Bambu Lab X2D Review

I’d consider the Bambu Lab X2D if removing supports is one of your biggest printing problems. Its second nozzle lets you print the temporary scaffolding beneath a part in a different material, so it can separate more cleanly. That’s useful for brackets, housings and other parts with awkward undersides. Its heated chamber also helps when you’re using plastics that tend to warp as they cool.

The catch is that its two nozzles aren’t equally capable. The main nozzle handles demanding work better; the auxiliary nozzle is slower and more restricted. Getting a simple first print right is also much easier than learning which materials to assign to each nozzle.

I’d recommend the X2D for a specific support or material problem. For ordinary single-material prints, the cheaper P2S—or the printer you already own—may be enough.

What The X2D’s Second Nozzle Changes

A printer builds a part one layer at a time. When a section sticks out too far, temporary supports give the next layer something to rest on. Removing them can leave rough patches, particularly on curved undersides and recessed surfaces.

The X2D lets you change the material touching your part. Its left, main nozzle uses direct drive: the motor pushing the plastic filament sits close to the nozzle.

The right, auxiliary nozzle uses a Bowden feed, which pushes filament through a longer tube from a motor at the rear. That arrangement keeps the moving print head compact, but limits how fast the auxiliary nozzle can print and how much plastic it can push out.

Usually, you’ll put the part’s material through the main nozzle and the support material through the auxiliary one. You don’t necessarily need to make the whole support from special filament. A support interface is just the thin contact layer between the scaffolding and your part. Using the second material there limits how much you consume and how much work you give the slower nozzle.

PLA and PETG, two common printing plastics, can serve as separating materials for one another. Reported testing produced PETG parts with rounded undersides using PLA supports, with clean results. A carbon-fiber nylon bike-lock holder also printed successfully with a dedicated support filament. Neither example establishes that every material pairing will work.

The materials must separate after printing but stay attached while the printer builds the part above them. Bambu’s manual points to the “printing guide for support” on Bambu Lab Wiki for material pairings and their print settings. Use a pairing supported by those instructions and your filament’s guidance, then try a small test before committing to a tall or delicate part.

You also need a way to remove the support. If it’s trapped inside a closed cavity, a cleaner break won’t let you pull it out. You may need to change the design, print the part in sections, or use a compatible dissolvable support with access for the dissolving liquid.

Two nozzles can avoid some waste from changing colors, but printing isn’t waste-free. In one reported test, 15 small zebras in black and white Bambu PLA Basic took 13 hours 54 minutes at the default settings and 0.2 mm layer height. They used 11.5 g in the prime tower—the small extra structure that gets filament flowing consistently after a nozzle switch.

That job didn’t waste plastic flushing out one color before printing another. When multiple colors share a nozzle, it still needs that flushing between colors.

That elapsed time isn’t a matched comparison against another printer. Before buying for speed, compare estimated times for your own model in the slicer, the software that prepares printing instructions. Those estimates aren’t measured print times, and you’ll also need to allow time to remove supports.

How X2D Prints Look And Fit Together

The main nozzle is the sensible choice for the surfaces you’ll see and the features that must fit. The auxiliary nozzle can print parts, but it isn’t a second copy of the main one.

A reported test that printed a small cube with each nozzle illustrates the difference. At 0.2 mm layers and default PLA settings, the main nozzle finished in 20 minutes 35 seconds; the auxiliary took 41 minutes 59 seconds and showed slight wall waviness.

The main used black Bambu PLA Basic and the auxiliary green MatterHackers Build Series PLA, so this wasn’t a perfectly controlled material comparison. The auxiliary nozzle was slower in those jobs, but you shouldn’t expect that exact difference on every print.

Other reported test prints had more stringing—fine plastic threads left between features—and small gaps along short outlines when using the auxiliary nozzle. For a disposable support, that may be unimportant. For tiny lettering or a visible face, it’s a reason to choose the main nozzle and inspect a sample before printing a batch.

Overhangs are the sections that stick out beyond the layers below them. How well they print depends on the settings. A reported Torture Toaster print came close to a clean result on the model’s 80-degree overhang test with the high-quality profile, a preset group of print settings. The standard profile did less well.

The report didn’t specify every material and layer setting for those samples. Treat this as an example of settings affecting finish, rather than a general angle cutoff for adding supports.

In reported tests of parts that fit together, PLA and PETG threaded adapters worked without cleanup. The pins and holes in a PETG assembly printed using both nozzles also fit together.

A separate test produced usable threaded holes for small M3 screws at 0.2 mm layers, although the account didn’t identify all material and nozzle settings. Those examples don’t guarantee that every dimension will be exact.

If you’re designing a housing, print a small section containing its screw hole, lid joint or clip first. Check that it fits the actual hardware, then adjust the design if needed.

