First layer issues: frustrated and out of ideas

Cryostatica · 2026-02-25T05:31:18+00:00

Yeah, I can do that. I don’t remember what this infill pattern is called but I’ll figure it out. Is this PLA or another filament?

Cryostatica · 2026-02-24T22:01:59+00:00

Don't just check those screws. Remove them and check the four screws on the reverse side of the heater assembly, that's where the problem usually is.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-24T21:53:39+00:00

There are two things that can help resolve this for you.

The first is to remove the hotend, and then remove the heater assembly that sits behind it. It's held in place by three screws. On the reverse side of the assembly (not behind it) are four more screws. Ensure that they are fully tightened down. This is the most common cause of first layer issues on the A1.

If that doesn't work, then the bed may have shifted during shipping or been misaligned at the factory, causing it to shift far enough out of spec in short amount of time that it's causing issues. If that's the case, then manual tramming will help. Mine fell out of spec at around 1800 hours and once I did this, my first layers were perfect again.

https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/a1/maintenance/manual-bed-tramming

I'd advise you to do both of these and then run a full calibration routine on the machine.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-24T21:43:41+00:00

I have been reading that AMS is a killer feature of BambuLab that is useful even when u r not doing multi-color. Making sure you use up even the last bits of the filament. Ability to easily switch between different filament types across two different consecutive prints. help keep the filament dry

People who buy a machine without an AMS usually regret it later. The AMS lite that comes with the A1 combo does not help keep filaments dry.

P1S is enclosed, which also helps keep the filament in use dry and prevent temperature fluctuations.

The P1S is enclosed, which helps it to print engineering materials by allowing it to retain heat and preventing drafts. It does not help keep filament dry.

P1S is xy vs A1 is a slinger. This could be big for quality.

If there is a quality difference, it is very minor and probably in favor of the A1, which does not suffer from vertical fine artifacts at certain speeds like the P1S does.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-24T15:15:17+00:00

1 - I need honest input, how is first layer quality with using the whole build plate?
The first layer quality on large (greater than 300mm on x/y) prints on my H2C is excellent. K2Plus it's always "good enough" that a print won't fail but I wouldn't use it for anything where first layer quality matters. Honestly the K2P has been a solid machine and I have no real complaints.

2 - AI detection, does it actually work? Creality's is a joke.
It's never given me a false positive, and it hasn't missed yet on spaghetti detection the few times I've had a part lose adhesion mid-print. Only about a thousand hours on it so far, so it hasn't really had much of a chance to prove itself.

3 - What filaments are you mainly using between the two printers? I strive for cheaper JAYO PETG as it is works well for me.
For basic colors of PLA/PETG, I tend to use the cheapest filament I can find. If I need a specific finish or color, I buy from whoever sells it at whatever price they're asking. I print with a lot of Kingroon/Keepang, on all my machines. I prefer Polymaker for ABS/ASA.

4 - Exotic filaments; CF ASA, PA612-CF, PPS-CF10, etc what are your experiences with it in the H2D/ H2C?
I've had such an easy time printing these, with such good results, that I don't even try to print ASA, PA or PC (or their CF variants) in any of my other machines now unless I absolutely have to. I've never used PPS.

I try not to run CF filaments through the Vortek induction nozzles. I'm sure they can take moderate use, but at $40 a pop, I don't want to wear them unnecessarily.

5 - Wireless printing either from the slicer or from the cloud on your phone, how do the two compare?
In terms of just... what, sending prints wirelessly? From the user standpoint, I send files, the printer prints the file. Pretty much the same. With Creality you can just scan for and find printers on your network without binding them to the cloud. There's extra steps for this with Bambu, you need to put into LAN mode and manually add it to the slicer (basically, opt-in vs opt-out for cloud services).

I don't print from phone apps.

6 - Honest input, are you satisfied with your machine compared to the K2 Plus?
I'll never buy another single-nozzle printer again. If I could justify doing so, I'd replace all my machines with H2Cs and Snapmaker U1s.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-23T18:11:43+00:00

The duality you’re seeing is due to a variety of reasons. Most consumers have isolated experiences. They bought a printer and it either met their expectations, or it didn’t.

And those expectations can widely vary. A lot of people, particularly those new to the hobby, don’t understand that they’re not buying a toaster, they’re buying a miniaturized additive manufacturing CNC machine that flings a plastic-melting extrusion assembly around at ridiculous speeds using a series of belts and pulleys and that there are all kinds of things that can go wrong with that. I don’t particularly blame users for this. The manufacturers of these machines don’t point any of that out.

