ELEGOO vs. BAMBU LAB - Which PLA Filament is Best?

[@cdpond]

One thing that comes to mind when I looked at your moisture reduction experiment... you 'd noted that the Elegoo was more tightly wound than the Bambu Lab. That could very well have a big impact on how well your dehydrator was able to work on your samples. They might be more similar that your weighing results show.

[@HeyItsKaori8989]

I was using Elegoo for a while and I really like their prices. Their customer service is decent as well with good response time. My only complaint is I’ve had some noticeable color differences between spools of the same color. So if I was to complete a project with two spools, there was a noticeable color difference where it switched and that doesn’t work for what I make, aesthetically. I’ve since decided to use polymaker as they claim they use colorimetry to ensure very similar colors between batches and it’s worked well for me.

[@brendanguyen4403]

If there are color inconsistencies and issues with your Elegoo rolls, always send them an email and they’ll send you a replacement they are so good with that! They promise warranty on their filament and truly they deliver

[@thomasmcgravie6932]

Great video, one thing to watch is Bambu Lab settings are tuned to run faster for their own filament. So the generic PLA settings will print noticably slower which has to be taken into account as you are running a print farm. I have used Bambu printers for nearly 2 years now in the UK and print with Sunlu, Esun, Elegoo and Bambu filament, with slight tuning quality is the same, print times still may vary! Interesting to hear about other brands......😁👍 (Humidity held in the cardboard spool will be an issue). The one huge plus point about Bambu is the RF id tags and when opening a new spool they will give you pretty accurate reading of filament used/left which my help with less waste and ease of switch over during prints.

[@Rick_Cavallaro]

Does the RFID tag provide parameters for the specific batch of filament, or only based on the filament type?

[@shanechristiansen38]

I use elegoo rapid on my a1s and mini. I always tell the machine it's polylite pla and let it rip. For most items, it prints flawless. For accuracy on dimensional holes you will want to slow down outer wall speed, but otherwise i don't have any issues running it straight out of the package most times. It's my go to for basic prints.

[@legacyofbob]

This was super useful info to me, as I run a small Bambu print farm of 6 printers, and recently have been using Elegoo for their black and white only. The carboard spool thing is annoying because I mainly use P1S+AMS, but there are rings you can print to add a sturdy rim to them. I find it very interesting about the drying part because the cardboard spool could also be holding moisture so I honestly expected the Elegoo to lose more but it didn't. Thanks a lot for making this video.

[@NWGR]

Sam, consider moving your dehydrator to the far left of the table so you don't have to reach around an open door the load/unload it. Also, I've found that weighing spools before/after drying doesn't amount to much since cardboard spools can contain a good bit of moisture. I just dry them and give the dehydrator the benefit of the doubt that it did its job. Another thing to keep in mind regarding weighing filaments; postage scales aren't terribly accurate when it comes down to gram and ounces. I think they're around +/- 2-3gr.

[@allenwand2818]

I was also going to mention shifting the Dryer to the Left. with your loading up too 22 rolls in that dryer those couple of seconds per roll will save you minutes every time you load it. another thing to consider is that reach can lead to a Repetitive Stress Injury as you lean around the door and having the camera in your other hand already putting your body in a non neutral position. Your Posture during movements even small light Stress ones can lead to RSI if you do it a lot.

[@DavidRussell-TheDavidRussell]

Thank you. Great video. I'm about to start my 3D Print adventure. Bambu P1S with AMS on order. I ordered some Elegoo to start out with and didn't even think about quality differences. Your comparison puts me at ease for starting out. We'll see how it goes when I start printing at the end of the month.

[@lenakuhlen1832]

I want to order the same printer.are you happy with the pla? And does in fit in the ams ?

[@thetinkerist]

I like the compare, you try to give the filaments the same headstart by drying them. I wonder how much difference there is in colors, great that you tried two different colors of each.The narration was smooth, you have a good voice to talk us trough. Thanks for the video and the work and time you put into it. 🎉

[@elpresidente8730]

I've used Bambu Labs, Sunlu, Elegoo, Eryone and Gratkit PLA straight out of the box and never had a problem with any of them. The results are all comparable.

