Bambu Lab Filaments
As well as creating printers, Bambu Lab also provide various maker supplies and filaments, which is a savvy customer relationship generator. Even more so because they have a few special features over your off-the-shelf filament options.
Notes
- Lots of filaments available: PLA, PETG, ABS/ASA, PC/TPU, PA/PET, PPS, Support, Fibre Reinforced.
- Not all are Bambu Lab AMS compatible.
- Some come with reusable plastic spools, or as refill packs on cardboard rolls (cheaper), so environmentally more friendly.
- Only available direct from Bambu Lab store.
- Spools contain RFID tags that the Bambu Lab AMS can recognise and automatically register in Bambu Lab Studio.
- Bambu Lab Studio contains tailored setting for Bambu Lab filaments, that software updates keep up to date.
- This generally results in higher quality prints and often faster prints too when compared to using other brands.
- Other brands can be configured, but you have to set these profiles up yourself.
Personal Experience
- Was not convinced I was going to be get much benefit from using them at first, but buying refills in bulk is a good option price-wise.
- Unlike ordering from somewhere like Amazon there’s going to be a few days delay in delivery (at least), so you need to plan far enough ahead on that.
- Filament is sealed and includes a small silica gel pack. The result is that PLA does not require any drying when opened - but if there is time, filaments do benefit. from being dried out for good measure. They will stay dry enough to use for longer for example.
Filaments Used
PLA (Basic)
PLA basic is just standard PLA. Bambu Lab do offer non-standard PLA too such as Matte, Silk, Silk+, Sparkle, CF, Metal, Marble, Gradient, Glow, Dual Colour, Aero, and Galaxy.
| Colour | Spooled | Weight (KG) | ID | Units Purchased to Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jade White | No | 1 | 10100 | 2 |
| Jade White | Yes | 1 | 10100 | 3 |
| Black | No | 1 | 10101 | 1 |
| Black | Yes | 1 | 10101 | 7 |
| Silver | No | 1 | 10102 | 1 |
| Grey | No | 1 | 10103 | 2 |
| Dark Grey | No | 1 | 10105 | 2 |
| Red | No | 1 | 10200 | 1 |
| Beige | No | 1 | 10201 | 1 |
| Hot Pink | No | 1 | 10204 | 1 |
| Orange | Yes | 1 | 10300 | 2 |
| Yellow | No | 1 | 10400 | 1 |
| Gold | No | 1 | 10401 | 1 |
| Bambu Green | Yes | 1 | 10501 | 2 |
| Cyan | No | 1 | 10603 | 1 |
| Cobalt Blue | No | 1 | 10604 | 1 |
| Purple | No | 1 | 10700 | 1 |
| Brown | No | 1 | 10800 | 1 |
Note: 1 x Bambu Green and 1 x Orange, both spooled, were actually included with the printer, so they were purchased as part of the bundle rather than separately.
PETG (HF)
PETG HF is a PETG filament that is designed for “High Flow”, making it faster to print with than standard PETG.
| Colour | Spooled | Weight (KG) | ID | Units Purchased to Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| White | No | 1 | 33100 | 1 |
| White | Yes | 1 | 33100 | 1 |
| Black | No | 1 | 33102 | 2 |
| Black | Yes | 1 | 33102 | 1 |
| Red | No | 1 | 33200 | 1 |
PETG Translucent
PETG Translucent is a PETG filament that is, as the name suggests, not fully opaque, and is able to allow light to filter through.
| Colour | Spooled | Weight (KG) | ID | Units Purchased to Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear | Yes | 1 | 32101 | 1 |
| Translucent Teal | No | 1 | 32501 | 1 |
| Translucent Purple | No | 1 | 32700 | 1 |
Support Filament
Support filament is supposed to be easier to remove than using supports with the same type of filament. PLA and PETG don’t mix so I’ve seen some people use that where necessary, but this is the next level up from that. It is 150% - 400% more expensive (per KG) than PLA/PETG filament, so you really want to use it sparingly and only where it is critical to getting the quality of print you need.
| Type | Spooled | Weight (KG) | ID | Units Purchased to Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PLA/PETG | Yes | 0.5 | 65102 | 1 |
Note: 1 x PLA/PETG (spooled), was included with the printer, so it was purchased as part of the bundle rather than separately.
I haven’t had need to use this yet, but if I get any prints where elements break when I’m removing supports of the same material I will break this open and try it out.
Spools
Bambu Labs save money and have an environmental and shipping cost savings angle to the use of refills. Many of their filaments are not even available spooled - only the most common filament choices seem to be available pre-spooled.
While I have printed some reusable spools of various designs, the Bambu Lab produced spools are much nicer to use than the printed ones, and the design is fit for purpose. They typically retail for £10.99 which in my opinion is overly expensive, but they seem to regularly have sales on for extended periods where you can buy them for £4.99 when purchasing a filament refill. That is a 55% discount (showing how much margin they have on them because they’ll no doubt still make a profit on the discounted ones), and if you but one refill you can still buy multiple spools at the same price - it isn’t a one for one.
They have a regular and a high temp spool, and the one you get offered at a discount price is the one suitable for the filament you are purchasing, which is fair enough.
The cheapest way to get reusable spools is if you purchase them pre-spooled. So if you have a common filament you want to get, consider if it is worth getting it spooled so that down the line you’ll have another reusable spool. I’m certainly taking this tack now, as well as having taken the opportunity to stock up on separate spools while they have been on offer. While you can also get them cheaper on Ali Express, I think with tax it gets pretty close to the standard price and I think you are still better off going direct locally to Bambu Lab during sales to stock up.
| Type | Units Purchased to Date | Units Owned |
|---|---|---|
| Reusable Spool | 8 | 19 |
| High Temperature Reusable Spool | 0 | 1 |