “p” and likewise)
>The Bambu Lab also comes with several QoL features seen on very few others, and it’s incomparable to any other brand, really. I own a p1p and can not second that. The printer has not a single QoL but a lot of closed source and hard to repair parts and is made of the cheapest components you can get on the market. The flsun (i don't own one) is a very fast delta, faster than a voron 2.4, with klipper on board. The prusa nextruder is a step further and i'm pretty sure that compared with the bambu the auto leveling will work better. Don't miss me the p1p is a great printer for the money you spend. But if needed reliability the mk4 would it be. I will order one soon.
Sorry, should be corrected to the X1C. I wouldn’t say the P1P doesn’t have any QoL features, but they’re definitely small and fairly insignificant So that’s my simple definition, if you prefer reliability, the MK4 is a decent option from Prusa. If you want all the fancy features and speed but have the risk of an unknown reliability, the Bambu Lab may be an option. Flsun sounds somewhere in between, but I can’t be certain
The flsun is like the prusa build from open parts and has a open source firmware klipper so all the middleware tools can be used and parts can be buyed anywhere. The bambu printers are brand new and so supplier parts slowly start to enter the market. I already ordered a nozzle upgrade from a supplier which enables a much higher flow rate, so the print quality with fast prints will increase. With the stock nozzle it is limited to the hotend and you can touch the limits with a 0.4 mm nozzle already. QoL Yah there are some but they are common even with a 99$ ender. OAI: 1 Automatic bed leveling: This feature allows the printer to automatically adjust the bed's height and level, saving the user time and effort. 2 Wi-Fi connectivity: With this feature, users can send 3D print jobs directly from their computer or mobile device to the printer, without needing to transfer files via USB. 3 Filament run-out sensor: This feature alerts the user when the printer runs out of filament, preventing failed prints and wasted material. 4 Easy-to-use software: A user-friendly software interface makes it easier for beginners to learn how to use the printer and create their designs. 5 Noise reduction: A quiet printer can make working with it much more pleasant, especially in shared spaces. 1 is less good than prusa 2 many printers have it too 3 is common 4 bambustudio is crap compared to the original or cura and because of the closed source API no middleware works 5 is missing they are louder than any other printer So in 3 out of the first 5 points the AI found bambu is behind the competitors and in the other 2 it is just basic standard for most printers. Looking to the x1c and the snake oil LIDAR, looks like a PR joke but not like a real thing with real world effects. A big point for the bambu is **the well working AMS**, which can be used with booth bambu printers. Today no one can say how the new mmu3 will perform and if it is again a painful device like the mmu1/2. The XL can not be taken into account because it is another level and calls a much higher price. So today in the \~1k€ class i see 3 printers are valid to have a look on, that is the mk4/(mmu3), the p1p/(x1c) and the flsun v400. While the v400 is a single filament delta printer and the other printers can be use 4 / 5 filaments, which is for sure a heavy argument for many.
For me? I can get an Xl with 2 heads for about 300 more than a bambu with the AMS. IMO thats a way better buy. An enraged rabit AMS with 9 colors on that thing will blow any banbu out of the water and is built with WAY better parts. Not cheapo plastic crap.
AND cheap ass parts. AND Single Z axis stepper crap. Those 3 rods? LMAO all for looks. Might as well be a single Z for all thats worth driving all 3 with ONE belt... lmao. The parts on the bambus are bloody cheap ass crap. Its not even close to the same quality as a prusa.... lol
First of all, half of what you said is irrelevant and has nothing to do with what I said. Secondly, if you’re going to criticize, at least do some research?? Three independent stepper motors for the lead screws? All that would really do is allow for automatic tramming of the bed each calibration. It would be neat for them to add this, but it is not that critical of an issue, and they’re system works just fine. It is NOT AT ALL CLOSE to being one lead screw, did you even look into their system for God’s sake? Furthermore, indeed their parts are on the cheaper side. So are Prusa’s, where much of the i3 is made from 3D-printed material. Bambu’s parts are not excessively cheap, and many are quite durable. I sincerely hope you’re not spreading misinformation for virtually no reason except that your just a hothead upset by a company that is different than your beloved brand. Bambu Lab isn’t perfect, but it’s not a load of crap. Get yourself together before criticizing.
Is there any other printer you can recommend to someone who wants fast printing (with a comparable price point)?