[@slhasebroock]

When you calibrate the Elego filament, would you make a video on that process? Thank you, another great video!

[@nmurphy7281]

Thanks for the video! Picked up some Elegoo PLA and have been getting great results with it using just the generic PLA settings on my A1 Combo. The biggest issue I was having with Bambu Labs was that most of their colors just came as refills, and the empty spools were both unavailable and expensive to buy. I like having a variety of colors, and received them within 2 days of ordering.

[@oKMz]

I appreciate your content, love that you do these long-form videos!

[@pearlharbor8065]

I use PETG primarily. The issue I've been having with Elegoo is that they wrap their filament so tight that it is compressing into itself and not wanting to come off the spool when printing and causing the last quarter of the spool to be wasted. I'm going back to Bambu Lab PETG-HF. Supports also come off easier with Bambu Lab from my experience.

[@michaels3003]

TY. I thought about this when he commented on the tight winding.

[@Viyarus]

WOW! Love watching these vids, you analyse everything. Strength test print is the best, the one that arches over to 80 degrees.

[@xenontesla122]

I made a whole cost/benefit analysis of various PLA filament brands (not including Bambulab). I determined that Elegoo and Overture were great budget choices. Then I use Hatchbox for anything that needs to be really strong or stiff.

[@davidcooper574]

I’ve use a lot of Elegoo. I use their PLA pro all the time. Best thing is in a bind you can get it same day/next day from Amazon. They are making some of their PLA on plastic spools now.

[@JWill6969]

I've been using their Rapid Pla+ with their Neptune 4 pro and it's awesome. Being able to print high quality pla parts that fast is just awesome

[@ljonesj]

What’s wierd I’ve had the plastic spools of elegoo u can see water in the vacuum bag the card board ones I don’t see any

[@jackie87430]

I have only used ELEGOO PLA Pro in my A1 mini and it was absolutely phenomenal after calibrating. I typically have used esun and bambu up until now. Now I'm buying what ever is cheapest and drying the everloving hell out of it lol

[@Orgrimmar93]

I exclusively only use Elegoo unless specifically requested by my customers. I've never had any issues with the cardboard spool slightly being bent. Can't beat their prices either.

[@TheRogueBro]

I've had countless issues with the cardboard spools in the AMS on my P1S.

[@kennethturner7942]

@@TheRogueBro Print the Python mod and no more issues with any kind of spool type.

[@TheRogueBro]

@@kennethturner7942 seems excessive! I just printed some slip on cardboard spool adapters.

[@LeSpartacus1]

@@TheRogueBro If you take an elagoo spool, crack open the spool and only keep the middle cardboard piece, they perfectly fit on a plastic bambulab spool. So i buy elagoo and replace them on my bambulab spools for my AMS on my X1C

[@michaelaberle6093]

I primarily use elegoo, and have never had packaging issues. They usually show up as a box inside a box, and sometimes another bigger box.

[@MatthewHennemuth]

I love how he said just for kicks and giggles he got me laughing. Great video by the way. Keep up the good work!

[@cowdog360]

I’ve run a lot of Elegoo Rapid PETG with good results. However, the Bambu PETG HF has a much better looking finish compared to it if you make sure to dry it first. The advantage of the Elegoo is getting it for like $12/spool on amazon the next day during surge order time.

[@Jrodmcn]

I'm up in Canada. I buy elegoo filament. They come double boxed and in plastic spools. Always well practiced. Just so you know. Keep up the good work!

[@TheRogueBro]

Where are you getting plastic spools from Elegoo from? Must be crazy old stock... I get mine off Amazon and they have been strictly cardboard for a while now.

[@Jrodmcn]

@@TheRogueBro I believe I bought them directly from elegoo. It was back in the middle of the summer.

[@janellegodin2934]

​@@TheRogueBrosome of my newest elegoo rolls came in plastic spools (bought in December) . For the last 18 months, everything that's older than a month old came in cardboard. I'm also in Canada and all my rolls came double boxed and in excellent condition.