The X2D’s advertised print-head speed also isn’t the speed at which every surface gets printed. The head can move without depositing plastic—called a travel move—and detailed features need slower motion. Choose the finish you need before chasing the shortest estimated time.

Which Materials And Part Sizes The X2D Can Handle

For main-nozzle printing, the available space is 256 × 256 × 260 mm. Where both nozzles need to reach the part, it shrinks to 235.5 × 256 × 256 mm—roughly 9.3 × 10.1 × 10.1 inches. The auxiliary nozzle alone has that smaller space, too.

Before buying, select the X2D in your slicer and check whether your model, supports and prime tower all fit. A housing that fits by itself may not leave enough room for everything the job requires.

The nozzles reach 300°C, the print bed 120°C and the enclosed printing chamber 65°C with its heater running. Chamber heating is useful for plastics such as ABS, ASA and suitable nylons that tend to shrink and lift as they cool. PLA instead benefits from the printer’s cooling mode.

A heated chamber doesn’t guarantee strong layers or eliminate warping. It also doesn’t make a filament requiring more than 300°C compatible.

For TPU, a flexible printing plastic, the grade determines which nozzle and feeding equipment you can use. The numbers in grades such as 95A describe hardness, with 85A softer than 95A.

Soft TPU needs a feed path with little resistance: it stretches and bends, so resistance can interfere with feeding and spoil the print. Bambu’s route for ordinary 95A TPU bypasses the rear filament buffer and feeds the main nozzle. Use the external-spool arrangement in its TPU guide.

The buffer normally smooths changes in filament tension. For soft TPU, the shorter external-spool route keeps feeding resistance down.

Don’t feed ordinary 95A TPU automatically through the AMS 2 Pro, Bambu’s automatic spool system, because it can jam there.

Softer 90A and 85A grades face more feeding resistance. They need to feed directly into the print head from above, or use the TPU feed assist module. This separately purchased accessory reduces feeding resistance and lets you load filament with the lid closed.

Bambu’s TPU loading table doesn’t support grades below 85A. For 85A, plan on a compatible 0.6 or 0.8 mm nozzle instead of the standard 0.4 mm, and check the filament’s nozzle requirements before buying it.

The firmer 68D “TPU for AMS” can use the automatic spool system, but that doesn’t make both nozzles equally suitable. Although successful auxiliary-nozzle prints have been reported with it, Bambu strongly discourages that combination because of a high failure risk. Use the main nozzle for flexible parts and check the exact TPU grade.

For dual-nozzle work, I’d plan to use the same nozzle diameter on both sides. Don’t buy the X2D expecting to pair a small nozzle for fine detail with a larger one for supports.

Getting Started With The X2D’s Two Nozzles

The X2D is a reasonable first printer if you’re willing to learn in stages. You don’t need to master two materials before making something useful: start with one material through the main nozzle, then add a simple supported print.

Physical setup involves removing transport restraints, attaching the screen and rear components, and connecting the feed tubes. One reported setup took two people about 45 minutes before calibration. Allow extra time for calibration, checking connections and learning the controls.

Automatic leveling of the print bed and alignment of the two nozzles handle adjustments you’d otherwise make by hand. They don’t decide whether two plastics will behave well together. Both materials share the bed and chamber. If one needs a hot chamber that would soften the other too soon, separate nozzles won’t fix that.

Bambu Studio, the slicer used with the X2D, is where you choose how to use each material. You tell it which filament makes the part, which makes the support interface, and how each filament reaches its nozzle.

A downloaded project may use a different arrangement from yours. Before sending the print, check the preview to make sure the part and supports will use the intended materials and nozzles.

Choosing those assignments is the bigger beginner hurdle: reported testing found it confusing even when ordinary prints were straightforward. For each new filament, select the matching print settings in Bambu Studio and follow the filament’s drying instructions.

Accessories may also need particular versions of the printer’s firmware, its built-in software, and Bambu Studio. For example, the optional Filament Track Switch lets an AMS feed either nozzle. After installing it and meeting the software requirements, use Studio’s Sync button so the software recognizes the switch and shows its routing options.

Basic printing doesn’t require cloud access. The X2D supports printing prepared files from USB and operating over your local Wi-Fi network in LAN-only mode. That mode gives up cloud features, including Bambu Handy remote access. A developer mode also allows control through third-party software.

Making Room For The X2D And Keeping It Running

The printer body measures 392 × 406 × 478 mm, but a shelf just that size won’t be practical. Allow room behind it for tubing and the feeder, in front for the door, and above for spool loading and maintenance.

A reported space allowance of 500 × 700 × 850 mm is a more useful starting point for the Combo package with its AMS spool system. Check your particular arrangement before choosing furniture.

