BAMBU FDM PRINTERS

IMPORTANT! PLEASE NOTE:

We are working on adding options for starting prints on our Bambus in the new building. As of late August, we still have 14+ P1S machines, which are easiest to use with micro SD cards. Email archshops to request one - we can offer one (with USB adapter) to each student per semester.
We are also setting up 4 new P2S machines, which have normal USB ports. SD cards are not needed for them.

common SD card problems and info

(click to expand)

card must be formatted "FAT32" - a card must be under 32GB to format to FAT32 in Windows.

Formatting SD cards in Linux

Cards will not work with printers if their memory's completely used up - check for that before trying to print

The machines don't like to reboot with an SD card in - if you restart a machine and its screen stays blank, turn off again, take SD card out, then turn back on

the little SD readers are fragile - gently push to clip it in, and do the same to click it open again

The cards must be inserted with the logos facing away from you, and the metal contacts forward.

---

Bambu software and tutorials can be found here: Bambu Wiki
The Bambu software and website wiki have a lot of good information - please use it, and click through the software and check out all the details there.
We have 16 Bambus, both P1S and P2S, in W41-TBD for self service use.

---

NOTE - we have the P1S and P2S types of Bambu printer for self-service use. In the software setup, you must select the printer you will be using - Bambu X1/A1/P1 gcodes are NOT cross-compatible. You MUST always make sure that you have chosen the correct printer type in the setup.
While choosing machine defaults, also make sure you choose the .4 mm nozzle.

---

You must expect to spend a few minutes to check the machine before starting a job - you need to have the filament types/colors set up accurately in the software so it matches the machine. 99% of the time that will mean white Bambu basic PLA, which we provide.

---

Machine check pre-print:

Please make sure you remove this strip of PLA from the plate when you take your prints - don't leave it there, or it can get dragged into a new print by the nozzle and cause damage (print failure). Also make sure the plate is installed correctly (like the below photo)- not crooked, and with the long labeled tab/handle on the front, NOT in the back!

---

Link to Bambu wiki HMS (Health Management System) page

Link to Bambu wiki Error Codes page

---

lifted from the HMS page:

---

Software details

Please use the Bambu wiki to find answers to questions and learn more detail about some of the software features - there is quite a lot of helpful info there. Just make sure you're reading instructions for the P1S and not other Bambu models.

There are still a few things we have found need to be pointed out, however, especially for anyone accustomed to using the Sindohs.

The support setting toggles on/off just like the old Sindoh software - but the raft setting does not. You need to turn rafts on by adding raft layers (ADD TWO) here:







Note the distance the raft extends - this default may not be enough for small objects or extremities that are poorly supported, or even just square corners, which tend to lift off the plate too easily.

You can extend the raft here-



This setting will be listed under 'support - advanced' or under 'support - raft' depending on the software version.

An extension is easily visible - please use this setting for parts that do not have a lot of footprint, or which have details that will tend to lift, like square corners.


Note that the lighter green raft layer is one of two - the darker green parallel zigzag is the 2nd layer. BUT if you only add 1 raft layer in the software settings, it will only add the parallel zigzag. Please make sure you add 2 layers - prints tend to fail when there's only the one.

---

Another option for preventing separation is the brim, best for objects with flat bottoms. It doesn't add anything underneath - instead it prints a flat layer around the outside (and inside) of the object's edges.



The settings do need a little tweaking so that there isn't a real gap between the brim and the object. This image shows the default .1mm gap.



The .1mm gap is okay as long as we change one other setting, under "Quality".



Under "others" you can add outer and/or inner brims, and adjust its width if you want. "Automatic" will not add a brim.
To correctly set brims, under Quality, you must find "elephant foot compensation" - it needs to be changed to 0.



This was tested for best results. You can change both gaps to 0 - but simply changing the brim-object gap doesn't quite work.
The elephant foot compensation must be zeroed.

---

Before exporting gcode, Always scroll down through layers to check the bottom layers of your print! (in preview, there's a tall slider on the right side of the screen)

Scrolling through the layer view down to the bottom will show you whether your part is actually flat on the XY plane - no matter what, please triple-check the first few layers and make sure you aren't cantilevering into space. This has happened several times because support was turned on but raft was not.

Please reduce material use when possible. The default infill setting is 15% - this is excessive for a lot of prints -

it can and often should be lowered to 5-8. For large volumes especially, please preview the layers and bring the infill percentage down as much as you reasonably can. It uses less filament and makes print time faster.

---

Bambu Studio file repair options

Bambu Software Wiki: fix model

The software will not automatically fix issues - when you check your preview, look carefully for any strange artifacts, either print or movement, in the layer view.

---

Set up filament correctly -

The spool holder has sensors that can read RFID cards on the Bambu spools. In the software, please make sure the listed filaments match what will be in the machine. If you want to change to a spool that is not the first on the left, find the closest matching color, change that filament color, and then right-click on your stl. The last option on the dropdown menu lets you change to one of the other spools.



If the printer is waiting/slowly switching from play to pause, it might just be waiting for a filament in the AMS that matches what your file setup indicated.

---

Make sure you export a plain gcode file for the P1S, the machines we have in building 3/5.

the machines will not print a 3mf file, and they may crash if you set up a file meant for a different model of Bambu printer. The SD cards must remain in the machine during the print, unfortunately. If you forget and take one out, it will pause and wait for the card to be re-inserted.

The HMS notification that often pops up on the screen can be ignored - forums have said it's a glitch and is referring to an externally hung spool on the back of the machine being missing. Since we are using AMS spool holders, the HMS situation is irrelevant.

If you put the plate in the machine skewed, it will know and give another error. Please (just as with the 3DWOX1 machines) be careful when you replace the magnetic plate and make sure it's lined up with the corners and edges of the bed.

---