[@jorsm.3893]

Nice video, I saw your "made in USA" tape for packaging on the background in the beginning :P I feel like the made in the USA filament option you mentioned at the end would probably be a nice pick if the quality is good. You can support the local economy, it would be more sustainable and you can probably also stress that more in your marketing. For the few dollars difference per spool your customers would probably hardly have to pay a premium for it.

[@TBoom8669]

I run my Elegoo filament under the Bambo filament profiles and they turn out great. Might suggest doing that before trying to manually dial in the settings. At least this has worked for me using the Elegoo Rapid PETG.

Note that the ELegoo came on a cardboard spool. Some of the 2g of water might also come from the cardboard spools. As cardboard will also absorb moisture from the air.

[@JIA-c9n]

Keep the comparisons coming!

[@4140ajj]

I've been using Elegoo (mostly their black PLA) for quite a while now and it's been pretty good consistent. Some of the cardboard spools do arrive a bit bent (like this video showed). I see similar results from Elegoo and Bambu PLAs that I've used, but the Elegoo is quite a lot cheaper

[@jberg8159]

Keep uploading the content. This Christmas a lot of new people got into the hobby. Your knowledge is gold.

[@polocorrea8603]

What a great video! Thank you for doing this I have been using Elegoo since I started 3D printing a few months ago and I was wondering the differences between filaments.

[@alexanderpopov3587]

Great content. I usually measure about 6g of water removal from a brand new sealed spool of Elegoo PLA. I use Creality single spool drier, 12h at 50oC .

[@timcremer6242]

I’ve been using the Elegoo rapid petg and it’s printed well so far.

[@justinfielding]

Elegoo Rapid PLA+ all day long, excellent stuff. Don't like the cardboard spools but I rewind mine on to old Bambool spools for AMS use. Sounds like a hassle but with the correct respooler it's no bother at all (and I had a few poor ones in the past). This probably means I have never noticed any issues with tight winding. I really wish filament manufacturers would drop the cardboard spools or all sell AMS compatible reusable spools which fit the hubs in the centre of their cardboard spools - so you could easily make use of their reusable spool if you want.

[@olewurtz7625]

Thanks for doing the comparison. Do you think that extracting humidity from a loosely wound spool is easier, whereas a tightly wound, like the Ellegoo, will not allow the extraction as easy.

[@802Garage]

Nice comparison. Both clearly serviceable, but some advantages for the Elegoo.

[@christopherhaley939]

I’ve been using Bambu, sunlu, elegoo. Really liking Sunlu packaging and product.

[@HiroshiUSA]

My friend, you forgot to count the humidity of the Spool, it doesn't mean that the filament had 4 grams of humidity.

[@therealdholling]

And so the plastic Bambu Lab spool had more moisture than the cardboard Elegoo?

[@RandyBrown162]

@@therealdholling the cardboard was in a sealed pack, the spools had been laying around the shop.

[@JakeCampbell-bw1fu]

You make a good point ​@@RandyBrown162

[@watcherofwatchers]

It's irrelevant either way. PLA is not as affected by moisture as the Internet likes to portray.

[@JakeCampbell-bw1fu]

@@watcherofwatchers true. When I first started out the humidity in my shop was around 65% with no problems. I do find I get better results with it lower than 50%, but not by much.

[@kidri007]

I use many different versions of filament and have had great results with them just spending a little time to fine tune each one.

[@michaelbrown-qe8cr]

Sam - FYI - I just ordered 10 spools of Elegoo Rapid PLA+ from Amazon (not direct through Elegoo) for an upcoming project - The packaging was perfect - no issues.

[@uri1090]

In case this point was not mentioned in previously, Bambu filaments on Bambu spools are marked with RFID, which, by default, its printers read and use for calibration prior to each job (unless the user disables this feature.) So, if you used Bambu spools with the correct RFID tags for your Bambu PLA refills, I think it can be interesting to also test the Elegoo PLA filaments in Bamboo spools with the right RFID tags. If the printed Elegoo results are closers to those of the Bambu filaments, we can conclude that (a) the filaments are more similar than previously thought; and (b) using Bambu spools with their RFID benefits non-Bambu filaments. Such outcome suggests intriguing possibilities.

