I cannot express how significant the introduction of Bambo Labs’ multicolor system (AMS) was to the home 3D printing industry. No matter if you love or hate Bambo Labs and their products, you can not deny their significant impact. Since I started in 3d printing early in the introduction of hobby-level printers and have owned several different ones over the years. I cannot express how much I love my X1C printer.
Bambo Labs made a huge stride in turning what was a time-consuming, painful printing process that required months of tinkering and experience into a very basic plug-and-play click-to-print ecosystem. The Bambo Labs A1 is still, in my opinion, one of the best entry-level printers you can buy.
Creality printers are great for what they are, and when they were introduced, they were a big leap into cheap, reliable printers that anyone, for a few hundred dollars, could buy and, almost straight out of the box, get a benchy printed with a moderate amount of tweaking and prepping. At the time, other options like RepRap and Prusia’s were difficult to build, more expensive, and not as easy to use. Their open-source approach to 3D printing was appealing since you can print with almost any slicer, build models with any 3D CAD software, and use most standard filaments. This approach is especially appealing to most do-it-yourselfers willing to put in the effort and learn to use one of these printers successfully.
The Bambo Labs approach to 3D printing was a strong departure from this open-source approach that has dominated the market, adopting a stricter, more Apple-style ecosystem around their printers. At 1st, most do-it-yourselfers would react negatively to this concept, and I can say I felt the same way. After you use these printers, you will find that the pros far outweigh the limitations. Bambo Labs has also kept its printers and ecosystem just open enough to remove most of the negatives while maintaining all the benefits of an all-in-one ecosystem.
Bambo Lab’s ecosystem starts with its Makerworld database of print models, which has grown exponentially in both the quantity and quality of models and resources for printing over the years. I used to use Thingiverse as my main source of print models, but now I rarely have trouble finding what I need on MakerWorld. Their website also seamlessly transitions from model download to slicer software with very little effort. Which means that once you select a model, you can quickly go to slice and print with just a few clicks.
Bambo Labs also has very good desktop software called Bambo Studio that does a very good job of walking the line between being easy and simple to use for the casual user while offering the ability to dive deeper and access advanced options that seasoned users need to get their prints perfect. Their software not only slices but also acts as a design studio, allowing you to easily create new models or tweak existing ones. The software also does not restrict your ability to import and export models from multiple sources and file types. They also actively update the software frequently, constantly maintaining it and adding functionality.
Bambo Labs uses the 3MF file format for 3D printing, and I have to say I love it. Not only does the file contain the model design, but it also includes print settings, meaning the model file itself includes all the slicer settings you need to print successfully with minimal user tweaking. This means that the original model designer, who has already spent the time tweaking the slicer settings to get the print perfect, has already given you all of these “cheats” in the model file, transferring all of the experience and expertise to your slicer just by opening the print file. I cannot express enough how much of a benefit that approach is, because now the user never has to worry about bed temperatures, support issues, or infile types, since all of those details and choices are already contained in the print file. Compared to the time it takes to tweak an STL file in Cura to print on a Creality machine and all the settings that may need to be adjusted to get a print perfect, using 3MF files has been a game-changer.
Their printers also have a phone app called Bambu Handy that I use a lot, not only to monitor printing in real time but also to send new print jobs from my phone. While I cannot use the phone software to tweak the designs, if I just want a straightforward item to print without any modifications, with filament already loaded in the AMS, I can do so from anywhere on the planet with a few clicks and receive live notifications of any issues in the app.
Bambo Labs hardware is also top-notch. The hardware is so good straight from the factory, there is hardly any need to upgrade anything, which was not the case with other machines. They have added several sensors and design elements that have made the printer itself as user-friendly and self-efficient as possible to maintain. The machine itself tracks problems and maintenance and will display errors and provide maintenance instructions whenever a problem arises or when basic maintenance is required. I cannot say it’s perfect. I have had to take apart my AMS to remove broken filament pieces more times than I care to admit, but compared to other machines in the same space, the care of this unit and the maintenance support built into it by Bambo Labs have set a new standard in the industry.
