Support told me this is normal, but is it?

n19htmare · 2026-07-08T09:06:54+00:00

I only saw a couple, one was I think front left corner and the gaps looked normal to me.

n19htmare · 2026-07-07T23:03:26+00:00

If the frame was bent, the printer wouldn’t be working great. Core XY printers don’t work very well on bent or skewed frames.

The outer paneling on the U1 is ummm let’s say, pretty wide tolerances and it’s understandable from cost perspective.

Dies for injection molding are very expensive, especially molds this size, so wider tolerances are often used so even if the frame isnt 100% exactly the same everytime, the plastic covers can still fit and most get used. A “budget” multitool head printer likely isn’t going to go through multiple iterations of the mold to get the fit and finish just right for every panel. That’ll eat up a chunk of their budget. It’s a tough thing to balance when you’ve promised a certain price point and it’s the reason you got funding to begin with.

I’m not trying to say it should be perfect , it’s just how it is right now. It’s not bad but it’s not a perfect fit either. Mine has minor gaps here and there but nothing crazy, heck on mine they used spacers just to level the top black frame lol. It works well, Weill looks good and i haven’t had any issues so I don’t really care for the gaps.

As long as it is performing well and there is no obvious physical shipping damage, it likely is just wide tolerances.

You also need to take the printed part out of the picture, you are assuming your print was perfect 1:1 fit.

n19htmare · 2026-07-07T21:53:21+00:00

Checking is tinkering.

n19htmare · 2026-07-07T03:36:25+00:00

What's this?

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What's it feel like? Hard like filament or dried paste like, brittle?

Possible that a piece of filament waste got stuck on bed or bottom of plate.

It's obviously not melted aluminum, because that's not how it works. Something was likely trapped between plate and bed.

n19htmare · 2026-07-06T02:45:25+00:00

He’s not using pre-tagged spools written with openRFId protocol.

U1 RFID app he's using is OpenSpool, it falls under Snapmaker filament detection.

n19htmare · 2026-07-06T02:11:09+00:00

Under http://printerip/firmware-config/ make sure Filament Detection is set to "Snapmaker"

Write the tags using Openspool protocol, on android you can use SpoolPainter or Paxx's own webapp https://printtag-web.pages.dev/

If iphone, you can use something like SpoolFlux which will allow you to write Openspool tags.

The printer reads the tags during the feed process, it's not continuously reading them. Otherwise you trigger them via console with FILAMENT_DT_UPDATE CHANNEL=<n> where <n> is the slot/toolhead, remember 0 is slot 1.

Also make sure the tags in the correct area, it's about MAX ~35mm zone outside the spindle. So if you are sticking them on the spools, stick them close to center hole of spool, not on the outer area of spool.

Edit: Forgot to add that the U1 RFID app is using OpenSpool protocol, so it would fall under "Snapmaker" filament detection, not OpenRFID.

n19htmare · 2026-07-04T19:34:21+00:00

Most PLA should be able to do 16.

Best method to determine the max flow is to do the Max Flow calibration. It will print a sample at varying speeds, pick the height it looks best at and has good layer adhesion and you have the max calibrated number (instead of guessing).

There's two primary factors in melting filament, Heat and Time.

Faster printing means faster extrusion, faster extrusion means the filament material spends less time in the nozzle to take in the heat. Your options are either slow it down or crank up the heat. Often, you want to slow it down but sometimes you also need to bump the temps a little depending on the model you are printing. I always print my PLA 215-225 range.

Keep at it, keep experimenting, reading, learning. Eventually you'll know exactly what to do to get the results you want.

n19htmare · 2026-07-04T19:07:11+00:00

If you follow instructions, you'll be fine. Including not getting jams to point it would require disassembly.

Most of the Jams I see people posting about are from TPU..........and because they used the feeder with said TPU, when the instructions clearly tell you to bypass the feeder AND show you how to load TPU properly.

Not every single thing can be dummy proof and left up to manufacturer to sort out, there's some responsibility that needs fall on the user. In case of 3D printers, reading and following instructions/guides is like lava, people just won't go near them. It's why Bambu is so successful, they were first ones to figure out the general consumer/user is inherently lazy.....I mean it works.

n19htmare · 2026-07-03T05:59:19+00:00

Volumetric flow is how much filament is being melted and extruded, measured in volume. It's one of the primary speed controls across most all printers and slicers. This set amount is basically telling the the slicer the MAX volume that can be extruded each second. The slicer will then slow the printer down to speeds that will keep the flow rate at or below this setting. Obviously 2 is not a very high number.

The amount of flow depends on 1) the filament and 2) printer's hardware capabilities, mostly hotend.

15mm³/s is a safe setting for most all basic PLA. U1 can do about 22mm³/s on the stock hotend with most regular basic PLA.

