1.3 The printers

Module 1 · Part 1: Understand the machines · Lesson 3 of 14 · about 3 min

Upper row and lower row

The X2D rack: eight X2Ds in two rows of four. The upper row has its AMS 2 Pro units on top, the lower row has them on slide-out platforms below, and each X2D has an AMS HT to its right

The four upper-row X2Ds are the beginner printers, and they are the only ones Module 1 lets you use. With Module 1 you print ordinary PLA and Bambu PLA Silk+ on them. They use Cool Plate SuperTack plates and standard 0.4 mm hardened-steel nozzles that members do not change.

The four lower-row X2Ds are for more advanced materials. They are exactly the same machines as the upper row. The difference is which plates and materials they are set up for. The two H2S printers are there for one reason: they can print larger objects. Both groups need Module 2.

The X2D has two nozzles

Close-up of an X2D left nozzle printing onto a white object, with the right nozzle raised beside it

An X2D has two nozzles side by side on the print head, but only one prints at a time. The printer lowers the nozzle it needs and parks the other one slightly higher, with a small cap over it so it cannot drip onto your print.

The X2D print head from below, with the flow blocker, the cap over the parked nozzle, and the nozzle switching lever marked

• The left nozzle is the main one. Its extruder sits right above the hotend ("direct drive"), which gives very precise control over the plastic. Your model prints from this nozzle. It is fed by the AMS 2 Pro, the four-spool unit.

• The right nozzle is the extra one. It uses a Bowden drive: its extruder motor sits at the back of the printer and pushes the filament through a long tube to the nozzle. That keeps the print head light, but the control is a little less precise. It is fed by the AMS HT, the one-spool unit to the right of the printer. In this room its main job is support material, which is Module 2.

Left: the X2D print head with its cover off, the left hotend lowered and the right one parked higher. Right: the auxiliary extruder at the back of the printer, pushing filament into the tube to the right nozzle

With Module 1 you only use the left nozzle.

Network

All the printers run in LAN mode, meaning they are only on the makerspace's local network. You do not need a Bambu account for anything in this room.

Things that can hurt you or the machine

The X2D touchscreen during a print, with the Pause and Stop buttons at the bottom right

These printers are enclosed and handle a lot by themselves, which makes some dangers easy to forget:

• The nozzle runs at 200 °C or more and the bed can be hot enough to burn you, and neither looks hot. Let them cool before you reach in: the printer's screen shows the nozzle and bed temperatures, so wait until both are close to room temperature.

• The print head moves fast and without warning, including when a paused job starts again. Never reach into a printer that is not finished.

• Each printer can filter its own air (a pre-filter, a HEPA filter and an activated-carbon filter), and it decides by itself when to use the filter, depending on the material. Keep the enclosure closed while printing, and never remove or block a filter.

• To stop a printer right now, use the stop button on its touchscreen. If there is a fire, smoke or an electrical fault, go to 1.13 Faults, fire, and who to tell.

Image sources: print head, flow blocker and auxiliary extruder, from Bambu Lab's X2D Introduction.