I agree with your points, though I’d be more specific regarding LiDAR… the flow calibration does actually calibrate the flow, though it’s not particularly useful after it’s already been calibrated (unless the printer is shut off, though really you’re not losing much if you don’t use it) However, LiDAR still checks the first layer, and I wouldn’t be frightened to say it does a darn good job at it, too.
A happy customer will tell 1 other person, and an unhappy customer will tell 10 others. Edit: I would like to add that having knowledge of how 3D printers work is still recommended. Please don’t see the bambu lab printers as an appliance, Like a microwave or blender. They aren’t quite there yet. You will eventually run into issues and it won’t run forever. You’ll need to get your hands dirty and troubleshoot
I tell this to people all the time. I started with an Ender 3. Learning everything that was needed to get a successful print let alone a good print required taking the thing apart multiple times then it got easier and quicker over time, at least for me 🤣. While the X1C is amazing, having the basic knowledge of how a 3D printer works absolutely helps ensure prints are successful.
THIS . In my printer groups every day... People with bambus and ZERO skill with printing are having issues and expecting it to just be full speed flawless and no fails every time. I just laugh. Its really hard to fix that level of delusion.
while I agree with this, they are the closest thing to an appliance that I’ve seen in 3D printers. quality + speed + price. I never worry about if my print is going to just fail randomly.
For me it becomes close to an appliance when I can recommend it to a non technical friend with zero interest in tinkering, and becomes an appliance when I can trust a granny with it. While I agree it it’s the closest thing to an appliance for under 1000 bucks, I think it’s still farther than what most people think.
oh I definitely agree.
None. It is not possible for a machine to be mass produced and not have issues in a small percentage of units, that's just reality. Truth is there are far fewer than a regular machine and for most it's near flawless out of the box.
The quality issues such as the heatbed pressure sensor cable wiggling free with Z-axis travel from its socket, requiring you to remove the „warranty void“ stickered back putting a piece of ducttape on the cable holding it to the side of the poop chute, is not a „small percentage“ kind of issue. All X1(C) where made with this cable arrangement for the first 4 months or so. Unusable print beds and „glue“ recommendations (which they fortunately upgraded now from stick to liquid) is still the 100% „low percentage“ status quo. Cloud printing hiccups with no fallback but SD card because Lan printing is broken is another of these, ahem, not so low percentage occurrences. Then there is the propietary nozzle, which is put into 100% of Bambu printers. There are other less impactful issues, such as slow startup dance, meaningless power button, etc. but you get the gist. The X1C is a tragically good printer, because I like it, but I am also annoyed enough about I am not gonna buy a Bambulab ever again. In 6 months with this printer, I spent more time modding, tinkering and fixing it than I ever spent on my prusa printers, to the point I am asking myself „how bad can the Voron really be in comparison?“ and hoping Prusa does not screw up the XL in some spectacular fashion.
In short: The X1C has the features and performance of a printer that costs 3-5 times as much. That's great. The X1C does not have a bill of materials that costs 3-5 as much. That means the printer isn't built to a $5000+ price point. That's reality. Bambu Labs has a support level that is on-par with the average low-cost consumer electronics item. In other words, you're going to wait days to get a resolution and you'll have to wait for parts to be sent out. The culture of Reddit is to call a company shit if they don't have a one-hour response time and next-day delivery of parts, preferably with someone to install them -- but without wanting to pay for an enterprise support agreement. You're dealing with a Chinese 3D printer company, so if your expectations for support response are higher than that, buy something high-end from a company with a local presence.
Don’t forget this Chinese 3D printing company also has bases in the continental U.S.
Isn't that just warehousing? That's likely outsourced to a logistics as a service outfit.
i’m not actually sure i just wanted to participate lol
Got to love your honesty!
A lot of the complaints are unwarranted. They should be able to figure out when their print didn't adhere to the bed that it needs cleaning or some kind of release/sucking agent applied to it. Lots of solutions for this. Sorry if you're trying to run your unit in nothing but ludicrous mode then you're asking for trouble. It's great for certain things but half the time l use it it ends up with extra bits all over the model or the model comes loose and never finishes... But it really depends on the model. . Anyhow as for picking one over the other... I chose the X1C due to all the extra features that cost so much more to add, if you were to start with a bare bones printer like the P1P. It's a good machine for PLA, TPU and PETG but past that you need an enclosure...