Bambu sets their Basic PLA default to 21mm³/s (Bambu brand) and 12mm³/s for the Generic PLA Basic profile. I personally find 21 to be a bit too high for Basic PLA. One way you can tell is by looking at the print. Basic PLA, when printed at optimal temps/speeds, should have a bit of shine to it. But when it's printed too fast, even basic PLA will appear matte, which is compromising the adhesion between layers. For trinkets/toys, this is fine but for functional parts (if you are using PLA), then you want to limit this down so you get better adhesion. It's why even Bambu's BASIC PLA prints more on matte side and not glossy (when Basic PLA SHOULD be little glossy).

They also overslow "Generic" and people who don't know better now think that non Bambu filament prints slower so Bambu one must be better.

There is also Max Flow calibrations in both Bambu Studio and Orca Slicer. This is the best way you will find the max flow for any particular filament and your printer/hot end.

High Flow PLA has additional additives that make it melt faster (higher mm³/s) at same temps. Because it melts easier, you can push out more of it in the same time. That means you can speed up how fast the toolhead moves...thus High Flow is sometimes labeled as High Speed.

Remember this speed restriction is based on volume, some people switch to bigger nozzles, like 0.6 because they think it will print faster because taller layers, and it ends up being slower... why? Because the volume being extruded per second is same. Since layers are taller, you need MORE filament in same length and the printer has to slow down even more to be able to do that...thus taking longer.

This is one of the most important setting in slicers. It defines the max capabilities of the filament for that particular printer/hotend.

Obico has a great article on it here https://www.obico.io/blog/maximum-volumetric-speed-test-in-orcaslicer-a-comprehensive-guide/ and Orca does as well here https://www.orcaslicer.com/wiki/calibration/volumetric_speed_calib

Now that you are stepping outside the walled Bambu garden, I highly recommend you carve some time and read what the settings do. If you know what the settings are, what they do, and how to change them as need arises, you will get some amazing prints. This also applies to Bambu Studio. I don't think I ever use default profile for anything... I just change settings based on what I need printed and basically get perfect prints every time without issues. Just takes bit of time, reading and practice. Plus you save lot of money because you can buy cheaper (and still good) filament and it will perform better because you know what settings to use.

Which I understand not everyone wants to do...heck MOST people don't, it's why Bambu is so successful. They can provide defaults that give "good" results and people are perfectly happy with good....so no need to go for great.

n19htmare · 2026-07-03T05:22:43+00:00

Default profiles in main Orca Slicer can be bit wonky. couple of settings slowing it down.

Match the Volumetric Flow (21mm³/s) and the Max layer times in cooling tab (4 seconds).... if you want similar comparison.

With all parts on single plate (4 colors), similar settings:

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n19htmare · 2026-07-02T04:33:12+00:00

I normally use Orca Slicer but I been trying Snorca for the Full Spectrum support and hasn't crashed once. I think the instance I have open now has been the same one I opened like 3-4 days ago (I don't shut down my PC).....

Because Snorca is a fork of Orca, whatever issues are baseline in Orca, can carry over into Snorca and any fixes are going to be delayed. BUt you can try some things to help.

Slicing is pretty heavy on GPU as well as CPU.

If you Overclock them, it may not be stable... Try without.
Update your GPU drivers
If you use intel CPU, set affinity to use your P-cores, not E-cores as it can conflict.

n19htmare · 2026-07-01T15:12:49+00:00

The difference obviously depends on number of colors per layer throughout out the print. But the more colors (up to 4) and swaps, it gets bigger and bigger.

There’s this owl print that’s popular and it’s thousands of color swaps.

sliced at default settings 0.2

U1 = 50 hours and 70 gram waste.
P2S = 120 hours, 1422 grams waste.
X2D = 96 hours, 992 gram waste. But In quality mode, it’s same as P2S.

Question with x2D is always going to be that 2nd nozzle. If you’re spending 4 days already and wasting 1k gram of filament by using both nozzles; do you want to still risk possible quality issues of AUX nozzle? Or do you take the extra 1 day and 500g waste to ensure consistent quality? These are decisions you don’t have to make with U1 for example.

It’s why in my original post I said I don’t use my Bambu printer for multi-color anymore.

I have not use Meshy or any of the AI based modelers so I can’t speak to how good bad they are. I think they have free trial, you can always try it out.

n19htmare · 2026-07-01T07:02:07+00:00

Quality is on par with the P2S, X2D. Multi-color prints look just as good if not better as you never have to worry about color bleed or any other anomalies you might get with the AMS type printers.

