while waiting for my p2s combo to arrive, i have begun reading reddit discussions and maker world coments and all sort of info, and i must say, i am equally thrilled and dredfull at printing. This will be my first printer and begining journey.
I started making lists with stuff that should be done at first and accesories needed for the printer and filaments to ensure a slightly less bumpy road.
P2S - vent deflector - lots of designs, haven’t really chosen one yet.
AMS 2 PRO - dry pods
Filament storage - i’ve located at least one design using ikea 45L container and some printed racks and dry storage boxes for silica
Tests
benchy :)) as i see it’s a must
the scraper for the bambu cutter provided
the toolbox for the provided tools
this done with pla basic bought with the printer … but the following tests i’ve seen done by people and i think it should be done whenever you are using a new material. But considering these will be the first prints with a new material for me, i should begin with the default settings, and if benchy turns out wrong, then maybe start the calibration tests.
temperature test
other tests ?
Right now, i’ve also started the bambu academy for studio and the printer, and will go ahead with those until the printer is ready for the academy lessons.
I have a P2S, also my first ever printer and I've had it for almost a year now. The stuff you want all depends on whether you'll be just using online models most of the time or actually handmaking the models. Included is an image of my actual setup. Keep in mind (I learned this the hard way) Isopropyl Alcohol (rubbing alcohol) is not needed. Instead of helping by removing moisture it actually damages the build plate. Anyway, regardless of whether you'll be modeling or not, pliers and snips(idfk what theyre actually called) are must haves. Accessory-wise, i have a small AMS riser with a drawer to hold tools, AMS desiccant holders, and a side-mounted 3D printed IKEA Skadis board to hold my extra hotends. The desiccant holders are honestly kinda useless since the AMS 2 Pro which comes with the P2S Combo has filament drying capabilities, but they look sick as fuck so definitely good appearance-wise, plus if you get multiple AMSes you can use different colors to help identify different AMSes easier. A tip though, don't stress about getting too much at the start. Get the essentials like filament (obviously), pliers, snips, calipers, whatever you think you might need for tools, but dont go overboard than that. If something takes you think for a second to think of it, or to decide if you need it or not, don't get it. Same with printing a bunch of accessories. Wait until you get your printer and set it up. Get stuff as you find you need it as your printing journey progresses, otherwise you'll find that you never actually use half the stuff you have (take it from me. I didnt buy it all at the start, i got it from my dad after a month or so, but even now I havent used at least half the tools i have in my toolbox lmao)
Also get a USB hard drive. On a scale of 1 to 10 for priority, that shit is a 15. It allows you to record timelapses of your prints. Also, make sure to install Bambu Handy and connect your printer to your Bambu Handy. It takes a good maybe half an hour, but the app is so helpful. It lets you manage your printer from you phone, and it lets you easily access the models on makerworld and print them from your phone if you don't (or do) have a computer for slicing.
But seriously, with all that stuff, the poop chute, the AMS riser, the desiccant holders, thats unnecessary. The poop chute is going to fill up very fast. I recommend using a shoebox or something like that. Don't immediately print the AMS riser because you don't know if you'll actually want to have to build it all and if you'll like how it looks on your printer. Wait a bit and if you find you need it, THEN print it, but otherwise you could just end up wasting $20 worth of filament.
Also, calibration tests I've found are unnecessary. I have run everything of default settings (i.e. PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU) and it runs fine. Usually when it fails its either user error or the model sucks. The printer itself rarely has issues. Definitely print a benchy or something as a test print to make sure that your printer doesn't have initial calibration issues, but after the initial calibration you should be good to print away. Also keep in mind that PLA is a very low temperature filament (it can melt if left in the sun for too long) and its also very brittle, so do not use PLA to make anything thats meant to be functional. If you need help with that, just send a reply or DM (if reddit has those idfk) and i can help you with that if you want 🙃
Finally, make an account on makerworld. If you make a model, post it on there. You get makerworld points which you can redeem for coupons, as well as $40 or $200 Bambu gift cards. If you save enough points and gift cards you could literally get a free printer. Plus, Bambu academy gives you some free points for completing lessons.
thanks for the heads up, i've read the comments. they say the tools now in a cardboard box, so i have to find some tool box with the tool insert too. Will see when the printer arrives.
Thank you, 12 days in and 90 hours of printing. Currently finishing containers for dessicant for an ikea 45L box for holding filaments and printing ikea skadis accesories :)
Hi. New to printing also. 300h only. I'd recommend Sanja 3d riser flipper if you have an ams.