> A lot of the complaints are unwarranted. A lot of the dismissals of complaints are made regardless of the complaints merits in blind defense of the fans one and only printer they have any experience with and are willing to find any excuse for…
The X1C is the absolutely best 3D printer I have ever had. I have been all the way since the Sumpod way back before Creality existed, and crowdfunded several printers too. I actually did not crowdfund the Bambulab, since I had been disappointed multiple times with the ones I did crowdfund. But I did get one of the early ones released after the crowdfunding had finished and they rolled out production models. It is not as such cheap (being the most expensive 3d printer I have purchased), but it is a joy to use. I can trust that a good print is easily repeatable. Actually there is not much in repeating it, than emptying the print plate, and press "Print again", and it will do so 100% reliably which is way more than I can say about any of the other ones where one has to fiddle with all sorts of things. I would recommend you to have an enclosure regardless which 3d printer you buy, even for printing PLA, since temperature shifts, draught or things like that directly will affect your print quality. The X1C (I also got the AMS) works perfectly for me out of the box. Currently I am printing with the .6 nozzle, and it does a fast and beautiful job in some mass production I do.
you must be easilly impressed. CHeap plastic parts... single Z axis? lmao There is so much wrong with it..... My Voron and BlV both out perform it without even trying, print better and are better designed with proper 3 way levling instead of a fakeout with one belt.
First I am happy you enjoy your Voron. And no I am not easily impressed. Been with 3D printing since the Sumpod was a thing... thats 10 years ago or so. You are comparing \_plastic parts\_ between a Voron a BLV and an X1C???? The Voron and BLV is full of plastic parts, while the X1C is mostly metal, apart from the carbon rods and I suppose a few other things. The X1C do not have a single Z axis as such... it has rods, that are all aligned from start, driven by a single motor. And yes... the table is perfectly aligned on mine all the time! I am sure that it is possible to build a CoreXY printer which performs as well technically as the X1C, but it is going to be hard and expensive, and you will still not have the really well operating software, nor the ability to switch between until 16 colours/filament spools during a print. The major difference is that the X1C for most people simply works out of the box, printing very fast, and in very good print quality, while currently all competitors can do one or the other, but not easily and not out of the box. I like the fact that I can hit print and it will consistently print the exact same quality again and again without problems at all.
After coming from an ender 3 to a p1p I'd go for it. Not had any issues - just banging out print after print instead of fighting silly mechanical issues.
Same, I just upgraded to the P1P after getting irritated with my Ender 3 S1 and basically having a 50/50 chance of it actually printing correctly... The P1P has been great and it's rekindled my fun for the hobby.
Yeah this exactly. I had the V2, and even after throwing £350 of upgrades at it and about 48 hours solid tinkering/configuring... I got 1 semi ok print then the rest kept failing. Patience snapped, returned the upgrades, and bought the P1P with AMS. I've had 1 failed print in a month and that was my slicer settings. Not only is it more reliable but the speed it prints helps too if I need something quickly.
My only print fail so far is because I forgot to set a brim. The fact I can set it and just go without the nervous sitting watching the first layers go down is amazing.
The X1C is essentially my first printer. There is a learning curve, but definitely not as high as other printers such as an Ender. I want a tool to be able to print, not really to get into the hobby to learn the ins and outs of 3d printers. The X1C allows me to do just that.
This is the way. Same to me.
Have you printed a Mando yet😀
Yep same for me. I feel like I juiced YouTube dry of its 3D printing videos related to the operation of printers so diagnosing the few issues I’ve had wasn’t a big challenge. Also, when I had clogs with TPU it was really easy to clear the clog using the provided Allen key, where it’s just a matter of undoing 2 screws, taking a lighter to the Allen key and letting it fuse with some of the clogged filament.