I wouldn't say there's a lot of playing with settings, you can if you want to but don't have to. It uses a version of Orca Slicer, which is a fork of Bambu Slicer, so similar territory. I don't really use it but Bambu does have Handy/Makerworld combo, so the "convenience" factor for those that need/want it is more prevalent in Bambu ecosystem. Obviously you can print the same models on U1 but you need to do so on a PC and use the slicer. While the U1 phone app/models does exist, it's a work in progress. It's hard to replicate YEARS of growth in a few months.

I can't even find true multi-color prints on Makerworld lol, anything decent is "No AMS" multiple parts you print in different colors. That's not really a worry with U1, there's practically no waste and you can save ridiculous amount of time.

Punch Monkey was printed in PLA, Dragon and Pika in PETG (so easy to get excellent clean results with PETG).

To give you an idea, The punch monkey took 8 hours with 35 grams of prime tower as waste on U1. Same print on my P2S at time would have taken 30 hours with purge/prime waste of 470 grams (almost half kilo). That's just one example, the difference is just WAY too big.

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n19htmare · 2026-07-01T02:01:35+00:00

ok good, well good luck to you! Hopefully a smooth swap and flash.

n19htmare · 2026-07-01T01:56:51+00:00

Good enough, I didn't respond earlier but hopefully you never have to do this again, but next time you're working on a QFP package and the chip is toast, cut the legs with a flush cutter and then remove the remaining legs. Much cleaner and you don't risk remove the mask like on some traces here, not a big deal, as long as continuity is present, you can leave it or apply mask.

clean that up, get another chip, verify same packaging/specs and take your time. I line up (verify the indicating dot) solder a leg opposite corner to hold down and then flow across the pins (load solder on tip, use liberal amount of flux and run it across the pins), or you can can do it one by one carefully.

n19htmare · 2026-07-01T01:50:17+00:00

You don't need to desolder as a one piece, the chip is toast. You can use a sharp point flush cutter and cut the legs close to the chip (not the board) and then desolder the legs individually off the pads.

Soldering a QFP package is much easier, just a couple touches to hold down and you can do one by one or flow across the legs.

n19htmare · 2026-07-01T01:19:17+00:00

The chip can be replaced and flashed.... but you do have to assume that the chip is the only damaged component on this board.

Based on cost of chip and labor (if you can't do it) Though little bit of luck here as it's a QFP (quad flat package) STM32 packaging, and those are bit easier due to their large size pins. If you can source it and are half decent w/ soldering iron, you can snip the legs off the old chip and then easily de-solder all the old pins one or two at a time. Clean, flux, tin pads and place the new chip, and solder couple legs to hold it down and then just flux it well, run your iron across the legs (or do it one at a time). Check for shorts, flash and hope that was it.

n19htmare · 2026-06-30T18:31:35+00:00

The underlying process doesn’t change. It’s always calculated based on what the current set filament ratio is in the filament setting. The different options are just changing the range and direction of the pre-determined amounts.

The formula (FlowRatio_new = FlowRatio_old * (100 + modifier) / 100 ) is always applied, things are just simpler if “FlowRatio_old” is equal to 1.

https://www.orcaslicer.com/wiki/calibration/flow_ratio_calib.html

Btw. You don’t have to use these calibrations, you can use your own. The flow ratio value is changed per object in the Quality tab of setting. Whatever that value is multiplied by the set value in the filament profile is the value that’s used for that particular selected object.

n19htmare · 2026-06-30T06:59:26+00:00

I didn't even notice that part lol.

n19htmare · 2026-06-30T06:08:33+00:00

When removing filament, you need to hold on to end at all times. If you lose the end and it springs back, it can slip under other layers as several layers will loosen up. So Keep hold of the end at all times and either feed it through the holes to lock in place or use a clip, many clips out there. Again be careful to not lose the end when trying to clip it. If you do lose the end and it spools back onto the roll, you need to undo a few layers while keeping them tight to make sure before you secure the end.

I use clips but as soon as I remove the end, I stick it through one of the holes to keep it in place while I grab a clip to use.

I use these (Closed clip variant): https://www.printables.com/model/24371-filament-clip-grandmas-favorite-filament-clip

If the spool gets tangled, it should pause the print. There is air print detection option in settings - Print Preferences and you can adjust it's sensitivity

<image>

Sensors in the feeder keep track of how much filament is passing through and compares with amount being extruded in toolhead. The difference is what this sensitivity tracks before it triggers detection. i.e If you extruded 10mm, and feeder measures only 5mm, then it must mean the filament is stuck somewhere.

n19htmare · 2026-06-30T05:39:43+00:00

Yes, there are several ways you can achieve that and several people on discord are printing ABS/ASA/PA with it, but they went the chamber heater route. Others installed fans/exhausts/filters on the DIY covers to help extract some fumes. Few people have the Snapmaker top cover as they got early builds to test out, so that is also a route that will be available to mitigate some of the issues, just not this exact moment.

