3D printing
Make a ready-to-print file for a Bambu Lab printer in the 3D Print Studio, or export STL or 3MF for any slicer.
- 3D model (STL)Export menu
- 3D model (3MF) AdvancedExport menu
- 3D Print Studio Ctrl+PTop bar: 3D print
| SchoolCAD | Onshape | Fusion | SOLIDWORKS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3D Print Studio | – | 3D Print | Print3D |
There are two ways to 3D print your design:
- The 3D Print Studio does everything for a Bambu Lab printer: the A1 mini, A1, P1S, P2S, X1 Carbon and H2D. It turns each part the best way up, checks it, slices it (works out every layer and where the nozzle goes) and makes a file for the printer's microSD card. It uses Bambu Lab's own start and end steps for your printer (levelling, purge line, cool-down), so the print starts the same way as one from Bambu Studio.
- 3D model (STL) and 3D model (3MF) save your parts for a slicer program, such as Bambu Studio, PrusaSlicer or Cura, for any printer.
How to use the 3D Print Studio#
- Type your name and class at the top of SchoolCAD. The print file is named after you, such as
Smith_J_7B_LampShade_A1. - Click 3D print in the top bar, or press Ctrl+P. (In the Export menu, it is 3D print (microSD card).)
- Under Printer, choose your printer and the Build plate that is on it. SchoolCAD remembers them next time. On the H2D, also choose the nozzle the filament is loaded on.
- SchoolCAD turns each part the best way up. To change it, pick another picture under Which way up, or click any face of a part on the plate to put that face down. ↻ Turn gives it a quarter turn.
- Under Parts, untick any part you do not want. Click + to print copies (up to 24). They are spaced out on the plate for you.
- Read the Checks and the print readiness score (out of 100).
- Click Make print file. Your computer slices the parts, plays the print back layer by layer, and shows the print time, filament, cost and number of layers.
- Click Download for microSD. Save the file onto the card (not inside a folder), put the card in the printer, and choose the file on the printer's screen.
Checks#
| Check | What it means |
|---|---|
| Fits on the plate | Every part fits on your printer's plate (A1 mini 180 mm, A1, P1S, P2S and X1 Carbon 256 mm, H2D 325 × 320 mm for one nozzle). If not, it is red and you cannot make the print file. |
| Supports | Parts that hang in the air show orange. They need supports: extra plastic underneath that you snap off when the print is cool. |
| Sticks to the plate | A part that only touches the plate a little gets a brim: a thin skirt that you peel off. |
| Walls | Walls thinner than 0.8 mm may print with gaps. 1.2 mm or more is stronger. |
| Your name is on the file | So your teacher knows whose print it is. |
Build plates#
The plate on the stage looks like the one in your printer. The plate sets the bed temperature, so choose the one that is really on the printer. Each printer only offers the plates Bambu Lab makes for it.
| Plate | Good for |
|---|---|
| Textured PEI Plate (default) | The best all-rounder: parts grip while it is hot and pop off once it cools. No glue, and a neat textured base. |
| Smooth PEI Plate | A glossy, mirror-smooth base for signs, name tags and coasters. Wash it with dish soap first. |
| Cool Plate SuperTack | The strongest grip, with no glue. For big flat parts, or tall thin ones that might lift. |
| Cool Plate | A smooth plate for PLA at a low temperature. Needs a thin layer of glue stick. (Not on the A1 mini, P2S or H2D.) |
| Engineering Plate | Made for tougher filaments such as PETG, ABS and nylon. Use glue stick. (Offered for PLA on the P2S and H2D.) |
On the P1S and X1 Carbon the front-left corner is kept clear for the printer's sensor. On the H2D each nozzle cannot reach one edge of the plate, so the part is placed where the chosen nozzle can print it.
Settings#
The settings are a locked School Default: Bambu PLA Basic at Bambu Lab's temperatures for your plate, 0.2 mm layers, 3 walls and 15% infill (how solid the inside is) in a pattern of triangles, which braces the part in every direction. Walls make a part stronger than more infill does, because bending and knocks load the outside of a part most. You choose only four things:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Supports | Auto prints them only where a part hangs in the air. Or choose On or Off. |
| Support type | Normal fills straight down under every overhang. Tree grows thin branches up from the plate that join into trunks and reach the overhang: less plastic, and they snap off more easily. Tree supports are new, so watch the print. |
| Brim | Auto adds one only where a part needs help to stick. Or choose On or Off. |
| Strength | Standard, or Strong: 6 walls and 25% infill, the same as Bambu Lab's own Strength setting. Strong uses more filament and takes longer. |
STL and 3MF#
- 3D model (STL) saves every visible part, in millimetres, in one file. The shapes are closed, so the slicer has nothing to repair.
- 3D model (3MF) saves each part with its name and colour. It only shows in the Export menu in Advanced.
- More than one colour: when parts have different colours, or faces have their own colours (right-click a face, Face colour…), the 3MF is painted: each colour is a filament (the part's own colour is filament 1) and every triangle carries its filament, the way Bambu Studio, Orca Slicer and PrusaSlicer store colour painting. Open it in the slicer, set filament 1, 2, 3… to the colours the message lists, and print with an AMS or other multi-colour unit. Up to 16 colours; more are given the nearest of those.
A 3MF model is not a print file: open it in a slicer to make one. The 3D Print Studio's file ends in .gcode.3mf and is ready to print.
Tips#
- Layers are weakest when they are pulled apart. Think about how your part will be loaded when you choose which way up to print it.
- Hidden parts are left out of the STL and 3MF. To export one part, right-click it and choose Export…, then STL or 3MF (as in Onshape).
If it does not work#
- Fix the red item in Checks first. A part is too big for the plate. Make it smaller, or cut it into pieces with Split.
- These parts do not all fit on one plate together. Untick some parts, or print fewer copies.
- The slicer could not make this print. Export 3D model (STL) and slice it in Bambu Studio instead.
- Model a part first, then 3D print it. There are no visible parts yet.