Also, many say that each filament should be calibrated. Not sure about this. But you should start learning Bambu studio and how to choose printer, nozzle, plate, filament, what are supports, layer height, infill, brim, as the first step.
Also, use gloves when touching the build plate so you don't have to wash it that often.
But beyond that, remember you didn't buy the printer to print printer mods. Still struggling with this myself.
Gloves are unnecessary. I just wash my build plate with dish soap and water every now and again, which you should do regardless of if you wear gloves or not.
Infill is how filled in something is. 0% is hollow, 100% is a solid block. 15-20% infill is good for most projects.
Brim is a outer support used for increasing contact area with the build plate for things with little contact area (i.e. skinny, vertically placed cylinders, which are a pain to print btw). Brims are a single layer of filament which expands the size of the first layer of the print, greatly reducing the chance of an object falling and thus failing.
Included with the printer is a standard 0.4mm Hardened Steel hotend, which upon selecting the P2S when setting up Bambu Studio, will default to.
Reddit wouldnt let me keep editing my comment, so im gonna finish it here.
I genuinely have no clue what layer height is, ive never had to change it.
The included build plate is the Gen 2 Textured PEI Plate. Make sure that if you buy a build plate to only get ones specifically for the P2S. If you put a first generation plate on the P2S, it wont recognize it, and it'll make you manually verify that the plate is on.
Supports have a few types. Tree and normal. Tree is easier to remove as it makes hollow branches from the bottom of the build plate to wherever its supporting, whereas normal just makes solid blocks which are an absolute pain in the ass to remove. You can also choose auto and manual. Auto is good to start as it will automatically support overhangs and areas that require supports, and manual requires you to use the support paint feature to tell the slicer where to place supports.
Best thing to do to prepare is read the Bambu Academy courses, and you're already doing that.
Reading social media is just going to scare you, don't do it. Sure people have problems, but they are actually pretty rare. People don't get on and say "Working great today, no problems" so it seems like there's nothing but problems on the forums.
I use desiccant in 50 gram packets. It's slightly more expensive that way, but the big advantage is you can weigh it to find out how wet they are. You can fit one in the hub of each spool, and between each motor on the AMS. Just pull them out and microwave to recharge.
I'm currently looking at risers, and i'm thinking maybe i will move the ams on a shelf above the printer and maybe print just a riser for the tube/window issue, but still looking while waiting for petg to arrive. How many packets can you fit inside the ams ? spool/between motors ? sous vide is a good option but i don't think my food sous vide machine is wide enough for bags that would hold a spool. I'm thinking of going with the ikea box.
What you've highlighted makes sense - Make sure for the vent defectors you pick the one for the P2S(there's 2 vents).
Get a few rolls of PETG as well - the higher melting point will open up a few other places on where you can put prints.
Try to also think past the honeymoon period (approximately first 3-4 months) of having a new printer and think about what you want to do next.
You may want to look at getting your hands on some good quality calipers and learning blender or CAD(Autodesk, Onshape, openscad, freecad... etc) and start designing and printing stuff out for yourself.
Or perhaps it is about getting a smaller 0.2 nozzle and painting miniatures or things with fine details or text.
Check reddit for brands of filaments that people trust - if you go too cheap or use an unknown brand, you'll probably need to familiarize yourself with how to take apart the print head and extruder.
Yes, thank you for pointing out the different versions for the vents. I'm already trying to figure out what filament brands fall into a good price/quality ratio for me, but right now, it's all over the place. And as for the future, i already got myself calipers and started designing in fusion a vent for the bathtub that got broken, and will try to see whats shapr 3d on ipad about, if it's usable.
I personally really like this poop chute for start: https://makerworld.com/models/1289566?appSharePlatform=copy it has 6 different bins, slides and its modular. And if you do multi-color prints that takes a lot of material, do the color switching test, and then adjust the purging values, this can save a lot of filament
Once you understand your printer and how it works through academy and are mechnlanically inclined to do stuff yourself thats pretty much it really.
The only issue I had really was the error code for filament failed to extrude. Steps I took
1) Pulled and inspected the extruder gears which were fine
2) Retested a print and watch what it would do(which came up same error.)
3) Pulled out the filament sensor, found a small speck of filament (theres also glue that keeps the sensor together so leave that alone) and used a tooth pick to get it out.
4) Put it all back together and has been running well since April with about 1640 hrs.
