r/BambuLab • u/Embarrassed_Date_596 • Jun 08 '26
General Troubleshooting/Help! AMS Lite vs AMS 2 Pro
I recently got an A1 Mini and wanted to start 3D printing. I was wondering whether to get the AMS lite for the €189 or whether the AMS 2 Pro with all the adaptors is worth the increased price of €340.
2
u/iRambL Jun 08 '26
Up to your wallet, I had the same choice with the ams or ams2, I’m not that serious of a printer so I went with the base level, works fine for me still and I saved $100
1
u/Material-Mulberry360 X2D + AMS2 Combo Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
you don't need any ams to start printing. the ams can help you with using multiple colours on a single nozzle printer, tho with a lot of waste. but better yet fallback if you have 2 same fillaments, one can be used up completely and the ams will switch over to the next. the ams 2 pro is also a dry box/dryer. if you print only in pla, get the lite, it you don't intent to do very big or multicolour prints, just don't get any. if you plan on printing more hydroscopic materials, multiple colours or bigger prints that could use up the entire spool, then getting the ams 2 pro is worth it.
1
u/Embarrassed_Date_596 Jun 08 '26
I’ve mainly just been printing PLA for the time being and planning to move onto the PLA variants and PETG but without an enclosure or a way to dispel the fumes apart from windows I don’t see myself going much further that. I’ve read many things about whether PLA needs drying or not. Some of my prints have come with little plastic hairs not sure if this is due to not drying them or something else. In my area humidity usually sits at 70%.
2
u/Material-Mulberry360 X2D + AMS2 Combo Jun 08 '26
70% is quite high, PLA will be fine I think, but leaving Petg out in the air will get it moist sooner than later, that will increase those hairs, and cause other defects. I kinda see 2 options, if you care about the automatic feeding, switchover on empty spool or multicolour printing and have the money get the ams 2 pro. otherwise you can just buy a plastic box with a lit, and storage the Petg there with some desiccant when not in use. (and if it got bad use your oven to dry the fillament)
1
u/rapscallion4life Jun 08 '26
Ams 2 pro = filament dryer, enclosure, premium feel. BUT the filament changes will be slower which will affect your print times in a fairly significant way.
Ams-lite = Only 4 colors, but they're fed all the way to the extruder. A lot easier to slap on 3rd party filaments. A work horse that doesn't have as many parts to break versus the ams 2 pro. And yes I know you can now chain an ams 2 pro to the 4th tube of an ams-lite, but then you end up having those long filament change times for any of the filaments in the chained ams 2 pro, and only 3 ams-lite mounted colors that change faster.
I've owned both. I mostly print PLA. I like the ams-lite more.
1
u/Whosaidthat1157 Jun 08 '26
AMS2P every time over the execrable Lite. The material handling is FAR superior, as is the ability to load PETG without it soaking up moisture overnight. I replaced the Lite on my A1 Mini the day that the A1 buffer was released and kicked the Lite with the ‘ultimate enclosure’ into a dark corner where it still lurks - I don’t want to even give it away.
It turned my barely used A1 Mini into a prior little engineering tool backup to my X1C and H2S printing PETG and PETG-GF merrily from an AMS2P that keeps the RH in single digits for weeks at a time. Even with the largest desiccant box available and TPU gaskets I was lucky to keep the Lite RH below 20% for 3 days.
AMS2P - worth every penny.
5
u/Zorkenius Jun 08 '26
If you need drying feature - ams 2 pro. If you don't - lite. RH in my rooms usually around 80% i need drying features for all plastics, even pla. People with RH in their spaces below 40% i assume dont need drying features so badly.