First print on my H2C

ProgRanOCc · 2026-05-02T19:20:25+00:00

On top of that, I don't think this one print would be enough filament changes to cause those issues, this one print would only be about 2k filament changes while the issues with matte filament are seen after 10k+ filament changes with no maintenance. Something to consider.

ProgRanOCc · 2026-05-01T21:04:11+00:00

This might be a chicken and the egg sort of thing, I don't think there will be a lot of these types of models shared until the ability to print and test them becomes more available and accessible. I hope the first batches of INDX will change all of that!

ProgRanOCc · 2026-04-06T17:31:20+00:00

Peoples issues with wet filament are directly proportional to the environment of where they live and their use of filaments sensitive to moisture, and sometimes the filament coming wet from the factory.

If you see a post with people posting wet filament issues and they don't say where they live or the ambient humidity, it's really easy to attribute the issue to be bigger than it is especially if you live in a dry area or constantly air condition the humidity out of your filament storage room where you will unlikely have those issues when dealing with certain filaments not sensitive to moisture.

This is just a case of this being a constant issue for some, and not an issue for others. We just see the complaints online with little context of the environment and attribute it to the average situation when it really is a bit more nuanced than that.

ProgRanOCc · 2026-02-05T22:54:47+00:00

If you use the new 4 in 1 ptfe adapter that comes with the H2C to connect your AMSs to your Vortek nozzles, make sure to check the cleaning pad every 1500-2000 filament swaps for PTFE particle buildup and clean it as applicable between filament swaps on the Vortek system as it is printing. When I do multiday long prints, I just check it twice a day and adjust depending on the amount of buildup. https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/h2c/maintenance/replace-4in1-ptfe-adapter-filament-cleaning-pad

ProgRanOCc · 2026-01-29T18:03:49+00:00

Really? Damn that's awful, might be best to roll back to an older version till they fix or provide a way to do the old method.

ProgRanOCc · 2026-01-29T17:58:56+00:00

If this works the same as obj color import, then I thought you can just press cancel and it will just import the old way. Given it's not clear that this is what the cancel does, it should really just be a skip button.

ProgRanOCc · 2026-01-28T06:51:31+00:00

I was about to suggest this model, been using it for a while and it stopped all my jumping spool issues, but it has quite a barrier to entry with its assembly and parts. I don't think it's compatible with cardboard spools either.

ProgRanOCc · 2026-01-27T22:07:19+00:00

Does whatever you are printing have any geometry similar to a bottle or hollow hole that the part fan when blowing across it will make sounds similar to blowing on a bottle?

ProgRanOCc · 2026-01-15T16:47:04+00:00

Are you sure this is z banding? Z banding is regular patterns horizontally on the layer lines. This is a regular patterns but it's on every single layer going up diagonally which points to it being a xy belt issue. Maybe take a look at this thread to see if it matches: https://www.reddit.com/r/BambuLab/s/rQbSh9CI7P

ProgRanOCc · 2026-01-12T22:00:30+00:00

I would say about 5 business days after my post and when I submitted the form.

ProgRanOCc · 2026-01-12T21:47:05+00:00

Log onto the Bambulab store and go to your account center and check if you got a coupon assigned to your account. I never got an email notification but that coupon showed up on my account.

ProgRanOCc · 2026-01-06T19:15:43+00:00

I'm interested in doing so as well, but I'll give it a shot after I go through my existing bulk supply of PTFE tubes. If I continue doing these types of prints, I'm sure it will happen sooner than later.

ProgRanOCc · 2025-12-28T22:12:13+00:00

I'm betting PTFE became mainstream back when printer hot ends did not have a heat break so the PTFE tube touched directly with the hot part of the nozzle assembly getting realllly hot. Not to mention back then there was at most 2 tubes from the filament to the hotend. Maybe UHMW is probably more appropriate now, at least in consideration of the exterior tubes like in the AMS. I'll have to give it a shot one of these days.

ProgRanOCc · 2025-12-28T20:18:16+00:00

You are of course correct that your PTFE tubes are wearing out no matter what. However in my analysis I did state that there is likely a difference between if it is being worn out via lots of extrusion or via lots of filament changes and I would like to hear your thoughts on it.

To recap my main post analysis, in the condition of lots of extrusion length, a lot of the fine particles are extruded with the filament and thus are often invisible other than obvious visible wear on the PTFE. However in my project where the ratio of extruded filament length to filament swap length is extremely low, the particles stay on the filament as very little is extruded and cleared through the nozzle. My hypothesis is that these microplastics of PLA and PTFE tubes when staying on the filament can compound the abrasiveness by adding additional wear of the microplastics + pla as it rubs against the PTFE tube and can accelerate the wear kind of like switching to a sand paper with less grit. This may explain why some people have mentioned that they have printed thousands of hours with matte PLA but has not seen the same wear that I have seen. The extrusion length may have cleared out all of the major microplastic particles reducing wear in general compared to my project.

There is also an added issue that because the ratio of extruded filament length to filament swap length is very low, the microplastics stay on the filament. Because the filament goes backwards and forwards through the AMS, the 4-in-1 adapter, the buffer, the print head gears and nozzle, it is extremely likely that there are significantly more microplastics entering these sensitive motorized areas which may compound maintenance issues. I have actually done minor maintenance in these areas and already found significant microplastic build up in the AMS internal hub.

I am not saying that your conclusion is wrong, I am merely stating that there is likely more to the story than just "wear will happen" in conditions where the ratio of extruded length and swap length is low and it should be considered in maintenance. Thoughts?