[@Redhotandblue89]

Haven't used Elegoo because I refuse to support their business practices with their printer and after-sale support. I use Bambu and eSun typically(Also Inland from Microcenter, same stuff though. Depends on if they have a bulk sale). I eagerly await this series as I'm just starting out (3 printers, but going to flea markets).

[@Adaks]

what businesses practises? what has elegoo done to you?

[@OldCurmudgeon3DP]

Interestingly enough, most extruding/spooling processes run the extrude through a water bath to cool it before it hits the spool.

[@ronaldangel8509]

I've used Bambu, Kingroon, Elegoo and Creality PLA filaments on my A1 w/o issue. A few prints were a bit stringy, likely needing their profiles tweeked, but good overall. That said, the Bambu Labs while well packed, were the sloppiest on their spools, especially the refills.

[@andrewscotti1136]

you would need to have 4 of the same spools for measuring the filament humidity. carboard obviously is going to have moisture in it.

[@whatsup3d]

I've been using EleGoo Rapid PLA Plus on my X1C and A1m with great results. 4 packs of black and while on Amazon are very reasonably priced, arrive next day and have been well packaged.

[@kennethturner7942]

Same here and I've never had a package come to my door like his did (from Elegoo), Amazon does a much better job with their packaging.

[@helixxharpell]

Peach!!👏🍻

[@gabe314159]

I'm curious if the drying process was affected by how tightly the elegoo filament was rolled vs the bambu filament. Would the looser filament dry out more easily? It seems intuitive to think so, but I don't know if the results would vary due to that factor.

[@vivileon]

I was thinking that too, maybe the drying could have gotten deeper into the loose filament than the tightly packed one.

[@RBallarddesigns]

Voxel makes a really nice printing filament.

[@collimic]

Great video, I use an Elegoo Neptune 3 Max and a Bambu A1 Mini. I just started getting a little bot of the Bambu filament and it is working out but I mostly use the Elegoo Basic PLA and I have loved the way the prints turn out. My 5 packs that I order normally come in a separate box so mine has never looked like the shipper threw it around. I would love to see your video on your take of calibrating the A1 to get the filament to print better. I have seen others but I very much enjoy your videos.

[@Spirited282]

I have used lots of brands of filaments in my 10+ years of 3d printing. Elegoo is great and Bambu labs just works. Polymaker i would say is my main go to however, and when i first started out it was Hatchbox. For silk i like Hello 3D

[@kristinkizer1670]

Polymaker!! 100% made in the USA in Texas actually!! Can’t wait to see the difference between the two of those. I currently use Bambu but slowing switch over to polymaker polylite

[@donoho93]

Polymaker filament is great..so is overture, but it cost significantly more.

[@Samcraftcom]

Only 5% of polymaker's products are made in USA right now: us-wholesale.polymaker.com/pages/usa-made-products

[@johnkelly7264]

You're a goldmine of information. Very easy to listen to and a great presentation style as well. Your channel is going to be extra useful going forward, as I've just got an X1 Carbon E model. Subbed here for sure. Hi from Australia.

[@Samcraftcom]

I really appreciate your comment. I'm not an expert by any means though. :)

[@roborocketsuit3308]

So I started using elegoo pla last year when I set up my print farm at work and it has been a good pla for making cheap parts. To clarify, I have been using an X1C and P1S, both printers print that pla at 240c at 350 mm/s and all of my parts are within tolerance. As for the condition that I've seen, the spools come in, if you use an AMS. A cardboard spools are awful for quality and trying to leave long-term prints. There's been many times I have come back on a Monday and my print stopped sometime Friday night because of the AMS being overloaded because it can't pull the cardboard spool or it's bent or it's falling apart. But for the significantly cheaper cost when buying it 10 rolls at a time, usually I buy 50 rolls per batch every 6 months, you can't beat the price if you need to make cheap plastic parts. And for reference, I have printed over 12,000 parts out of that PLA

[@Sul1s0]

I am using Elegoo HS PLA on the Neptune 4 privatly, the price is good (+ free shipping is you order 60€, arrival in 2-4 days in Europe) and I never had any trouble with tangles/humidity. I do agree the packaging if you order from Elegoo is wild but it never had any effect on the filament so it does not bother me :3

[@nikkolaus]

I prefer eSun and Sunlu ... in my experience, with 2 spools of PLA from Elegoo, it didn't meet my expectations... of course I ordered at the beginning of 2024, when their prices were $14-15 a spools... maybe they've changed suppliers since then, and gotten better, thus accounting for their popularity and price increases... who knows...