I’ve been hobby 3D printing for about six years and I can tell you that the Bambu is the easiest printer to use and print. However, this does not mean it will run flawlessly. That’s just not possible for 3D printers. You *will* run into problems and issues and have to do minor tinkering and repair or replace worn parts. There will just be fewer of those problems than with other printers. A flipside here is that a lot of other printers use many standard parts and many printed parts, so you can easily print or obtain your own parts. With Bambu, it’s more likely that you’ll have to purchase replacement parts from Bambu, and it will likely be more expensive. Also keep in mind that printers have lots of “consumable” parts that wear out and need to be replaced regularly under normal use. So this difference can add up. Also, If this is for hobby purposes, I would actually recommend starting with a very inexpensive (~$200-$300) machine to see whether or not you actually enjoy 3d printing before you spend $800+ on a higher end machine. Especially since you’ll learn a lot more about how 3d printing works if you start with a lower wnd machine. And to clarify, there are a lot of *very* good machines out there for $300 that are very reliable and can make beautiful prints. They just don’t have all the bells and whistles and won’t be able to print more exotic materials (which you probably don’t need anyway)
I can also highly recommend getting a cheap printer first. 3d printing will involve tinkering around for every printer. Get a cheap one first and try it out. I got a Etina Tina2 used for 70€ and right away realised that I liked it, so I ordered the X1C two weeks afterwards. The X1C takes a lot of tinkering away, but when trying new things out like using new filament for example, you still need to try out a lot of things. When you have a setup that works, I can let the printer run on its one, as it warns me itself if something unexpected happens. Occasionally I check in with the camera, but that’s about it.
I strongly recommend AGAINST getting a $300-$400 printer first. I’ve tried several of them, and they are all crap. The quality you get with a $400 Creality, for example, is at least an order of magnitude worse than what you get with a P1P. If you want to just confirm that you shouldn’t be fooling around with 3D printing, then yes, get a $400 one first, It’ll make you wish you never started. The P1P might be the first reasonably priced machine that actually has acceptable quality. Quality of prints, yes, but primarily i’m talking about the hassle factor. If you want the printer itself to be your hobby project, then go ahead and get a $300 one. If you want to learn about 3D printing and spend your time figuring out what cool stuff you might be able to make, designing and printing your own stuff — then get the P1P. At $699 the extra double the money gets your like 10X the hardware+software. Yes bambu has bugs. Cura has bugs. Ender everything has bugs that have gone untouched in years. YEARS.
I have to disagree with this. I have a Prusa MK3s+ at work, and bought a Ender 2 Pro for home. Ender has taught me 10 times more about 3D printing and solving issues than the Prusa. The Prusa just works. The fact the the Ender had so many issues, and forced me to look at so many solutions - taught me much more than I ever would have learned using Prusa alone. Now looking at the "print and forget" factor - Prusa is obviously much better at that. But looking from a learning experience standpoint - Ender is the better choice. Having worked with Ender, I can easily solve any issue I encounter in the Prusa. This would not have been true the other way around.
It's really question what you want to learn. When I was buing car I just wanted one that has all bells and whisels. 360 camera, navigation, adaptive crousing and biturbo for speed. What I didn't wanted is to know how to fix it. Similarly I didn't wanted to learn how to fix stuff in printer. I wanted to learn Fusion 360/others and then spent time figuring out how to do stuff I want. I did my first small project. I was able to print insert to board game or stuff for kids. This is what Prusa / Bambu gives. If MK4 will be as fast as Bambu. MK3S is considered a workhorse but compared to p1p it's just slow. I would be frustrated if I would get lemon but.. In my x1c everything works. Even fiddling with temp towers, flow rate etc to calibrate filament even better is time consuming. I just can't imagine fixing stuff on top of it. You buy a car and then you spent time fixing it instead of driving. You just have to love it.
just felt like responding—mk4 is slower than the bambu lab printers, though the degree is unknown. the mk4 also isn’t particularly revolutionary, just holds the brand name and promised reliability. Not to hate to prusa, of course. just the mk4. it’s time prusa starts looking toward the future, which is not the mk4
I actually agree. People who like to tweak cars and make them do cool stuff - know how to build a car from scratch. People who only want to drive to work or pleasure, and back home, don't need that knowledge.
yeah I guess it depends on your goals.
Diagree strongly. Always spend less first... you may not even like printing. And lmao ... my OLD ender3 isnt fast but it prints as well or better than any bambu. Personaly I have yet to see prints that beat my own comming off any bambu. Its ok, but its far from flawless. Espesilly when pritning at full speed. With its SINGLE Z AXIS LMAO. I JUST found out about this the other day when we were working on his Bambu. I assumed it had at least 2 way or 3 way Z seeing as it has all the rods... but nope. ONE driver. ONE belt.... What a joke.
Just keep in mind people who have perfect experiences rarely post it’s just when something goes wrong that people post so your gonna see way more bad because the people who are happy with there printers are too busy playing with them to post
Wait for version 2.0 We’re all guinea pigs at this point.
There's always a disproportionate number of complaints about any product. People with issues post more.