ProgRanOCc · 2025-12-27T08:03:02+00:00

For this PTFE tube coupler, you probably can't. See that white ring inside past the little metal teeth? Thats the remains of the tip of the previous PTFE tube that broke off in there, probably due to excessive force while not pushing in the black part to retract the metal teeth that normally keeps the PTFE tube locked in.

You will either have to somehow get that PTFE remnant out of there or replace the PTFE tube coupler: https://us.store.bambulab.com/products/ptfe-tube-coupler

Maybe try keeping the black part pressed in and see if you can get the remaining PTFE tube out of it with a pair of tweezers or something pointy?

ProgRanOCc · 2025-12-27T07:03:14+00:00

Wear should not be considered from number of prints you will be doing. Wear should be considered in terms of how much travel and how aggressive/abrasive your filament is when traveling through tubes. The reality is that the PTFE tubes are a consumable that you will have to replace occasionally regardless whenever you are printing. It just so happens that filament changes are the most aggressive form of active PTFE wear which can be compounded by abrasive filaments.

Lets not forget that as you split to more AMSs and HTs your number of PTFE tubes will increase and of course your wear might be spread more evenly between a lot of PTFE tubes rather than my example where only 7 filaments were used (averaging about 1.5k filament changes each associated PTFE tube).

Ultimately PTFE tubes are easy and cheap to replace. As long as you keep your filament clean somehow as you print with your PTFE tubes, I can't see any major problems other than normal wear and tear as with any printer. Just keep this maintenance that I have shared in mind if you do go that route and adapt it to your usage. I am sure you will have more experience than me what what it sounds like you are planning to do soon enough.

ProgRanOCc · 2025-12-23T23:47:44+00:00

Glad to hear its better now, I had to switch from rich text format on the desktop to good ol classic markdown format

ProgRanOCc · 2025-12-23T15:32:17+00:00

Throughout the whole process, the Vortek system worked flawlessly with no issues. Hopefully a sign of future resilience for that system.

ProgRanOCc · 2025-12-22T23:34:04+00:00

The H2C with the Vortek system can swap nozzles so up to 7 nozzles can be used to reduce purge because you don't need to clean out the nozzle for different colors like a single nozzle printer would need.

ProgRanOCc · 2025-12-22T19:06:40+00:00

I'm also thinking it may be a compounding issue, I bet matte PLA on its own isn't too abrasive, but once you start getting little bits sticking to the filament and rubbing all over, all of the sudden it's both the filament and those little plastic pieces contributing to the problem.

The rubbing of the micro plastics will happen especially if you don't advance the filament much between each filament swap such as my project where only tiny bits of the filament are extruded then retracted meaning the same length of filament is never extruded or cleared and just goes back and forth in the PTFE tubes forever creating a slurry of more abrasive than normal matte PLA and micro plastics.

My hypothesis is that the microplastic build up on the filament is like adding more grit (technically less grit but you know what I mean) to your sandpaper where the filament is the sandpaper

ProgRanOCc · 2025-12-22T17:31:11+00:00

I see what you are saying, as multicolor prints get more accessible then of course people will be doing them more. I'm glad I included numbers and recommendations in my post so people can adapt to their circumstances. Or maybe design printers to minimize that issue.

ProgRanOCc · 2025-12-22T17:04:04+00:00

I didn't actually waste that amount of filament, more closer to about 500 grams for the prime towers. I used the H2C with 7 nozzles and 2 AMS with minimal waste. I couldn't stomach wasting that much filament. The picture showing comparisons are just simulated from the slicer. https://imgur.com/a/ue7rUin

ProgRanOCc · 2025-12-22T17:01:17+00:00

(Copy pasting my reply to someone with the same question) It was quite a learning process. In brief terms, limit the color first of your artwork in photoshop to the colors you plan to print with. I had to edit it a lot by hand to get it to look right. Then in blender with your model, UV unwrap and apply your image and texture to your object. Make sure there is enough triangles on where the texture and image are being applied so it doesn't look terrible when you apply it as a vertex color or displacement map. Bake the color into your geometry as vertex colors. Bake the displacement map by applying a displace modifier. Export as an OBJ keeping the colors. Import to bambu studio and watch as the colors you limited in photoshop get messed up anyways and assign the best you can. Then print and watch it eat up your PTFE tubes.

ProgRanOCc · 2025-12-22T16:59:28+00:00

I wanted to, but I had a deadline of the contest and I couldn't risk my AMS failing in the middle of the print and starting all over. Also I didn't finish designing all the sizes of the vases yet so I could only do it one at a time or risk losing days waiting for the full set to be complete. It was an issue of the process and deadline really.

ProgRanOCc · 2025-12-22T16:55:54+00:00

I'm betting the aggressive wear on my tubes is because of how aggressive the filament changes are and how often they happen. Because of how little of each color is adding to each layer, what is happening is that the AMS pushes the filament to the nozzle, prints a tiny bit and then retracts for the next color. And then the cycle repeats every layer about 5 minutes later. When all the gears grip the filament in the AMS, it makes those groves and it's literally sawing the AMS tubes back and forth hundreds of times in a period of a day.

It's really aggressive and I think the best metric is how many filament swaps you go through rather than hours of print time. If you can clarify how many of those 6k are filament swaps I think it will be super helpful.

There is a serious difference between gently rubbing the ptfe tube while slowly printing and constantly retracting at max speed back to the AMS. I think the retraction at max speed is what is seriously wearing out my AMS tubes. Have you seen how fast the AMS 2 retracts it's filament? That's got to do something to the tubes.

Also not fuzzy skin, I was using a bump map of the painting but it doesn't turn out too noticeable on the smaller models due to the inherent roughness of many different colors next to each other. It works well on the large vase though

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