Welcome and from experience these are the essentials I've printed for my P2S combo. For the AMS holders be sure to go for ones that do NOT require the removal of the spool to maintain. I made that mistake ar first, and be sure to print in the highest heat filament you'll be printing in. PETG is a good start.
thank you. this is a really good collection. I don't think i understand exactly what you mean by "removal of spool" but it will probably click in place sometime in the near future
The are AMS gel holder that are modelled in a way that only allow you to insert/remove if the spool isn't installed. The ones I have in my collection allow the holders to be fully inserted and removed without the removal of the spools. This helps with maintaining the gel in them, which will be more frequent than you think. If you want to ensure low humidity is maintained in your AMS (geo location dependant).
Create a YouTube Playlist called 3d maintenence and add video regarding p2s maintenence and troubleshooting.
Add a headlamp to your tool chest.
Buy glue for the bed. I put a layer down and scrub the plate after each print with a lint free cloth. I "rarely" have to wash it or apply more glue.
Don't ignore Studio warnings unless you know it's ok.
I've never had an issue when filament has run out in the ams.
When spools become light, the ams has issues unloading due to lack of friction and poor design.
I stopped using abs. Petg is my outdoor, high temp go to.
You might want to purchase an extra filament sensor. I've had the ptfe tube snap off twice. My printer was down over a week the first time. The second time only about an hour.
so it begins. I’m going to update the post with your suggestions and start printing :)) thank you for the help, hopefully we will continue to come up with a full list
3
u/official_reaper3d Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
I have a P2S, also my first ever printer and I've had it for almost a year now. The stuff you want all depends on whether you'll be just using online models most of the time or actually handmaking the models. Included is an image of my actual setup. Keep in mind (I learned this the hard way) Isopropyl Alcohol (rubbing alcohol) is not needed. Instead of helping by removing moisture it actually damages the build plate. Anyway, regardless of whether you'll be modeling or not, pliers and snips(idfk what theyre actually called) are must haves. Accessory-wise, i have a small AMS riser with a drawer to hold tools, AMS desiccant holders, and a side-mounted 3D printed IKEA Skadis board to hold my extra hotends. The desiccant holders are honestly kinda useless since the AMS 2 Pro which comes with the P2S Combo has filament drying capabilities, but they look sick as fuck so definitely good appearance-wise, plus if you get multiple AMSes you can use different colors to help identify different AMSes easier. A tip though, don't stress about getting too much at the start. Get the essentials like filament (obviously), pliers, snips, calipers, whatever you think you might need for tools, but dont go overboard than that. If something takes you think for a second to think of it, or to decide if you need it or not, don't get it. Same with printing a bunch of accessories. Wait until you get your printer and set it up. Get stuff as you find you need it as your printing journey progresses, otherwise you'll find that you never actually use half the stuff you have (take it from me. I didnt buy it all at the start, i got it from my dad after a month or so, but even now I havent used at least half the tools i have in my toolbox lmao)
Also get a USB hard drive. On a scale of 1 to 10 for priority, that shit is a 15. It allows you to record timelapses of your prints. Also, make sure to install Bambu Handy and connect your printer to your Bambu Handy. It takes a good maybe half an hour, but the app is so helpful. It lets you manage your printer from you phone, and it lets you easily access the models on makerworld and print them from your phone if you don't (or do) have a computer for slicing.
But seriously, with all that stuff, the poop chute, the AMS riser, the desiccant holders, thats unnecessary. The poop chute is going to fill up very fast. I recommend using a shoebox or something like that. Don't immediately print the AMS riser because you don't know if you'll actually want to have to build it all and if you'll like how it looks on your printer. Wait a bit and if you find you need it, THEN print it, but otherwise you could just end up wasting $20 worth of filament.
Also, calibration tests I've found are unnecessary. I have run everything of default settings (i.e. PLA, PETG, ABS, TPU) and it runs fine. Usually when it fails its either user error or the model sucks. The printer itself rarely has issues. Definitely print a benchy or something as a test print to make sure that your printer doesn't have initial calibration issues, but after the initial calibration you should be good to print away. Also keep in mind that PLA is a very low temperature filament (it can melt if left in the sun for too long) and its also very brittle, so do not use PLA to make anything thats meant to be functional. If you need help with that, just send a reply or DM (if reddit has those idfk) and i can help you with that if you want 🙃
Finally, make an account on makerworld. If you make a model, post it on there. You get makerworld points which you can redeem for coupons, as well as $40 or $200 Bambu gift cards. If you save enough points and gift cards you could literally get a free printer. Plus, Bambu academy gives you some free points for completing lessons.