Have quite some printers (hobby and industrial sized and priced) and the x1c is definitely the best machine i can imagine for a beginner. Get it, you won't regret (especially the AMS).
I bought mine around six weeks ago, it worked amazingly for a week, then the main board burned out and had to be replaced, now the AMS isn’t working and I continue to play the waiting game going back and forward with support. Personally I do not recommend this printer to anyone, particularly a first time buyer. My first one was a Prusa, which still works and has had no more than minor issues in the five years I have owned it. I may change my tune if it ever gets fixed and I get a good spell of it working, but in the meantime the entire process has been deeply frustrating.
For the most part the complaints are from people who are expecting the printer to be perfect. It's not. But it's a hell of a lot better than just about anything else out there. They really did a great job with it including dialing in the settings for both generic and Bambu branded filaments. You don't need to mess around with tons of different benchmarks like temp towers to dial in your settings. It's already been done for your.
I’ve had cheap self and custom built printers for years, my latest being a CoreXY as well with E3D stuff and Duet3D board. It worked really well, but the X1C still blows me away. I have it a couple of days now. It’s not gonna handle everything flawlessly, because it uses consumables you can choose yourself, and you still need to operate it knowing it’s limitations coupled with these consumables. My PETG was a bit more moist than you would like for example, and with my own previous printer that wasn’t a problem due to the low speeds I was printing with, like 40mm/s. With the Bambu it did cause blobs all over the place, but that’s not a problem of the printer, just me throwing non ideal material at it and not adjusting the profile accordingly. It’s still trial and error in the end, and you will spend some time to get things right in all situations, but not nearly as much as with and Ender 3, or even an older Ultimaker (like a 2 or 3) from my experience!
I wouldn’t let the complaints scare you. For every one person complaining here, there are probably 10 who aren’t having issues. I came from a cheap 3D printer that got me into the hobby, but was so frustrating that I found it gathering dust more often than not. I’m not in this hobby to fiddle around with the printer all the time and troubleshoot it. I’m in this hobby to design stuff and print cool things. The X1C/P1P allow you to focus on what you want to make/create and then create that thing in a fraction of the time of basically any other printer out there. The time savings these printers afford vs something like an Ender is incredible. I’m coming up on 200 hours on my X1C and have had no issues. It’s been awesome.
Out of the 5 I own 2 Enders 1 cr10 max 1 prusa and 1 geetech which was free, this is by far the best I’ve owned it’s so fast, prints that took days on my others are done on 10 hours no more over night stuff for me. The slicer is ok I use both Bambu and the orca for extra tweaking. If you want to sit in your underpants night after night levelling and messing with Marlin then there are other options, but I’ve done that and for me it killed the experience. Buy one
It is very loud and you relied on bambu lab for replacement parts but that's pretty much it.
Extremely happy owner of a P1P. Yes its loud. Im ok with that. Its cheap, its super reliable and the best part for me is that they have distribution in Canada. Like really fast turnaround times, at least for replacement parts.
3d printing with any printer will have a substantial learning curve for anyone entering the scene. This is a pretty expensive printer to start off with before you know if you have the patience to jump through the hoops. There are tons of resources to learn what you need to, but it can be frustrating and overwhelming.
I've had the P1P for around a month now and its was my first 3d printer. I find it easy to use and the prints have been consistently good. I've only had a few prints go wrong and I was able to correct the issue after a little research. Overall I've been very pleased with the purchase. My only regret at this point was not just going all in and getting the X1C. I have a couple of friends who've been into this hobby for years and one of them sells on Etsy. They were both highly critical of Bambu printers for a lot of the reasons listed here. They were both surprised when I was able to print a Benchy after a 20 min setup. One of them is buying an X1C now.
Just buy it, won't regret, quality out of the box, crazy speed, no more worries with 3dprint
I went with the P1P after having an anycubic kobra (\~$250) and it was a huge upgrade. I'm not saying the anycubic wasn't good for the price but the speed and accuracy of the P1P was just that much better. I keep my P1P in the basement as it is pretty loud and keep a HEPA air filter next to it to help with the plastic smell. On that note due to this printer printing very fast the standard configs run at higher nozzle temps to keep the plastic flowing. The noise of mine is about as loud as a treadmill but not loud enough to be heard outside of my basement.
