Bambu Lab X1 Carbon: The Complete Australian Review

Jackson B.

The Printer That Changed Everything

When the Bambu Lab X1 Carbon launched in 2022, it caused genuine disruption in the 3D printing world. Print speeds of 500 mm/s, automatic calibration, a fully enclosed chamber, multi-colour capability via the AMS, and a polished software experience, all in a single machine. For the Australian maker community, which had been accustomed to choosing between affordable but fiddly or reliable but slow, the X1C represented something genuinely new.

Two years on, with firmware updates and a mature software ecosystem, the X1C has proven itself in real world use. This review covers what it's actually like to own one in Australia, including the things the marketing doesn't tell you.

Out of Box Experience

Bambu's out of box experience is the best in the industry. The X1C arrives well packaged, partially pre-assembled, and ready for its first print within about 20 minutes of unboxing. The automatic calibration sequence, bed levelling, first layer calibration, and vibration compensation run automatically. You don't touch a physical bed screw. You don't run a test print to check Z-offset. You load your PLA and print.

For Australian buyers who've previously owned an Ender 3 or Prusa and spent hours calibrating, the transition is a genuinely jarring experience in the best way. The machine knows how to print. Your only job is to pick good filament and a good model.

Print Quality and Speed

The X1C's Lidar sensor monitors the first layer in real time and adjusts for any inconsistencies. Combined with input shaping (vibration compensation) and pressure advance, the result at 250 mm/s is cleaner than most printers produce at 80 mm/s. The CoreXY motion system, where the print head moves on two axes while the bed only moves vertically, allows the high accelerations that enable fast printing without ringing artefacts.

Real world speeds for quality prints are 200–350 mm/s for PLA with excellent results. For engineering materials like PA-CF you'll slow to 80–120 mm/s, but that's still fast for a demanding material. The 0.4 mm brass nozzle that ships with the X1C is good for most materials; swap to a hardened steel nozzle for any carbon fibre or glass fibre filled filament.

Material Capability

The fully sealed enclosure is what separates the X1C from open frame machines. With the chamber closed, temperatures naturally rise to 45–60°C depending on the nozzle temperature, exactly what ABS, ASA, Nylon, and Polycarbonate need to print without warping. The X1C handles the full range of materials stocked at OzFDM.

For Australian outdoor applications, ASA is particularly well suited, UV resistant and dimensionally stable in the harsh Australian climate. The X1C prints ASA with the door closed and a near zero fan, producing parts that can handle harsh summer conditions without cracking or discolouring. See our ASA print profile for the X1C for exact settings.

The AMS (Automatic Material System)

The AMS unit holds four spools and enables multi colour or multi material printing. During a colour change, the printer purges the old filament into a waste "poop chute" before loading the new colour. The system is impressively reliable once dialled in, though the initial setup can be fiddly and the waste piles up quickly on multicolour prints.

Multicolour PLA prints on the X1C produce results that would have required a skilled painter's post processing work just a few years ago. The colour registration is clean, the transitions are sharp, and Bambu Studio's multicolour workflow is genuinely user friendly.

Software: Bambu Studio

Bambu Studio is a fork of PrusaSlicer with significant UI improvements and deep Bambu hardware integration. Print profiles for every Bambu printer and the most common filaments are pre loaded and thoroughly tested. For PLA, PETG, and ABS, you can print straight from the Generic presets with excellent results.

The software also supports Orca Slicer, an increasingly popular alternative with advanced calibration tools that many advanced users prefer for fine-tuning. Both are excellent choices.

Verdict for Australian Makers

At AU$1,800–$2,200, the X1C is a significant investment. But for makers who print regularly, want to use engineering materials, or need multi-colour capability, the time saved on calibration and the consistently high quality output makes the premium worthwhile. If you're printing two or more spools per month, the X1C pays for itself in saved frustration within a year. Our full print profiles for the X1C cover every major filament available from OzFDM.