[@bobloch]

A comment on the result of the drying, I could suspect that the Bambu spool are giving more moisture because its not spooled tight up and therefore exposing more surface than the other spool

[@clydedecker765]

Sam, how difficult is it to tweak those settings for new filament makers? Is it hours or minutes? Is it two runs or twelve? What are you using as "benchmarks"? (Meaning if Bambu is not PERFECT, what do you do to tweak? And how do you apply that tweaking across the board of testing?) I suppose there is an argument about the cardboard spools but it would seem to be a magnet for any moisture compared to the PLA. Overall I see no reason to fret over it as opposed to the plastic rolls.

[@alexanderpopov3587]

You can fully calibrate a new fillament in half a day. Check the Orca slicer internal calibration tools.

[@NotCylest]

Thanks for today's video! My idea, how much does the moisture actually impact the print? That kind of test. This way we can put an end to the debate, is it really worth it to go through the business process of doing it.

[@Silvr_Scream]

Elegoo has been my go to lately.

[@HypeNationog]

I use elegoo on both my a1 series and that’s it. They fit right on the ams but I don’t necessarily hate that. Plus stupid cheap in bulk

[@HypeNationog]

I will however hand over packaging to bambu gladly elgoo multiple times sent out like yours had come but most the time they come in a box or a couple at that

[@andreweisan4095]

I have been printing for a while now. I like Bambu filament they have a wide selection and a resonable price. I prefer Overture. Their website says they are American basied but the filament is made in Chine. They have bulk discounts as well.

[@frankcarlsen4921]

Are the original bengy on the card not pre-sliced? That would mean that it was printed with the same parameters as the original Bambu Lab PLA profile.

[@dylandominic]

Cool thing you use the elegoo filament on a Bambu spool as if it’s a refill just rip off the cardboard sides and rip out the extra cardboard in the centre and it’s exactly like a Bambu refil and fits perfect

[@Gryfang451]

I use a lot of Elegoo Rapid PLA+ at a volume setting of 20mms/3 at 220c. Good stuff. I also use IIIDMAX PLA+. Works well at 18mms/3 and 215 (strings more at 220.)The color consistency of IIIDMAX isn't perfect, but the price is good if you buy 10 spools @ $119 or $12 ea. and you can mix the colors. Also, made in Florida, USA!

[@KevinHartley]

How long had the Bambu filament been sitting on the shelf?

[@v6cmg]

Hi I am in England / UK I got some elegoo from Amazon last week, and they came in a box in a box well pack...just to let you know... I have pla + and Petg-Rapid... my first time with Petg and got my Bambu P1S in November 2024...

[@davidmorrow6808]

You should try putting in 2 of the Bambu spools and see if they are holding moisture as you had those sitting out in the shop

[@railmonkey69]

@Samcraft would you consider making a video that goes more in depth about tuning? I’m fairy new to the hobby with an A1 and would love to learn more for better prints.

[@rafalolszewski6174]

I use Elegoo filament with printed bambu spools plus spacer. Also set it in printer as bambu filament. So far prints look ok.

[@Adaks]

FYI - you can use bambu lab basic profile with elegoo filament, the main difference with this profile is that the volumetric flow is increased to 21, which elegoo filament can do with no problem. This means you can print faster compared to the generic profile.

[@robwms]

I run an A1 mini. And use it for prototyping. I have never used bambu's filament I have been using elegoo rapid pla Plus in Black primarily. I have also used comgrow in white without complaints. As far as your packaging my boxes arrived in perfect condition however I did order them through Amazon my usage is not quite as high as yours LOL I'll be interested to see what other filament you try out. Until then, Happy printing!

