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Bambu Printer Hardware Basics

HDW1-2 Available

Bambu Printer Hardware Basics

Part of the (L1) 3D Printer Hardware course. Drive the Bambu Lab machines directly — power them on, navigate the touch panels, load filament by hand and through the AMS, format an SD card, and start a print.

Duration

1 hour

(x1) 1 Hour Session

Pathway

3D Printing

Difficulty

Beginner

Requirements

No prerequisites required

This is a hands-on hardware class open to all students — no prior experience needed. It pairs naturally with 3DP2, which teaches the Bambu Studio software side.

What This Course Unlocks

  • Hands-on access to the Bambu Lab P1S, X1C, and A1 printers during sessions
  • Permission to load filament and start your own prints on the Bambu machines
  • AMS (Automatic Material System) loading and unloading
  • Your badge: Course Bambu Printer Hardware

What You'll Learn

  • Power on the printer
  • Load and unload a single roll of filament
  • Load and unload an AMS
  • Load a 3MF G-Code file on the SD card
  • Format an SD card on the P1S, X1C, and A1
  • Set the correct material type in the printer settings: P1S, X1C, and A1
  • Navigate to the SD card and print a file

Course Curriculum

  1. 1

    Power and Touch Panels

    Turn on the 3D printer and find the filament and SD card settings on the screen. You will practice this on both the P1S and the X1C — their panels are different.

    ~20 min
    Turn on the Machine and Navigate the Two Different Panels
  2. 2

    Load and Unload Filament

    Find the right material and color on the stand, mount it to the back of your printer, and use the front screen to load it. Then do the whole thing in reverse to unload. Practice on both the P1S and the X1C.

    ~20 min
    Load a Single Roll of Filament Unload a Single Roll of Filament Load and Unload Filament in AMS
  3. 3

    Format SD Card, Load File from Bambu Studio, and Print

    Format your SD card right inside the printer, save your project file from Bambu Studio onto the card, then pop it into the printer and start your print.

    ~20 min
    Format the SD Card on both P1S and X1C Load File from Bambu Studio onto SD Card Locate File on P1S and X1C and Print

Where This Course Fits

Section titled “Where This Course Fits”

HDW1-2 is one half of the (L1) 3D Printer Hardware course (HDW1). The two halves cover the two printer families in the FundedYouth lab:

  • HDW1-1 — Sovol SV06 Plus (open-frame, manual bed leveling, the machine you’ll use in 3DP1)
  • HDW1-2 — Bambu Lab P1S, X1C, and A1 (enclosed, touchscreen, AMS — the machines you’ll use in 3DP2)

The slicer courses (3DP1 and 3DP2) teach you the software — how to prepare a model and produce a print file. The hardware courses teach you the machine — how to actually run it, feed it, and get a file onto it.

The Three Machines

Section titled “The Three Machines”

You’ll work across all three Bambu Lab printers in the lab, because they don’t all behave the same way:

  • P1S — enclosed, fast, a simple button-and-dial panel
  • X1C — enclosed, the flagship, a full color touchscreen
  • A1 — open-frame bed slinger, touchscreen

The panels differ enough that knowing one doesn’t automatically mean you know the others. That’s why the class has you repeat the same tasks — power on, load filament, format an SD card — on more than one machine.

What’s an AMS?

Section titled “What’s an AMS?”

The AMS (Automatic Material System) is the box that sits on top of the printer and holds up to four rolls of filament at once. The printer can pull from any of them, which is how multi-color prints work.

In HDW1-2 you learn to load and unload it — getting filament in and out cleanly, which is the part beginners most often get wrong. Actually printing in multiple colors is a more advanced topic saved for a later class.

Why SD Cards?

Section titled “Why SD Cards?”

Bambu printers read print files from a microSD card, and they’re picky: a card formatted anywhere other than in the printer itself often won’t be recognized. That’s why “format the SD card on the printer” is its own lesson — it’s the single most common reason a student’s file doesn’t show up.

The workflow you’ll practice end to end:

  1. Format the SD card inside the printer
  2. Slice your model in Bambu Studio and export the 3MF G-Code to the card
  3. Put the card in the printer, find your file on the panel, and hit print

What to Bring

Section titled “What to Bring”
  • Yourself
  • A water bottle (recommended)
  • Tied-back long hair and no loose sleeves — you’ll be reaching into machines

You do not need a laptop or your own SD card. FundedYouth provides the printers, filament, and cards.

For Parents

Section titled “For Parents”

Time commitment: One 1-hour class, in person at FundedYouth.

Age: Appropriate for ages 8 and up. Instructors supervise all printer use directly.

Prerequisite: None. Many students take it alongside 3DP2, which covers the Bambu Studio software side of the same workflow.

Cost: Enrolling in the course on the portal is free. Each in-person session may use FYBIT Credits — see the credits page for details.

Safety: Bambu Lab P1S and X1C printers are fully enclosed — your child can see the print happening but can’t reach the hot nozzle while the door is shut, which makes them safer than open-frame machines. The A1 is open-frame, so the same hot-nozzle precautions from HDW1-1 apply there.

What your kid will leave with: The ability to walk up to a Bambu printer, load the right material, get their file onto it, and start a print without an adult doing it for them.

Signing up more than one kid? There’s a trick using your one email — see the Login & Signup guide.

Common Questions

Section titled “Common Questions”

Do I need to take 3DP2 first? No. HDW1-2 has no prerequisites. The two fit together well though: 3DP2 teaches you to make the print file in Bambu Studio, HDW1-2 teaches you to get it onto the machine and run it.

Do I need to take HDW1-1 first? No. The two hardware classes are independent — different printers, different procedures. Take them in either order, or take just the one for the machines you’ll actually use.

Why format the SD card in the printer instead of on the computer? Because Bambu printers are fussy about card formatting and often won’t see a card that was formatted elsewhere. Doing it on the printer takes about ten seconds and avoids the problem entirely.

My file isn’t showing up on the printer screen. What now? Ninety percent of the time it’s one of two things: the card wasn’t formatted in the printer, or the file was saved as a project file instead of exported G-Code. You’ll learn to check both.

Can I use the AMS for multi-color printing? Not in this class. HDW1-2 covers loading and unloading the AMS. Multi-color and multi-material printing is a more advanced topic for a later class.

What’s the difference between the P1S, X1C, and A1? Mostly speed, enclosure, and panel type. The X1C has the nicest screen and the most sensors, the P1S is the workhorse, and the A1 is open-frame. You’ll touch all three.

What’s Next After HDW1-2?

Section titled “What’s Next After HDW1-2?”

How to Enroll

Section titled “How to Enroll”
  1. Sign in to the Portal
  2. Open Student → Browse
  3. Find HDW1-2 and click Enroll (this is free)
  4. Open the Sessions menu and register for an in-person session

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