Common problems

When printing with engineering materials such as ABS, ABS-GF, ASA, PC, PA, PA-CF, PA6-CF, PA6-GF, PAHT-CF, PET-CF, PPA-CF, PPS-CF, etc., the following problems may commonly occur:

• Most of these materials are susceptible to moisture, which leads to poor print quality (rough surface, oozing, elephant foot effect).
• The nozzle can easily become clogged when printing these materials, especially materials containing carbon fibers (CF) or glass fibers (GF).
• Potentially weak bonding between layers during printing.

Solutions and recommendations

• Drying filament
  Check whether the filament packaging is intact. If not, please dry it before printing. More information can be found on this wiki: Filament Drying Recommendations.
  Dry the filament before printing if you are unsure whether it is moist.
• Drying conditions for Bambu PA6-CF, PA6-GF, PAHT-CF and other engineering materials: 80°C, at least 8 hours. More information about filament drying can be found at: Filament Drying Recommendations.
• If you use the printer's heated bed for drying, you need at least 10 hours at 90°C (the filament spool needs to be turned halfway through the drying time; please see Procedure and 3mf file for drying filament with an X1C printer | Bambu Lab Wiki).
• Comparison of print quality before and after drying:

Wet PAHT-CF (left) vs. dry PAHT-CF (right)

Wet PA6-GF (left) vs. dry PA6-GF (right)

Drying recommendations

The recommended drying parameters for each type of filament are listed below:

Filament	Drying requirements before use	Requirements for protecting the filament with desiccant during use	Forced air drying oven (Forced Air)	Forced air drying oven (Forced Air)	Bambulab X1/X1C/P1S Printer	Bambulab X1/X1C/P1S Printer	Bambulab X1/X1C/P1S Printer	Bambulab X1/X1C/P1S Printer
			Temperature / ℃	Time /h	Bed temperature / ℃	Time /h	Turning time / h	Coverage
PLA, PLA-CF/GF	Recommended	Optional	50 – 60	8	65 – 75	12	Every 6	Filament box or PC box
PLA Wood	Required	Required	55 – 65	8	70 – 75	12	Every 6	Filament box or PC box
Support for PLA, Support for PLA/PETG	Recommended	Optional	50 – 60	8	65 – 75	12	Every 6	Filament box or PC box
PETG, PETG-CF	Recommended	Optional	60 – 70	8	75 – 85	12	Every 6	Filament box or PC box
ABS, ASA	Recommended	Optional	75 – 85	8	90 – 100	12	Every 6	Filament box or PC box
TPU	Required	Required	65 – 75	8	80 – 90	12	Every 6	Filament box or PC box
PC	Required	Required	75 – 85	8	90 – 100	12	Every 6	Filament box or PC box
PVA, BVOH	Required	Required	75 – 85	8 – 12	90 – 100	12	Every 6	Filament box or PC box
Support for PA/PET	Required	Required	75 – 85	8 – 12	90 – 100	12	Every 6	Filament box or PC box
PA, PA-CF/GF, PAHT-CF/GF, PET-CF, etc.	Required	Required	75 – 85	8 – 12	90 – 100	12	Every 6	Filament box or PC box
PPA-CF/GF	Required	Required	100 – 130	8 – 12	110 – 120 (maximum) Less dry than when using a forced air drying oven	12	Every 6	Filament box or PC box
PPS, PPS-CF/GF	Required	Required	110 – 140	8 – 12	110 – 120 (maximum) Less dry than when using a forced air drying oven	12	Every 6	Filament box or PC box
Support for ABS	Optional	Optional	80	4	85 – 95	6	Every 3	Filament box or PC box

Keep the filament dry

After drying the filament, please store it in an airtight container or bag with effective desiccant. This way, the filament will remain dry for approximately 1 to 2 weeks. If you use AMS for storage, ensure that the desiccant is effective and seal the AMS tightly. If the desiccant shows signs of ineffectiveness (changing from powdery to lumpy or paste-like), replace it and dry the filament before printing again.

We recommend using a sealed container, such as the one shown in the image below. This container will help keep the filament dry when it is not in use.

AMS desiccant status:

Desiccant package

How to achieve successful prints?