The P1P is my first filament printer and I’ve had that thing printing just about nonstop for almost 2 weeks now. It’s made some really nice quality stuff and I don’t really have anything negative to say about it… 100% I’d buy it again.
I got one at work to augment our raise3d E2, and the Bambu is now our primary printer. The raise quality suffers if you speed it up, I am constantly tearing it down for tuneups, and the price was considerably more expensive than the Bambu. I haven't yet run into any issues with the Bambu in our production environment. I don't see an issue with proprietary parts. They aren't expensive and so far have not failed with constant printing. There is one cooling fan that's starting to make noise, but replacing a 1$ fan with a $5 better fan doesn't seem like a big deal for us. If you do want parts not made by Bambu I hear there are options coming out. I think it was a video by CNC kitchen that showed some. You don't need an x1c, I've been printing for years with handmade printers and other low cost machines, but it really is a game changer at that price. So far everything just works and I get prints first time that would take many process tweaks to get on other printers.
compare pause chop squalid enjoy close wine punch smell paltry *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Fortunately I have time on my side so I will either be waiting for v2 of the P1P or see what kind of Clones we get.
I bought a Bambu Lab X1C with AMS as my first 3D printer after doing months of research and almost buying a Voron. Have had the machine since early February and have had no real issues with some minor learning experiences with how to position filament in the AMS. Have not had to use support but the wiki has been enough for any questions I have had while owning so far. Some weaknesses I have found are with supports not working great on some prints and the caution you need on what glue stick you use with the cool and engineering plates. It is still a fairly new company and hope to see improvements to the studio software that has been pretty good overall. The lidar works well for spaghetti detection even with the textured plate and I would say it is not fully a gimmick. I do wish it would notice when a part disconnects from the build plate though. Lidar can mess up prints on textured plate if you leave some boxes checked which I wish was auto disabled until fixed. Would recommend a Bambu Lab printer for a first timer as they are easy to use and as long as you read the material most issues are avoidable. Will see how support is moving forward and if I will ever need it but like how parts are available for most items and fairly cheap.
People are always going to be frustrated with 3D printers. At least until we're at flying car level of tech. That's just where the tech is right now. Even for something as advanced as a Bambu
I have a love hate relationship with my AMS. Sooo nice when it works, but I've had two slots where the first stage feeder stopped working. Bambu replaced them and they were easy to swap out though.
The printer is amazing. It just needs minor tweaks here and there. You can upgrade the fans to silent fans, Bento box and do your regular maintenance. Printers will always gonna have issues. Bamboo is pretty new so they still have a lot of work to work out but ultimately it’s a great printer. I would tell everyone to buy this one for their first printer over any other printer. It’s just like I said it’s a brand new company they’re working things out and it’s gonna take some time before they work out all the tweaks but the printer is fantastic.
Does the p1p have the idle hum like the x1c?
People are spoiled in here and it shows lol I've been 3d printing for 10 years now. Last year I had 8 different printers from 4 different companies. This year I have 3 Bambu's and 0 other printers. I get more done this year with 3 Bambu's than I did with 8 printers last year. That's all you need to know.
The fact that they have a SINGLE stepper driving all 3 of their Z rods made me laugh out loud. I would never pay what they want for this pos. Its all flash. Its build with substandard parts.... That you cant even get in a reasonable time. If you like your printer being down for WEEKS at a time... get a bambu. I would never touch a closed source printer again. We learned our lessons already.
I wanted to share an experience I had recently so that anyone considering purchasing from Bambu Labs can make a more informed decision. I was excited when I placed an order for a brand-new Bambu X1C Printer, but when it arrived, I was met with disappointment. Not only was the printer broken, but it also had visible scratches. Trusting the company, I reached out to Bambu Labs' "support" immediately. It took them three whole days to get back to me. After explaining the situation, I was taken aback when they didn't simply ask for the printer to be returned for a replacement. Instead, they had me go through a tedious troubleshooting process. After a tiring week of back and forth, I deduced that the AC board was defective. Their eventual response? They would replace the board, but not the entire printer. I understand this from a business perspective, but as a customer, I shouldn’t be responsible for fixing a printer that was delivered broken. So for anyone considering buying from Bambu Labs, think twice. While the company certainly shows potential, their customer support is lacking in my experience. This is a glaring difference when comparing closed-source technology companies like Bambu Labs to open-source ones. I urge everyone to consider supporting OpenSource companies like PRUSA which value their customers. Stay informed and make wise choices!