Bambu Lab X1-Carbon Review: Living in the Future

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Originally published at: https://3dprintbeginner.com/bambu-lab-x1-carbon-review/

You might not know about Bambu Lab, but that changes today. They are a new company of 3D printing enthusiasts with experience in engineering, robotics, and AI that decided to build a printer. Their first creation is the Bambu Lab X1 which is one of the most impressive printers out…

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Think this is a typo:
“The High Temp side of the flex plate is mostly used for PLA, PETG, and ABS filaments.”

Should be Cold Side.

Great review!

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If you look closely to the pictures, you can see that my unit came with a “high temp plate”.
I found out that the naming has been changed to the Cold Plate now. Either way, it’s the same type of sticker :smiley:

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Oh wow that’s strange. I think most people got “Cold Side” and “Engineering Side” or something like that.

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Even when I am a big fan of the machine I have to say your valuation is a bit off and too enthusiastic.
The noise is just not acceptable…sorry…and the amount of waste material when you print different colors neither. And Iam not even go to that strange Kickstarter/closed software environment issue. I think I will wait at least a year to seriously consider ordering one .

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Do you have the printer to know the noise levels it produces? :slight_smile:
Did you also check what kind of waste other MMU systems produce?

As usual, the review expresses my opinion about the product, and others should look for other opinions before making any decision.

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Have you ever heard any other 3D printer pushing 300mm/s at 10K acc? you might be surprised, it won’t be any different, it’s physics, you are trying start and stop pretty decent mass of metal and plastic in microseconds at such speed so no wonder it rattles, I’m pretty sure if you slow it down to ~100mm/s with i.e. 2.5K acc and turn off the side panel part cooling fan the noise level would go down significantly, the question then would be why buying high speed 3D printer if you plan to run it slow

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The faster you go the noisier the printer gets. It’s just physics. Nobody said that super fast speeds are for everyone. Some people like super slow printers so they can sleep thru while it prints day and night multi-day prints. But the X1 is so fast, you will regularly do prints in the daytime that used to take 3-4 days with other printers to complete. If that is the majority or minority of people we will soon find out by the success or not of the X1. BTW, the AMS leaves other MMUs and ERCFs completely and utterly in the dust. The AMS just plain works. It’s an incredibly well engineered and well designed multi-material workhorse. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for Prusa’s MMU, or Voron’s ERCF which require constant babysitting and fixing… I know cause I have both… as far as waste material, it’s very similar, which comes with the territory of one printhead. You can get 5 toolheads with the PrusaXL but it will still be slow and cost you $4K+ shipping, and without an enclosure or a dry box for those 5 spools. I’m sure eventually Prusa will add those but then you will be approaching $5-$6K for everything, while still only having just one slow printhead at a time printer, with 5 swappable toolheads… well whoop-de doo…

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Anyone knows the exact measurement of the build plate? Not the build area (256x256)

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The firmware is updated again:

ota version 00.01.03.26:
【new features】
1.[AMS] Added the AMS Retry function. When AMS is has a problem loading or unloading, try the retry button on the screen or pop-up window
2.[AMS] Added support for the display of the steps of flushing old materials in AMS loading and unloading
3.[AMS] Added support for setting and saving third-party filament information
4.[HMS] Added AMS error codes and error messages
5.[Screen] Added the full text of the privacy clause, and display of the full text of the user agreement
6.[Screen] Prohibited formatting SD cards while recording
7.[Screen] Confirmation is now required when logging out
8.[Screen] AMS operation while printing is now disabled
9.[Screen] Added display of model information when printing
10.[System] The Logo light on the tool-head will turn on when printing
11. [Upgrade] The pop-up window for forced upgrade and consistent upgrade (for firmware repair) can be closed

【Improvement】

  1. [Algorithm] Optimized the first-layer scanning and spaghetti detection model to reduce false detection probability
    2.[Algorithm] When spaghetti issues are detected, printing will not be paused
    3.[Algorithm] Added the wiping action of the tool-head during the first-layer scanning process, and turned on the part cooling fan at the same time to solve leakage issues
  2. [Algorithm] Optimized the speed of the first-layer scan when the first layer area is large
  3. [Algorithm] Optimized the stability of extrusion compensation
  4. [HMS] Changed the warning state prompt of the first layer scan and spaghetti detection from the pop-up window to the side window
  5. [Screen] Closed the availability of unimplemented functions, such as AMS calibration
  6. [Screen] Updated the startup image on the screen and modified the startup page with logo to be dark
  7. [Screen] Optimized the interaction design and the copywriting, updated the translation, aligned text and display style
  8. [System] Optimized the fan speed detection
  9. [System] Optimized the acceleration control, improved the print quality with the top fill setting
  10. [System] Optimized the management of SD cards and internal storage
  11. [System] Optimized the waiting time for obtaining SN and the firmware version number
  12. [Printing] The maximum temperature of hot bed on screen which can be input is reduced from 120°C to 110°C
    15.[Upgrade] Optimized the upgrade prompt and optimized the release note format

【Bug Fixes】

  1. [HMS] Fixed the false wear alarm of the nozzle
  2. [Printing] Fixed some issues with multi-AMS printing
  3. [Algorithm] Fixed the misjudgment of black filament in extrusion compensation and first-layer scanning
  4. [AMS] Fixed occasional AMS communication issues
    5.[AMS] Fixed an issue where the return shaft is easy to be blocked when reading RFID
    6.[AMS] Fixed an issue where the light flashes abnormally when reading RFID
    7.[AMS] Fixed an issue where the RFID of new filament isn’t recognized while there filament existing in the filament buffer
  5. [Screen] Fixed the issue of memory leak when using the multiple AMS units
  6. [Screen] Modified the spelling problems in the copywriting. Synchronized the name of APP name to Bambu Handy, and the display when switching languages
    10.[Screen] Fixed the problem of obtaining and identifying the SN number and version number with several AMS units
    11.[System] Fixed the SD card detection logic to avoid the failure when being formatted.

【Remaining issues】

  1. [System] The RFID identification and the third-party filament settings retain some small issues. The screen display will update after all filaments identified.
  2. [Screen] Occasionally, the prompt that the log is being exported to the SD card keeps appearing on the screen, but the export has actually been completed.
  3. [Algorithm] There are certain misjudgments and missed detections in the first-layer scanning and spaghetti detection.
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Fantastic writeup and blog. I love the in-depth review and detail you go into. I feel like this is the Anandtech of 3D printer blogs. Thank you!

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