We were lucky enough to receive the Bambu Lab P2S about a month ago and have gone through rigorous testing of the printer and filaments, and fine-tuned it to print amazing One Page Rules models. The Bambu Lab P2S has suffered at our hands, and after withstanding everything we put it through, it is now our main driver for 3D printing miniatures and other projects.
Bambu Lab P2S and AMS 2 Pro – Let’s Build It
The Bambu Lab P2S and AMS 2 pro come in the same box if you bought the combo deal. And that box sure has some weight. As always, Bambu Lab made sure that the printer and AMS are tightly packed to withstand the journey to your doorstep.
The handholds for the box are even designed so that it is incredibly difficult to pick up upside down. Even so, the delivery service managed to deliver it upside down, which probably took them more energy and hassle than just looking at the ‘this side up’ label on the box and holding it correctly. Even so, the P2S and AMS Pro 2 arrived in perfect condition.
Let’s Get Started
If you put the box with the ‘this side up’ arrow actually pointing up, and then open it. You will be greeted by the quick start guide and toolbox embedded in the lid. There’s an additional QR code with a detailed unboxing guide, if reading a booklet is not your thing.
The toolbox contains all the tools for installation, maintenance, and spare parts you will need along the way.
Beneath the top lid is the grey isomo protection ring, and your first look at the bag containing your new best friend, the 3D printer. After removing the isomo and pulling the hefty bag out, you now have the P2S ready to be peeled and have it give birth to the AMS Pro 2 inside it.
Remove the bag and the top hardened glass panel, and have the innards revealed. Some more protective foam to keep everything in place, and your accessory box. This box contains the new 5-inch screen, spool holder, cables, and PTFE tubes.
Then it’s time to open up the front door by removing the tape holding it shut and removing the plastic film surrounding the door. Behold the AMS Pro 2! Unlock the AMS Pro 2 from the bottom plate using the hex screwdriver in your toolbox, and flex your fingers, as you will have to pull this one out through the top with limited space for your hands or fingers.
The AMS Pro 2 is covered in plastic film that has to be peeled slowly to perfection and satisfaction.
Next up is unlocking the heat bed by using the hex screwdriver. It is most vitally important that you do not try to remove the bottom layer of foam until after the P2S has done its initial calibrations. And don’t forget to unscrew the heat bed at the back rod. Remove the plastic retainer, and bam, the heat bed is unlocked.
Then we unlock the two front rods by removing the plastic protectors. Just twist them and pull, and they will come off. After that, we remove the zipties holding the toolhead and rods in place. This concludes unlocking the inside of the printer.
We still have to install the touch screen, AMS Pro 2, and tubing to get our first printout. Let’s get to it. For the screen, remove the table and pull out the flexible cable carefully. Connect the screen to the cable and gently slide the cable back into the chassis. The L-shaped hooks fit into the holes in the chassis, and you slide them in until you feel a soft click.
Now turn the P2S around, not upside down like the delivery company did, so the back is facing you. Make sure to put the glass cover on top and put the AMS on that. Connect the medium-length PTFE tube to the AMS 2 Pro and the PTFE Tube coupler in the back. Connect the power cable to any of the free 6-pin connectors on the P2S.
Open up the AMS Pro 2 and remove the foam and tape from inside. Place the desiccant bags, and now your AMS Pro 2 is ready to go.
The Spool Holder sounds optional, but it counts as an extra filament in your loadout. So you might as well install it and unlock up to 5 spools at a time. Just grab the tube, insert the PTFE guider, and slide over the spool holder until you hear a click. Connect the short PTFE tube to the PTFE Coupler, and it’s there when you need it.
Connect the Bambu Lab P2S to power and follow the setup on the screen. Be sure to have your Bambu Handy app nearby to link the device to your account as well. After the initial calibration, remove the lower layer of foam that was left, load up some filament, and start your first print, the legendary Benchy.
Bambulab P2S and AMS Pro 2 Features and Testing
Bambu Lab is shipping the P2S with several new highlighted features, but also has some hidden upgrades that are worth mentioning. The biggest and most notable feature is the 5-inch touchscreen over the small screen and buttons that the P1S has. All the settings, errors, AMS filament settings, nozzle settings, detection, etc. They’re all available on the screen.
With the new screen also comes a new 1080p high FPS camera, so watching your printer through Bambu Handy or BambuStudio is no longer a slideshow of blurry images. But crispy smooth motion with a clear sight of what is going on with your print.