[@patrickriggs3433]

Polymaker also has bulk discounts and US facility now. Probably worth checking out

[@MissingLinkMTB]

I find using the eSun settings on the Bambu Slicer for my Elegoo filament (pla+) works wonders.

[@MarkPryor1]

Difussion rate. You said the elegoo was wound tighter. So the surface is were closer together potentially reducing the effective surface area. You really needed to just trim up 100 g sample worth of half inch pieces and dry that out.

[@MasterT-n2c]

Regarding to the Elegoo keep that in mind half of the water come from the cardboard spool not just from the filament.

[@Samcraftcom]

Then it was even drier than the Bambu. Bambu -4g, Elegoo -2g.

[@davidmccain4133]

Could you a video on the business aspect of the farm? Operating cost vs revenue, time/effort, backlog, etc?

[@MarkFisch]

I use both these companies I did notice if it’s wrapped to tight it can sometimes get stuck on the sides and then my amps fails because It csnt pull the filament outta. Both companies are solid options

[@Samcraftcom]

Thank you for sharing your experiences, I appreciate it!

[@MisterkeTube]

Would it not be better to dehydrate the Bambu refill BEFORE putting it on the spool? That way not only the outer filament is exposed to the dry air and hence there will be more filament that can release its moisture to the dry environment. I also thing the Elegoo being tightly wound will just make it more difficult to have it dissipate moisture from inside the spool and that this will have more impact than the difference in moisture actually in the PLA. Also the carton spool will itself hold more moisture than a plastic spool, which can also impact the lower weight difference after drying.

[@blaz33_gaming]

Have you tried the company SUNLU? They have relatively cheap filament and I have had no issues on my ender 3 or A1 mini, have been using them since 2023.

[@lipinskirl]

Haven’t had an issue with either. I print both on my Ender3 and X1C.

[@NoMercyFtw]

Elegoo PLA can be run with the esun PLA plus profile, it's a faster profile and I'm pretty sure you can actually use the bamboo PLA profile also

[@Jerkbag714]

I buy a lot of elegoo Pla+. I always run it at esun but in the rare case I get regular pla from elegoo I use the generic setting. Never had a problem 👍

[@NoMercyFtw]

@@Jerkbag714 even regular PLA can run eson PLA plus profile I run anycubics regular PLA, plus countless others with zero issues

[@Cdshakes]

Sam: when you put the filament in the food dehydrator, do you typically start a 3D print with that filament as soon as it comes out of the dehydrator? I'm curious how much moisture it reabsorbs when just sitting in your shop environment. 🤔

[@Samcraftcom]

Not unless there is a printer waiting to be refilled. An average roll will only be "alive" in my shop for a week or less, so I am not concerned on re-hydration.

[@robertbankhead8661]

Would love to know a recommendation for a small dehydrator. Thanks again Sam, great video and content applicability

[@pickleleatherworkx2218]

Elegoo, Voxel, and polymaker have been wonderful for me. Polymaker is definitely a company i would choose for great filament

[@johnhartman718]

My experience with Elegoo has been positive. No damage and I'm not sure if that is because I ordered from Amazon. I went to them after a $400.00 order with Bambu sat idle for weeks, and it took weeks for them to reply to why this was an issue.

[@TopherTheLost]

Before even watching I say that I've bought 6kg of Bambu and had no issues. I've bought (since dec 2023) 42kg of elegoo with no issues. Now I'll watch the video.

[@TFrax]

I like Esun. Plus its preprogrammed into the A1 as a filament option.

[@elvenprints]

so good to have you doing the tests for us. The amount of water in the filament... I would never think its that much. Thank you!

[@StanG1980]

Are you having trouble with the smart stitch?