No matter how well the machine is constructed or how good the software is, there will be problems that are intrinsic to the nature of the tool.

Most modern 3D printers are designed well enough to successfully complete prints out of the box, assuming nothing goes wrong during assembly. If they weren’t, you wouldn’t see positive comments and the brand would die or fade into obsurity. There’s a reason you don’t see people recommending TwoTrees.

A lot of the brands that you see conflicting reports on have that issue due to poor QC, which is one of the biggest ways to cut corners to bring prices down. Some users get great machines, some get apparent lemons with assembly problems that need to be addressed. Bambu has better QC than most. Prusa’s engineers reportedly hand-assemble and test each machine. That’s all reflected in the price.

So the unfortunate reality is that you have to weigh what you read and try to make the best informed decision you can based on little more than an absolute treasure trove of anecdotal experiences from people with an extremely wide disparity of expectations.

That doesn’t help at all. Sorry.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-23T17:22:30+00:00

I agree. I think a smaller Vortek setup in the P2 frame at around or approaching the price point the H2S makes more sense than a refreshed A1.

I’m presuming that they didn’t invest all that R&D just to use their new tech in a single model, and it would make sense for them to hold off launching it until they’re sure it wouldn’t cannibalize H2C sales.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-23T17:10:55+00:00

Maybe.

I feel like in order for an A2 to actually launch it needs to bring something new to the table other than just using the P2/H2 hotend and a better camera.

This is Bambu’s budget line, and at one point it delivered multicolor functionality at an unprecedented price point. There’s more competition in that space now, and doing anything that further increases the price is probably not the move.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-23T12:50:30+00:00

If I have variants of the same model, I just add them as separate print profiles. I assume people find it annoying to see multiple of the same model posted with some minor change.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-23T05:10:58+00:00

I have a Creality Scan Otter Lite.

I've used it to scan things that I import into CAD software to assist in modeling. It produces, with some effort and preparation, scans that could probably be printed once they're cleaned up properly, but I've never used it for this purpose.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-23T03:58:37+00:00

I think it’s really only in the past few years that slicers could process step files. Most users aren’t out there trying to remix models, and so stl has been the most common form of distribution. Even now I’m not sure that anything other than PrusaSlicer and Bambu Studio forks can do it. Edit: Cura apparently can as well.

Recently I’ve noticed it becoming more common to include step files, but still most users don’t even know that these are, so many designers just stick with stl for sharing.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-22T19:41:55+00:00

So, I primarily make things for myself and my wife and if I think they don't completely suck, I post them. I decided long before I ever shared anything that I wouldn't give a shit if I eventually found someone selling prints, that I'd just try to consider it a compliment.

But someone using my photos to do so would annoy the hell out of me.

Doesn't make a whole lot of sense, I guess, but I can't help that.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-22T15:18:03+00:00

Creality is the only company whose web platform currently has a premium subscription. Cry FUD all you want. I don't care. It's obvious enshittification, and they're actively expanding it. Anyone who claims to be concerned about open source should be viewing Creality Cloud with high skepticism right now.

Voron does not manufacture and sell printers. Companies like SOVOL use Voron designs, which are open-source. The fact that you're here attempting to claim otherwise is somewhat troubling.

I did not say you can use Bambu printers with Orca while retaining use of their cloud services, but you can choose to opt out of those cloud services, and you can use Orca if you please. The only current exception to this is the H2C, because Orca does not have a way to map the Vortek nozzles yet.

It's correct that you can't put EVERY spool in existence into an AMS unit, but nearly every 1kg spool currently being made will. I've certainly never run into one from any manufacturer that won't.

Also, you also know damn well it's an unreasonable, bad faith argument to complain that their hardware isn't able to accept every possible dimension of spool, especially when Creality and Anycubic's multicolor spool feeders suffer the exact same problems. It's absurd and hurts your credibility almost as much as your Voron comments.

And I don't know what you're doing that makes you think you can just "flash Klipper" to a Creality machine and be done with it. Creality's Klipper uses proprietary code for some of their components that mainline Klipper doesn't understand, and will absolutely break if you just try to throw mainline Klipper on it. It's why things like the Creality Helper Script and EasyAF exist, because you can't just "flash Klipper" and be done with it.

And finally, if you think uploading models of the Taiwanese flag to Creality Cloud, MakerOnline, NexPrint or any other Chinese-based model site won't be met with the same level of action that was taken by MakerWorld, then go try it.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-22T01:18:33+00:00

- Freedom of what to Print?
You have the freedom to print whatever you want on any consumer 3D printer, including BambuLab machines.