The P2S’s software also uses AI spaghetti detection and chute clogging detection that will notify you whenever the camera and software detect spaghetti or clogs. Sending you a message that there is a problem you should probably have a look at.
The camera is also equipped with build-plate detection, so when you start a print, the P2S will detect what plate is on the heatbed and notify you if you forgot to swap plates. Furthermore, the P2S will also detect if there is still an item on the buildplate that should probably be removed before starting the new print you just sent.
Internally, there is a new Servo Extruder that has up to seventy percent more force compared to the P1S, which makes it ideal for high flow rate prints, in case you want that. The new Extruder also comes with active flow rate compensation and clog detection, and the quick swap nozzle feature we saw on the H2 series and A series, which we absolutely love.
The closed chamber on the P2S regulates its temperature by sucking in cold air through a grid on the bottom of the printer near one of the grips, actively cooling the chamber and printing when the temperature becomes too high. While it can also circulate and filter hot air for filaments that require hotter temperatures or are a bit more volatile to print.
The two best hidden features for us are that the P2S now features a real Wi-Fi antenna. This makes connecting to the printer and checking your print much less of a hassle. It also makes sending big print jobs a tad faster, and it hasn’t lost connection even once in the month we tested it. And the second-best hidden feature is the slope at the bottom of the printer that makes swiping out leftover pieces of filament a breeze to keep the printer clean.
AMS Pro 2 – The Lifesaver
The AMS Pro 2 is a huge upgrade over the original AMS system. It now incorporates a drying feature, live hydro readout on the printer, and BambuStudio, and small details like LED lights showing what filaments are connected make it amazing to look at. It does get noisy when it unwinds or pushes filament through at the start and end of a print.
The auto-detection of filament for Bambu Lab filaments is still an amazing feature, and if you aren’t keen on setting and tweaking filament profiles, this is a lifesaver for you. But it works well enough with other filaments as well. Polymaker cardboard spools need a little 3D printed ring to keep them running smoothly, but they work fine.
We only had issues with our Sunlu PLA Meta filament that got stuck in the nozzle as the teeth of the gears in the AMS were slightly overdamaged, and the thread of the filament. Making the diameter too small to be gripped by the extruder.
Unlike other Multi-Material Systems, where you can dry and print at the same time, this is not possible with the AMS Pro 2. All filaments need to be disconnected as the AMS Pro 2 will spin them around during the cycle to dry evenly everywhere.
And it locks off in an outtake to recycle the air inside the AMS and fully dry the air that way. No risk of sucking in moist air from outside the AMS. But the AMS Pro 2 does not need a dedicated power cable, only a 6-pin connector to the P2S, so that’s a win for us.
The Results and Verdict Are In
The P2S is a huge update and refresh of the P1S, where it is almost absolute to buy a P1S if you have the budget to get the P2S. The basic prints we did ended up nearly perfect over most of our filaments. More finicky filaments require some fine-tuning; the Bambu Lab PETG-CF had terrible overhangs in the printer torture test. The real test for us, however, is printing miniatures.
We got an extensive collection of printed OPR miniatures and a forever-growing pile of unpainted shame. Because printing miniatures on an FDM printer and getting good table-top quality in itself is a challenge. Especially on a new printer, getting everything tuned is a joy for us. After many failures, tries, and not using the best filament for miniatures because PLA Meta doesn’t seem to vibe well with the AMS. But after some tweaking, we got it to perfection.
Overall, the Bambu Lab P2S sets forth Bambu Lab their printing for everyone philosophy. Easy to set up, easy to print things, and deep enough to dive in and get everything running to perfection. The only downside to the P2S is that the PTFE tube slides against the top glass and needs additional clips or a raiser for the top plate. The noise levels aren’t louder than the A1 we have, and drying isn’t noticeable at all.
Is it worth the upgrade if you own a P1S? That depends. Do you want the new software features and a bigger screen? Do you have the budget? Maybe, but for us it felt like a huge upgrade from the A1 to the P2S and a blast to have. And if this is your first printer, the Bambu Lab P2S will do the work for you as well.
Thanks to Bambu Lab for sending us this amazing top-tier printer. You can buy one for yourself over at the Bambu Lab EU Store.
Looking for a more affordable option that delivers amazing results for starters? Check out our A1 review or our A1 Mini review.
Shoutout to One Page Rules for having amazing, challenging miniatures to print and play an amazing game with.