The crown jewel of Bambo Labs’ printers is its automatic material system, known as the AMS. Before the intro of the AMS, there were very few options for printing in multiple colors. You can do mid-print filament swaps, use two print heads, or deploy a 3rd-party add-on. The one I still own is the Mosaic Palette 2 Pro system, which was developed to add multiple-color printing to any single-color machine. The Bambo Labs AMS simplified this fundamentally and made adding and changing colors to create dramatic multi-color prints automatic and, by comparison, almost easy. The AMS is also forgiving of different filament types and makes. While there is more support for filament purchased from Bambo Labs, you aren’t restricted in any sort of way other than spool size and type that will fit and roll in the AMS.
Another thing to mention is print speed. The X1C is not the fastest machine on the market, with a consistent 500ms printhead movement. What would take hours on my Ender, I can cut down to minutes on the X1C. I would say that my Flashforge Adventurer 5 Pro is faster overall. What I tend to do is run both machines in tandem on a large print job, pushing the single-color items to my Flashforge, leaving the multicolor items to my X1C.
Here are some details on the Machine I use and some basic modifications I have made:
Model: Bambo Labs X1C (X1 Carbon)
Manufacturer’s Website
| Technology | X1C | X1 | |
| Fused Deposition Modeling | |||
| Body | Build Volume (W×D×H) | 256mm*256mm*256mm | |
| Chassis | Steel | ||
| Shell | Aluminum & Glass | Plastic & Glass | |
| Tool Head | Hotend | All-Metal | |
| Extruder Gears | Hardened Steel | Steel | |
| Nozzle | Hardened Steel | Stainless Steel | |
| Max Hot End Temperature | 300 ℃ | ||
| Nozzle Diameter (Included) | 0.4 mm | ||
| Nozzle Diameter (Optional) | 0.2 mm, 0.6 mm, 0.8 mm | ||
| Filament Cutter | Yes | ||
| Filament Diameter | 1.75 mm | ||
| Heatbed | Compatible Build Plate | Bambu Cool Plate, Bambu High Temperature Plate, Bambu Textured PEI Plate, Bambu Smooth PEI Plate, Bambu Dual-Texture PEI Plate |
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| Max Build Plate Temperature | 110℃@220V, 120℃@110V | ||
| Speed | Max Speed of Tool Head | 500 mm/s | |
| Max Acceleration of Tool Head | 20 m/s² | ||
| Max Hot End Flow | 32 mm³/s @ABS(Model: 150*150mm single wall; Material: Bambu ABS; Temperature: 280℃) | ||
| Cooling | Part Cooling Fan | Closed Loop Control | |
| Hot End Fan | Closed Loop Control | ||
| Control Board Fan | Closed Loop Control | ||
| Chamber Temperature Regulator Fan | Closed Loop Control | ||
| Auxiliary Part Cooling Fan | Closed Loop Control | Optional | |
| Air Filter | Activated Carbon Filter | Optional | |
| Supported Filament | PLA, PETG, TPU, ABS, ASA, PVA, PET | Yes | |
| PA, PC | Ideal | Capable | |
| Carbon / Glass Fiber Reinforced Polymer | Ideal | Not Recommended | |
| Sensors | Bambu Micro Lidar | Yes | |
| Chamber Monitoring Camera | 1920 × 1080 Included | Optional | |
| Door Sensor | Yes | ||
| Filament Run Out Sensor | Yes | ||
| Filament Odometry | Optional with AMS | ||
| Power Loss Recovery | Yes | ||
| Physical Dimensions | Dimensions | 389mm*389mm*457mm | |
| Net Weight | 14.13kg | 13.18kg | |
| Electrical Requirements | Voltage | 100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz | |
| Max Power | 1000W@220V, 350W@110V | ||
| Electronics | Display | 5-inch 1280 × 720 Touch Screen | |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi, Bambu-Bus | ||
| Storage | 4GB EMMC and Micro SD Card Reader | ||
| Control Interface | Touch Screen, APP, PC Application | ||
| Motion Controller | Dual-Core Cortex M4 | ||
| Application Processor | Quad ARM A7 1.2 GHz | ||
| Neural-Network Processing Unit | 2 Tops | ||
| Software | Slicer | Bambu Studio Support third-party slicers that export standard G-code, such as Superslicer, Prusaslicer and Cura, but certain advanced features may not be supported. |
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| Slicer Supported OS | MacOS, Windows | ||
Resources:
Support Page
Modifications to date:
235deg Door Hinges
AMS feet
Poop shoot
Dust covers
Build plate guide
AMS Desiccant Holders
Spool Adapter
Spool Weight
Respooler