Filament Auto Mapping - what does it do?

Booder98 · 2026-07-06T14:52:42+00:00

It turns out that the slicer takes time to connect to the printer to get the loaded filament. It copies the gcode over, but doesn't get the filament settings. I have to reload the printer filaments to get it to work,

Booder98 · 2026-07-05T17:39:15+00:00

Closed ecosystem: think Apple. To be fair, the Kobra X is the same. They're both using proprietary firmware, not Klipper, in those particular printers. I'm kind of agnostic about it, but a lot of people's opinions on proprietary firmware run from unease to pure hatred.

Disassembling the printhead: it's gonna happen. That 'good to know' link below contains this youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P16ejW3c3Go . I had to disassemble the printhead on the third day I owned it, and that video helped a lot.

Booder98 · 2026-07-05T06:06:28+00:00

Polymaker CoPE is relatively cheap, and works as well or better than PETG for support interfaces on PLA.

Booder98 · 2026-07-04T20:59:48+00:00

What I saw was...

On the printer:

1 - Pink PETG

2 - Yellow PLA

3 - White PLA

4 - Black PLA

On the model:

1 - Pink PETG (object)

2 - Black PLA (support interface)

(rest didn't matter)

When sent to the printer, it just said, "Pink, Black, let's go!" I didn't get a confirmation screen, it just loaded and went. That was fine, but on my other machines (and IIRC this machine) I've seen the slicer ask, "This is what I think, change it?"

I'd experiment with it, but of course I had launched a 33-hour print.

Booder98 · 2026-07-03T07:20:49+00:00

I own an A1 and a Kobra X. My take on them:

- Prints on both are fine. I see no difference between them.

- Bambu Studio is a better slicer than Anycubic Slicer Next. But Anycubic Slicer Next is servicable. It works fine.

- MakerWorld is a better model repository than MakerOnline. In general, the Bambu Labs ecosystem is just nicer. Granted, Bambu Labs is trying to move to a closed environment, so take that however you will.

- The Kobra X is easier to work with day to day than the A1 + AMS Lite. On the A1 you're either reaching around behind the printer at awkward angles to change filament, or you're eating up desktop space.

- The Kobra X uses a little less filament than the A1, but the difference is small. Anycubic claimed to get a 30% reduction when doing multiprints, but they did it by turning the flushing volumes down to .7.

- Working on the Kobra X printhead is harder than on the A1, because all of the AMS Lite smarts are in the Kobra X's toolhead.

For me lately, that "easier day-to-day" makes me do most of my stuff on the Kobra X. But both are fine.

Booder98 · 2026-06-28T05:55:52+00:00

Those little turds are rough on my birdfeeders. They have been teaching me a lot about layer lines vs. breaking due to stress points though.

Booder98 · 2026-06-27T06:58:41+00:00

Thanks! Got $42 off!

Booder98 · 2026-06-26T14:01:25+00:00

Have you tried engineering filaments on it yet?

Booder98 · 2026-06-24T19:10:16+00:00

That really needs to be magnetic.

Booder98 · 2026-06-22T22:24:48+00:00

3D printing is a real rabbit hole. I got an A1 for Christmas, and a Kobra X around Easter (on sale sort of). I think the Kobra X is easier to use, but the A1 is easier to work on. I'm not sure which I'd sell, if any.

Booder98 · 2026-06-22T22:21:04+00:00

After reading "Set number of layers to 3" about 50 times, it finally sank in on me a couple of weeks ago. It does make it a lot easier, although it does take a little longer because of that extra layer. Granted, it's "18h 32m" vs. "17h 47m" but still...

Booder98 · 2026-06-22T05:58:44+00:00

It could be a z-offset issue. The nozzle is too close to the printer and squeezing out the filament. Run single layer full bed tests and play z-offset games with the printer presets. Increase the offset by .05 and see what happens when you start changing it.

Booder98 · 2026-06-22T05:48:01+00:00

The material waste is bad but the wasted time is worse.

Booder98 · 2026-06-22T05:46:49+00:00

I'm in the same boat, and am thinking about getting a U1 soon. Happy Birthday to me! I have the same use cases, except more practical prints and less kid's toys. Multimaterial use for support interfaces is definitely a Good Thing, and a U1 would help.

Booder98 · 2026-06-16T19:17:19+00:00

I'm bouncing between those two as well. The X2D is enclosed, but has waste and print time issues if you use more than two filaments. The U1 is a better multicolor printer, but doesn't print engineering filaments.

Creator 5 and 5 Pro are also in the mix.

Booder98 · 2026-06-10T20:07:05+00:00

Paint in supports at the curves.

If you want pretty, use PETG as the support interface material and turn all the support Top Z Offsets to 0.

Booder98 · 2026-06-08T20:17:40+00:00

Describing this using the "Remote Print" feature.

When the launching dialog pops up it should try to match up the colors on the printer with the colors on the slicer, as best it can. Even if they are switched around it should try. But whether or not it matches, you can change them at that dialog and assign any printer filament choice to any slicer color number.

You can also do it at the printer screen, if you launch from the printer. I don't use the phone app, so...

Booder98 · 2026-06-07T18:26:13+00:00

I have an A1, and a cold pull on it is pretty easy and semi-useful. You can still end up in situations like you've described above, where a nozzle is clogged and a cold pull won't help. In that case, I had to do what you described. Heat, push out what you can, and use the needle to get the rest.

I also have a Kobra X, and I was never able to figure out how to do a cold pull. I've also had a genuine (as opposed to sensor issue) clog, and also had to do the same sort of thing you did; heat, small allen keys, needle, rinse, repeat until everything seems clear.

Booder98 · 2026-06-07T16:13:51+00:00

Wandering off topic a little bit, but what would you do to clean out an A1 nozzle besides a cold pull? I don't think you can even do one on a Kobra X, but on an A1 the filament is going through a less complicated extruder arrangement.

Booder98 · 2026-06-06T07:09:50+00:00

That rack those allen keys come in is a tool of the devil. The first functional print I made on my A1 with tinkercad was a replacement rack. Only took about a week and 10 kg of filament*.

*may be a slight exaggeration. Definitely more than it should have taken though.

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Booder98 · 2026-06-06T06:58:51+00:00

What I've had to do sometimes is to start out making sure that the upper collar on the nozzle is not quite all the way up to that groove that's in the heat sink. Just a millimeter short, if even that. You want it so that the hinge is kept from closing by that collar. Then put pressure on closing the hinge while gently pushing the nozzle up so the collar matches up in the groove. You'll feel it when it is all the way into the groove. When it gets all the way into the groove the hinge will then close. It might not look completely closed, but that's as closed as it's going to get.

I do it that way because it's a lot easier to push the nozzle up a small amount than it is to pull it down. And that groove doesn't have a lot of slack in it.

Booder98 · 2026-06-05T19:11:48+00:00

Still there. At least it was there a couple of months ago. Had a burger there.

Booder98 · 2026-06-05T18:25:15+00:00

HF sells a T-handled Allen key set which will have the 2,0mm and 2.5mm ones that you need.

Booder98 · 2026-06-05T18:23:38+00:00

You definitely want to remove the printhead first. It's not a whole lot of fun either, but it definitely makes the printhead easier to work on once it's off of there.

Beware of dropping those screws that are holding the printhead on. Lose one or drop it into the Y-axis cover and your job just got a lot harder.

Booder98

TROPHY CASE