Use larger nozzles
When printing carbon-fiber- or glass-fiber-reinforced materials such as PA-CF/GF, PAHT-CF/GF and PET-CF/GF, avoid using a 0.2 mm diameter nozzle to minimize the risk of clogging. Increasing the nozzle diameter from 0.4 mm to 0.6 mm and then to 0.8 mm reduces print accuracy, but also reduces the likelihood of clogging. The recommended nozzle sizes are 0.6 mm as the primary choice and 0.4 mm as the secondary choice (with a recommended layer height between 0.15 and 0.3 mm and a maximum print speed of approximately 100 mm/s). Before using these materials, set the nozzle temperature to 280 °C and clean the inside of the nozzle using a hex key and a needle to reduce the risk of clogging during printing.

Do the same if the nozzle becomes clogged during printing, and make sure that the inside of the nozzle is clean before the next print.

Grouping models

When the print time for each layer is too long, the bonding in the Z direction of these materials weakens and small models will no longer be sufficiently strong (the previous layer has cooled too much). Therefore, when many small models need to be printed, you should arrange them into different s and print them by object (the default setting is by layer), possibly on different beds, instead of placing them on the same bed and printing by layer.

Press Ctrl, select several models with the left mouse button, then right-click and select “Assemble” to combine several models into one .

It is recommended to select “By object” in “Print order”.

Printing by layer is not recommended.

4. To strengthen your models printed with PA-CF or other carbon-fiber (CF)- or glass-fiber (GF)-reinforced materials, it is better to anneal them after printing at approximately 80 °C for 8 hours. The best annealing temperature for Bambu PA-CF, PET-CF and PAHT-CF is between 120 and 130 °C (5 – 8 hours). After this treatment, the overall mechanical properties may improve by 10 to 20%: the annealing effect depends on the annealing temperature and time, the size and structure of the model, infill density, wall loops and other print settings; keep in mind that some models may shrink and deform after annealing.

5. When printing a model with a support structure, the support structure must be removed within 2 hours to prevent problems with removal or residue being left on the print after the support structure becomes moist and soft, especially with nylon-based (PA) filaments such as PA-CF, PA6-CF, PA6-GF and others, and support filaments such as PVA and Support for PA/PET, because these materials tend to absorb moisture from the surrounding air. If the support is difficult to remove because the models were stored for too long, please dry them, let them cool, and then remove the support in a timely manner.

6. PA, PA-CF, PAHT-CF, PA-GF and other PA (nylon) materials have a relatively strong ability to absorb water, and after being used in humid air or water for a certain period, their strength and stiffness may decrease to varying degrees because they absorb water—becoming softer, especially in thin, slender and long prints. If the intended use of the prints requires very high strength and stiffness, it is recommended to avoid these materials. At the same time, these materials usually become tougher and more resistant to impacts, drops and shocks when moist; therefore, if the intended use of the prints requires only medium rather than very high strength and stiffness, you can allow them to become moist and soften before use. Furthermore, completely covering the surface of these materials with paint, wax or other waterproof coatings can prevent them from absorbing water and softening.

7. Please note that when drying filaments and annealing printed models, it is recommended to use equipment that provides uniform temperatures, such as a hot-air drying oven (Blast drying oven), and not to use microwave ovens or household ovens. Avoid excessive force or uneven heating (distance from the oven's heating zone) to prevent damage to the filament, spool or model due to localized stress or overheating.

Recommended settings

1. In general, the higher the infill density, the greater the strength and material consumption. To achieve a balance between strength and material consumption, strength settings (6 wall loops and 25% infill density) are recommended when printing larger models that must withstand high loads. Of course, if you accept higher material consumption, you can manually set a higher infill density for greater strength.

2. In general, ABS, ASA, PC and PA tend to warp due to their properties, so certain measures must be taken to minimize this phenomenon. If the model is large and the infill density is set high, e.g. 60% (the default value is 15%), and warping occurs on the underside of the model, you can appropriately adjust the infill density. In addition, an infill pattern with more straight lines is more prone to causing shrinkage; you can change the infill pattern to a spiral to reduce the risk of shrinkage. For some structural parts with high strength requirements, you can set 5 wall loops and 25% infill density and try to avoid using more than 50% infill density to reduce the tendency to shrink; for most non-structural parts with low strength requirements, you can directly select the default values of 2 wall loops and 15% infill density.