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Bambu P2S Combo 3D Printer Review: My Own Little Plastics Factory
Does the average consumer actually need a 3D printer? Isn’t it just for people who want to sell fidgets at the flea market, design obscure brackets in CAD, or print groups of Warhammer figurines?
In my four weeks of testing the Bambu Lab P2S Combo, I have printed a sponge holder for my kitchen sink; caps and parts for my hydroponic gardens; various clips and hangers; a Mason jar lid organizer; a shovel; a couple of funny signs; plant pot coasters; a shoehorn; truck bed tie-downs; a pair of earrings; and, of course, a Benchy—every piece perfectly smooth and looking like it was purchased from a store. Owning a 3D printer is like having an Amazon fulfillment center right in your house.
While I'm no stranger to 3D printing—I owned the open-frame Bambu Lab A1 before I started testing 3D printers—I have never used a machine as easy to operate as the P2S. In fact, when we reviewed Bambu Lab’s P2S predecessor, the popular and bestselling P1S, earlier this year, tester Brad Bourque declared it the easiest-to-use 3D printer he’d ever tried, claiming its lack of complicated steps and futzing has changed the way he thinks about 3D printing.
The P2S builds on the already excellent P1S design with a new 5-inch color touchscreen, tool-free nozzle swapping, a beefed-up 1080p 30-frames-per-second camera with improved AI failure detection, and a redesigned airflow system. I wasn’t exactly in love with the latter, but one complaint for a system with thousands of failure points is more than enough to earn the P2S a solid A-grade.
Detail of identical pigeon figurine printed on white Bambu Lab PLA: A1 on left, P2S on right.
If you own another brand of mid- or lower-tier 3D printer, any Bambu Lab machine will already feel like an upgrade. Much like an iPhone, any Bambu Lab printer will work seamlessly right out of the box, with easy-to-use software and intuitive design elements. With a little assembly, you’re ready to go.
The large touchscreen allows you to perform many functions and troubleshooting right on the machine. These printers are easy for even the most clueless newbie to use and understand—so much so that some call the company “the Apple of 3D printing.” (Even better, the company’s free, flagship Bambu Studio software is open source.)
What makes both the P1S and P2S worth the upgrade from the A1 is the enclosed chamber that provides environmental control for acrylonitrile filaments like ASA and ABS, which require high temperatures to melt and are notoriously prone to warping. In the P2S, Bambu Lab incorporates a new airflow system that switches modes depending on the filament—it pulls in cooler air for more easily melted PLA, or retains air (and therefore heat) for ASA and ABS.
However, I did notice that when printing in ASA (note that the P2S comes with only a rough-textured build plate; I had to buy the smooth $30 engineering plate separately), the resulting fumes were overwhelming—I had to close the door, open the windows, and turn on an air purifier. There is a carbon filter in the back of the device, but during high-heat prints, the airflow is supposed to circulate inside the unit; instead, it seemed to leak out around the door and other cracks.
Fumes are emitted from all 3D printers, so this is not really a flaw on the company’s part, just an indication that the redesigned airflow system has room for improvement. Make sure you keep the printer in a room with a door that can close if you’re printing with any kind of impact-modified plastics. Bambu Lab’s helpful Wiki also offers a 3D-printable exhaust kit that can redirect fumes outside.