Bambu Lab AMS Purging Strips (P1P)

Inspired by MihaiDesigns, I wanted to create a quick color purge test that didn't involve generating a lot of programatic G-Code.

My testing strips are designed to print the starting color then switch filaments and resume printing with *no purge in between. 

*The nozzle will prime about 2 mm of filament during the color swap.

Every section of the strip marks 100 mm³ of filament purged. Then the section is outlined with the new filament color to provide better contrast for estimating the purge value. This is calculated by printing at 0.4 mm layer height with 0.55 mm line width.

As of right now these files have only been tested on three different P1P machines. I do not own an X1 or X1C so while these files should work after the proper settings adjustment, I can not confirm this yet. 

At some point I will add 6 and 8 color purging files. (I'm not sure how many test strips can fit on one build plate just yet.)

Update:

New version of OrcaSlicer change the direction of the infill pattern. To correct for this change set “Infill direction” to 180.

Slicer Setup

My 3mf files include all of these settings embedded into the files. These notes are for reference if something doesn't behave as expected.

You need to use OrcaSlicer instead Bambu Studio because OrcaSlicer allows you to change the Extruder Clearance Radius value. The purge strips are printed By Object instead of By Layer.

This is located in the Printer Settings → Basic Information tab → Extruder Clearance section: The value can be 1 mm or 0 mm.  (If you rearrange the location of the strips or use a different printer profile, you will probably get a warning from the slicer.)

I have adjusted my default printer profile to purge a little extra when printing from an AMS unit. This ensures that the first color doesn't contain any leftover filament from the previous print.

This is located in Printer Settings → Machine G-Code → Machine Starting G-Code: 80 mm twice (190 mm) has worked well for me. If black was the previous filament I have another profile that purges 150 mm twice (300 mm).

Using Purge Values

Once the print is complete, you can inspect the color purges and visually estimate where the bleed stops. I do keep a separate Google Doc spreadsheet of these values since they do not transfer between projects and regularly get overwritten by the slicer defaults.

Testing the Values

My sample print was a plate full of CinderFrogs from Cinderwing3D Patreon. Since this was my first time printing this file: I printed the 3 color purge test, added the values to Bambu Studio and then sent the model to print. The result after 9 hours was a perfect multi-colored print.

☕ If this project helps, you can buy me a cup of coffee. ☕

The following filaments were used in the pictures above:

• PolyTerra Black
• PolyTerra White
• Hatchbox Yellow
• Overture Red
• PolyTerra Army Blue
• Overture Orange
• PolyTerra Artic Teal
• Atomic Lime Green
• Atomic Cosmic Graphite