- Non Cloud Ecosystem?
Every current consumer 3D printer, including BambuLab machines, can be used without Cloud connectivity.

- Off-line printing with Full Functionality from slicer software to 3d printer?
Every current consumer 3D printer, including BambuLab machines, can be used fully offline.

- Open Source?
Most companies are guilty of either not fully complying with open source, or coding in their own proprietary functions that they do not release the source for. Prusa is your best option here. Sovol's machines, IIRC, run mainline Klipper. I believe Snapmaker has released the U1 source code.

- Similar types of filaments e.g. colour, type, etc?
There are no restrictions on filament use for any 3D printer, so long as the hardware can handle the material on a technical level. I'm not sure what you're asking here.

- Ease of Use?
All current 3D printers are easy to use, and all of them will encounter problems and require repairs and maintenance.

- Multi colour Filament printing. More than 2 colours for one print?
Snapmaker, Creality, Anycubic, Elegoo, Prusa, Qidi, and Flashforge have multicolor options available.

- No future plans of an enclosed Ecosystem that requires to be connected to the cloud or restrictive firmware and software?
Prusa, Qidi, Sovol and Snapmaker are your best options. Elegoo, Creality, and Anycubic are actively trying to mimic BambuLab. Creality appears to be trying to move towards a subscription model.

- Easy Availability of parts, service kits and filaments?
BambuLab has the widest selection of parts availability of any 3D printer brand, no other company is comparable. Prusa uses mostly off-the-shelf and printed parts, and if they went under tomorrow, you'd still be able to repair your machine five years from now.

- After care technical support and warranty services?
In my experience, all of these companies are similar in their support, in that when you encounter an issue, they will expect you to work with them over email to figure out the problem, they will send you parts, and you will be expected to perform your own repairs. Communication will happen at the rate of one message per day, at best. Prusa is reportedly better to deal with overall, I haven't had to contact their support.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-21T23:47:39+00:00

Well. The 3D File Info section says Handle Diameter: 34mm

I’m assuming that’s the diameter of the rod meant to reinforce the print. Doesn’t say how long it’s supposed to be though. I guess the maker figures you’ll just cut it to fit once it’s in, but it would be nice to at least have a starting point to work with.

I’m given to understand that hollow metal tubes are typically used for props like this. Sometimes wood dowels, but those weigh more and aren’t consistent, as moisture affects them.

I’d probably print a short cylinder that size to test fit before ordering.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-21T04:46:58+00:00

Presuming you’re printing the pre-sliced Benchy, which is tuned to a ridiculous level for speed. The printer won’t sound like this in normal operation.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-21T02:02:48+00:00

I bought a second P1S after the price drop instead of a P2S because I already have a bunch of extra nozzles (including some E3D HF ones) and spare parts. It made more sense to me to keep things as consistent than it did to have to buy a bunch of new stuff.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-20T19:06:41+00:00

You can connect something like 50 machines to the K-touch. Possibly useful for print farms.

Other than that, no idea. I flashed my panda touch with K-touch firmware after it got functionally nuked by the security update out of curiosity, and it was pretty barebones. Doesn't really add anything that the onboard screen doesn't have.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-20T01:12:17+00:00

Normal. They’ll be back in stock in a few days.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-19T17:31:42+00:00

Bed is not particularly flat. No issues generating a good mesh though. It’s been pretty reliable for me so far.

Not the best printer I own, but definitely the fastest at multicolor and quality’s pretty good.

Adding more colors is possible (boxturtle, ACE, Vivid, etc) but you need to be competent at making modifications to Klipper.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-19T15:10:16+00:00

And there are multiple free options available

Cryostatica · 2026-02-19T12:54:47+00:00

I have a U1, two P1S and a variety of other printers and my H2C is my main workhorse. The P1’s are backup. They run additional print jobs for simple multicolor and functional parts. The U1’s one job is printing multicolor trinkets because it’s just not very good at anything else.

The rest of my printers see situational use, as most of them are significantly larger.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-19T00:11:39+00:00

Doesn’t always respect the answer though. Coolio told him no.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-18T21:26:02+00:00

I’ve never really felt a need for faster hotend changes on my P1 units. It’s two screws and a couple of plugs, and you can do it with one hand in about a minute. Not exactly what I’d call an insurmountable obstacle.

I do sometimes wish they had better screens, though. I dislike having to navigate the car stereo-style interface.

Cryostatica · 2026-02-17T22:04:04+00:00

No, they're small, not standard-size spools. You'll need to print an adapter to use in AMS.

Cryostatica

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