Putting the AMS on top saves desk space but makes reaching through the printer’s lid less convenient. That’s especially relevant if you intend to feed soft TPU from above. Leave access for that job when deciding where to put the AMS.

It also belongs somewhere you can tolerate fan noise. One reported noise measurement from a meter away was around 55 decibels (dBA) during ordinary printing and above 60 dBA during fast travel moves. Don’t expect silent office equipment. Fan settings, the print and the surface beneath the printer affect what you hear.

Printing plastics can release fine particles and gases; the enclosure and particle/carbon filters don’t replace ventilation. Put it in a well-ventilated workspace, preferably with exhaust that captures those emissions near the printer, and keep it away from where you spend long periods sitting or sleeping. Little or no smell doesn’t establish safe exposure, including when printing ABS or ASA.

Expect routine cleaning, lubrication and replacement of parts that wear out. The nozzle assembly, called the hotend, can be replaced quickly.

That helps when the problem is in the hotend, but it doesn’t make every filament-feeder repair equally simple. A jam elsewhere along the filament path can require opening components and following a separate repair procedure.

Reported interruptions have ranged from recoverable pauses to a component needing replacement. A deliberately knotted filament triggered a warning in one test, and printing resumed after it was cleared. Another roughly 250-hour test described pauses caused by the printer’s detection system, despite generally successful prints.

A separate 200-plus-hour owner account reported an AMS feeding problem awaiting a replacement hub.

Allow some patience for troubleshooting, but these short accounts can’t establish a long-term failure rate. Keep the error details if something goes wrong; a recoverable pause and a failed component need different responses.

What You Need Beyond The X2D Itself

Choose the standalone X2D if you mainly want one material for the part and one for supports, and you’re happy loading external spools. You don’t need an automatic spool system merely to use two nozzles. Check that your chosen arrangement includes the holders and tubing you need, particularly if you’re adapting equipment you already own.

The Combo adds one AMS 2 Pro, which holds four spools and provides automatic filament changes and heated drying. It’s useful if you frequently change colors, want several materials ready to use, or value enclosed spool storage. It costs more than the standalone printer, so buy it for those conveniences rather than assuming it completes every dual-material setup.

One AMS has only one filament output. In a basic setup, it feeds one nozzle while an external spool feeds the other. That leaves the outside spool needing its own dry storage if the material is moisture-sensitive.

The optional Filament Track Switch lets you choose which nozzle an AMS feeds. With only one AMS, switching nozzles still involves unloading and loading filament; it can’t supply both through separate paths at once.

A second AMS can be useful when you want both materials enclosed and available through separate paths. It’s an additional purchase, not a prerequisite for clean supports.

The X2D can power one AMS 2 Pro for drying while the printer is idle. To dry while printing, use Bambu’s external AMS 2 Pro power adapter and X2D firmware 01.01.00.00 or later. Without the adapter, drying blocks printer heating, movement and filament loading.

During printing, the AMS lowers its drying temperature to avoid softening filament in the feed gears. Bambu gives examples of 45°C when printing PLA and 55°C for PETG. Even between jobs, its 65°C maximum isn’t hot enough for every filament’s recommended drying process.

Sealed storage helps keep dry filament dry; it doesn’t automatically dry a wet spool. Moisture absorbed by filament can turn to vapor in the hot nozzle and leave stringing or holes in the print, so drying matters for print quality as well as storage.

Start with filament, appropriate dry storage and the feeding equipment your material requires. Add optional accessories only when you have a specific use for them.

When The X2D Is Worth Buying Or Upgrading To

I’d choose the X2D if you regularly print parts whose supported surfaces matter: a curved underside that must look presentable, a recessed feature that is hard to clean, or a housing where rough support contact spoils the fit. The auxiliary nozzle’s slower printing is easier to accept when it spends much of its time making a thin support interface.

As a first enclosed printer, it makes sense if the parts and materials you want to print call for those capabilities. Include the feeding equipment and workspace they need in your decision, especially for soft TPU.

For mostly single-material PLA or PETG jobs, the P2S is the closest cheaper alternative. It offers an enclosed printer and familiar Bambu software without the X2D’s second nozzle or active chamber heater. Compare standalone with standalone, or Combo with Combo. If you don’t need either of those features, there’s little reason to pay extra for the X2D.

If you already have a dependable X1 Carbon, P1S or similar printer, keep it unless you can name the work the X2D would improve. Try turning a troublesome part to a different printing angle or printing it in smaller sections to put together afterward.

If that solves an occasional support problem, replacing the printer is hard to justify. If you’re repeatedly cleaning damaged undersides, the upgrade has a clearer purpose.

Look at the more expensive H2D if you need a larger working area, 350°C nozzles or direct-drive feeding for both nozzles. Those are meaningful capability differences for demanding dual-material work. Check its usable two-nozzle area against your model as carefully as you would the X2D’s.