The Bambu Lab X1 uses a CoreXY motion system controlled by two stepper motors. The X and Y stepper motors work together to move the printhead.

Every stepper motor has an independent belt that is connected to the print head, so a pair of belts is used to control its position. Having a CoreXY motion system allows the X1 to print much faster compared to a traditional cartesian printer because the weight is lower, which is important when it comes to printing fast.

More information about the CoreXY motion system is available here.

The Z-axis is comprised of three lead screws that are connected to a single stepper motor using a belt.

Other 3D printers use three lead screws with a fixed bed to perform automated bed tramming but this is not the case on the X1. This kind of leveling system is not needed as the X1 heatbed can be trammed using the three leveling knobs underneath the bed if needed.

The X1 comes pre-leveled from the factory and it also has two other types of leveling systems to ensure the print is successful every time.

The extruder is responsible for pulling the filament from the spool and feeding it to the hotend where it is melted and pushed through a small nozzle to generate the printed model. It’s also one of the most important parts of a 3D printer because it needs to be able to accurately control the amount of filament which is pushed through the hotend.

The hotend is part of the printer responsible for melting the filament that gets deposited in thin layers to create the model. Different temperatures are used for various types of filament materials. For example, PLA filament can be printed at lower temperatures at around 210-220C while other filaments like PETG and ABS require higher temperatures at around 250-260C

Bambu Lab X1 comes with an all-in-one design for the hotend. This means that the nozzle is integrated into the heatblock and connected to the heatsink via a thin metal tube for best performance.

Having this design allows the hotend to heat up much faster than a regular hotend, and the all-in-one design minimizes issues that might come up when swapping nozzles.

With the X1, a double-sided magnetic flex plate is provided. The build plate attaches magnetically to the heatbed with plastic guides in the back to ensure a correct position.

One side of the build plate named the Bambu Cool Plate is used for PLA/PETG/ABS/ and it has a black sticker attached to it. While the Cool Plate sticker has good adhesion, glue stick needs to be used as a release interface between the print and the Cool Plate, to avoid damaging the printing surface. 

The other side of the supplied build plate named the Bambu Engineering Plate is used for higher temperature materials like PA/TPU/PC. You can also use this side of the build plate with other materials, as long as the heatbed temperature is correctly set up in the slicer. The adhesion proprieties are somewhat similar to a glass printing surface, so we recommend applying the same 3D printing adhesives to it when printing.

One of the innovations brought by the X1 line of 3D printers is the Micro Lidar sensor which measures the width and consistency of the test lines, to relay that information to the CPU which then calculates the correct flow rate value of the filament used.

The Micro Lidar is also used for inspecting the first layer quality and reporting to the printer if the consistency is not as expected, to catch any printing issue before starting the rest of the print.

Using the integrated camera and the AI capabilities of the X1 3D printer, the printer can monitor the printing process and detect if a print has failed or not. If that is the case, the print will be paused and the user will be requested to check on the print to confirm if the print has failed or not, and decide if the printing process can be resumed. There are some cases when the AI is not accurate and might detect false positives, but this is to be expected with this kind of system which will continue to be improved over time.

This feature uses machine learning and it's able to operate on the X1 thanks to the 2 TOP Neural Processing Unit (trillions of operations per second).

The Automatic Material System (AMS) consists of three major parts: a set of four Filament Slots, a Filaments Hub, and a Filament Buffer. Each Filament Slot has its own motor to actively push the filament forward or rewind it to the spool.  The Filament Hub merges four filament paths into one and gives the filament a second-stage driving force with a brushless motor.  The Filament Buffer is located at the back of the printer, which connects the AMS to the tool head extruder, in order to ensure the tension on the filament is within a given range so that the tool head extruder can work easily and precisely. 

In total, there are 10 sensors integrated into the filament path, meticulously monitoring and controlling the position, speed, and tension of the filament.

The AMS has 4 filament slots, each filament slot has its own motor and gears to actively push the filament forward or wind it back to the spool. Each filament slot also has a sensor to detect the filament, when a filament is inserted, it will pull the filament automatically. During this process, it pulls the filament just like an extruder. When it needs to wind the filament back, it also rotates the spool for filament winding.

The Filament Buffer is located at the back of the printer, connected to both the AMS and the toolhead extruder. It has a slide, a spring, and a hall sensor. When the AMS pushes the filament into the toolhead extruder, the slide will move forward due to the pressure of the filament. The hall sensor can then detect the displacement and location of the slide, and feedback that signal back to the AMS and the printer. By controlling the feed speed of the AMS, we can make sure the tension on the filament is within a given range so that the toolhead extruder can work easily and precisely, without adding too much or too little tension.

Open up the cover of the AMS and put the first filament spool in Slot 1.

Gently push the grey tab in front of the feeder, and push the filament for about 2 cm. The AMS will detect the filament and will start the loading procedure.

Here is another view of the AMS feeder tab. To load the filament, it needs to be pushed towards the back of the AMS. While there is a bit of resistance from the AMS feeder tab, you can push it without worry, as it is made to withstand the force of this process.

If you are using an official Bambulab filament spool, AMS will automatically identify the type and color of the filament via RFID. You can tap the slot of the identified filament on the screen to view the specific information, but you cannot manually modify it.

If you are using an unofficial filament spool, you need to manually configure the filament information on the screen. After a slot has been configured, the next time you insert another unofficial filament it will still display the previous information, you can also tap to reconfigure its information.

To unload the filament, first touch "Unload" on the screen to return the filament from the extruder to the AMS.

At times, the AMS rollers can become stuck (usually due to power failure or other errors) and be engaged to the drive gear.  If this occurs, you will feel resistance in pulling out the filament and rewinding it onto the spool.

If this happens, simply push the filament roll gently towards the front of the AMS, and then back again, the yellow gear should disengage from the black gear on the roller.

You can now roll the remaining filament onto the spool.

Flexible filaments such as TPU cannot be used with the AMS, they have to be loaded externally. This also applies to any filament that does not fit into the AMS.

Please watch the video on how to load filament without the AMS.

Make sure to connect the PFTE tube back after using the external spool holder.

To prepare for printing, please watch the video on how to choose the correct build plate and prepare it for your print. This will walk you through the process of installing and preparing the build plate for a successful print.

Please ensure to choose the correct build plate in Bambu Studio.