[@kunicross]

I´ve used a bit of Elegoo since it´s what amazon overnights to me packing seem to be much better in Europe but that damage is still probably more on the shipper. One strange thing I noticed was, that the Elegoo PLA seems to get more stringy when I dry it. Overall it´s OK but a bit inferior to Bambu imho, comes around the same price maybe a slight bit cheaper in Bulk. is your scale precise enough for what you' re measuring? I like the Idea to do it that way but given that we here in the area of 2/1000 / 1/500th you'll need a very precise scale to get good data out of it (which then might have problems to measure up to 1 kg...) I suspect more/some water in the paper part in either case. (if you do that 4 ml thing with blood that make a much bigger impression)

[@jb510]

I use Elegoo Rapid PLA+. I buy 4kg packs and they come in single large box, not four boxes taped together like you got. Maybe because the colors? Did you order from Amazon or Elegoo directly? I like Elegoo, but I’d also look at Sunlu. Plastic spools, slightly cheaper, and maybe higher quality. Also appreciate you knowing and saying the Elegoo would be the same with a tiny bit of tweaking. Finally thought, I don’t think either of those had enough moisture to affect anything. Would be interesting to print a bench’s first, then dry, then print again.

[@Rick_Cavallaro]

I am absolutely not an expert at this, so... does it matter which ships with more water content if you're going to dry them before printing?

[@agrieger1987]

Hi Sam, I love your setup and they way you go about things. Question, have you ever tried using your laser engraver on 3D printed parts like PLA or PETG? I'm curious as to how well it would work

[@michaels3003]

I saw a comment recently, that the heat will melt the plastic.

[@agrieger1987]

​@michaels3003 i guess this would depend on what power settings you use on the laser

[@ausfoodgarden]

I bought a lot of no-brand or unknown brand filament and it was as you would expect, not so good. After that, I went to Esun, which was pretty good overall. Recently Elegoo filament became way cheaper so I'm hoping it's at least as good. I've got 10 rolls coming so I hope it's not awful. Cheers!

[@gunracksonline]

My favorite is numakers but they had a supply issue which forced me to find others. with the price point and plastic reels i went to bambu labs. I run both the regular ams and ams lites and prefer to stay with the plastic reels. There is adapters that can be printed for the ams but rather eliminate issues from them.

[@JonneytheKidd]

How long do you leave the filament in there?

[@GlassBoxAquatics]

You should do a video on the print modifications you do to your A1s.

[@Samcraftcom]

I'll put it on the short list!

[@Inkaholic0628]

I am new to the 3d printing and have only been printing for a week. I am just hearing about the drying of filament. What type of dryer are you using? Also finding out about filament size the hard way.

[@TheRogueBro]

@@Inkaholic0628 any filament dryer that gets above 65° Celsius works pretty good. You can also actually dry your filament and desiccants on your heated bed if you have an enclosed chamber. Takes a long time though.

[@ikepete]

I recently purchased an A1. I needed more filament but Bambu was out of most colors w/spool. I went with elegoo so I could get a variety of colors without having to buy or print my own spools. Eventually I’ll have empty rolls to buy refills. Until then I’ll try different brands to see what colors I like.

[@GreenPlasticWaterCan]

Don't respool empty spools, you're in for a bad time. Get or print dedicated spools for refills.

[@ikepete]

@ why would I be in for a bad time? What am I missing?

[@No_Worries83]

Elegoo Rapid PLA and Rapid PETG are my go to filaments - period.

[@virtualbum7199]

I was using Elegoo until I started getting print fails within the first 5 layers due to bed adhesion. Switched to Creality and feel it has superior bed adhesion. I also use the Storm Design Motor Drive 2 powered modular re-spooler, so spool does not matter to me. No matter what manufacturer I used (including the BL refills) I would get tangles in my AMS (BL X1C). Due to that, I re-spool every one of my spools and either use BL spool or printed spools. Not sure what happened to Elegoo recently, but bed adhesion has declined (IMO), and yes, I have futz with several other things that one would associate with bed adhesion, but no luck. The PLA swap was a last ditch effort.

[@dannystreet3727]

I use a lot of Elegoo Rapid PLA+. I see that you are using the regular PLA. I have tried both and the Rapid PLA+ is very close to Bambu filament. I have used the Bambu PLA setting and it works well. Also it has a few colors that I like tha Bambu does not have even the ones that have that is not in stock a lot of the time.

[@mixification]

Elegoo cardboard spools also have the same inner diameter of the bambu refills so you can just transplant them onto an empty bambu spool if the outer edge is damaged