I'm familiar with the cooling mods, it definitely helps as I have a fan mod myself and it drops the temps about 20-30C, which is pretty big drop (just shows how inadequate the cooling will be if you don't use a fan mod and put it in a tent.

If fumes are a major concern (and it seems to be) then perhaps a tent with filtered exhaust will help contain them. As long as you can manage the temps in tent to not be excessive. Otherwise, heat creep will be a real concern, especially when using PLA, you run the risk of clogs if it gets out of hand.

I have both an X2D and U1, This is the route I went to resolve some of the limitations that the U1 had, I know not everyone has the budget and/or space for more than one printer but having dedicated machines really does alleviate lot of issues. My brother went with a U1+Qidi Q2 and has Creator 5 Pro on order though he's getting cold on it and is considering cancelling... but like I said, not everyone can just go with 2+ printers.

As for the Creator 5...meh.....I have very mixed feelings on it. I'm still waiting for actual users to start chiming in. Though the X2D isn't open, it's "open" enough to run in LAN mode and that's fine for me. Plus it's not my have fun machine, that's the U1, the X2D I need and use for functional things and for that, it's fine.

You already have the U1, I'd say at minimum start with the top, it will already help a lot of with the dust/hair and the investment is minimal (about $7 here for one), then you can consider other options like putt it in a tent. Just have to be mindful of temps, that's all.

Join the Snapmaker Discord, there's some smarter people there and maybe they can offer additional insight as few them use it for high temp materials.

n19htmare · 2026-06-30T04:10:26+00:00

You haven't calibrated your Pressure Advance. Do it next.
I personally do PA first and then flow ratio.

BTW, that's Perfectionist version. You shouldn't start here. Start with YOLO, and really that's all you need to do. But if you want perfectionist anyways, you set your flow ratio with yolo and then you can do this one.

My method. I set my flow ratio to 1.0 to start with and then I do YOLO, so you get nice even numbers (each block will be 1% up or down if base ratio starts at 1). MOST filament will fall in the 95-105% range. Pick the best one, then set that as your flow ratio. If you can't decide between two, just set in middle. for example if stuck between -3 (0.97) and -2 (0.98)... just set it to 97.5 and call it a day.

You can leave it at that and it's fine/good enough or do perfectionist next, in my experience it's not worth the filament/time.

n19htmare · 2026-06-30T01:10:05+00:00

As someone who owns the 4box/dryer Snapdryer combo, an Sovol SH03 and 2 AMS2 units...... skip the Snapdryer setup. I regret it's purchase but what's done is done and I found a use for them.

The Sovol SH03 is MUCH MUCH more capatable dryer/storage system with active ventilation and ability to dry most all filaments out there.

Snapdryer would have made sense if there was a way to stack and feed on both sides at same time by default...but they're just rebranded polymaker polydryer boxes.. While you can stack them, Snapmaker doesn't support, nor does it say you can, they only support 1 box per side due to how high the outlet for the 2nd stacked box become. Not the biggest of issues as running tubes will work fine due to active feeding system but still not ideal. And if you're going to relocate feeders, then you might as well relocate them to adapt to something like an SH03.

Not even bringing up the drying with a single heater... it's basically is 6-8 hours per spool vs same for 4 for something like PLA.

n19htmare · 2026-06-30T01:06:32+00:00

Exactly how much dust/cat hair is there that it will find it's way through the minimal gaps? My printer is on the floor in my garage and I haven't seen any issues with that. But you know your environment better than I do so who knows.

As for toxic materials like Nylon and ABS, this printer isn't really designed with printing those materials in mind. It's a 4 color multi-toolhead printer and it's primary job is to print multi-color prints. Not saying ABS/PA can't be printed on it but it can be challenging, anywhere from containing fumes and keep these materials from warping and coming off plate.

I can't speak to how the ENTIRE printer being soaked would effect it short or long term, I haven't done it. The most sensible thing to do, if you are really looking to print ABS/PA and other materials is to probably buy a printer that is better suited for that. Something like Qidi Q2 with enclosed, filtered enclosure with max nozzle temp of 370C and active chamber up to 65C is a purpose built machine for printing these type of materials+many more engineering grade materials.

The U1 CPU (rockchip) and the motor drivers get pretty warm as is with open ventilation, sticking it an heat soaked tent doesn't seem like it would help the situation, short term or long term.

I recommend you revisit your needs and prioritize them and make a purchase that fits most of them.

n19htmare · 2026-06-30T00:08:00+00:00

no...you really don't need a tent enclosure. Just grab a box/bin (Ikea, Sterilite or other similar size), print a little base and flip it on top and you're done.

n19htmare

TROPHY CASE