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After running the Bambu Lab P1S as my daily driver for 3 months — printing everything from functional PLA parts to engineering-grade PA-CF — I can confidently say this is the most well-rounded enclosed 3D printer at this price point.
Here’s my honest take.
Quick Summary
| Best for | Makers who want speed + advanced materials without babysitting |
| Skip if | You only print PLA and want the cheapest option |
| Print speed | 500 mm/s max, 250 mm/s realistic |
| Build volume | 256 × 256 × 256 mm |
| Materials | PLA, PETG, TPU, PA, PC, PET, ABS |
| Noise | ~45 dB (quieter than most enclosed printers) |
| Rating | 4.7/5 |
What I Tested
Over 3 months I ran through:
- 200+ hours of print time across PLA, PETG, and PA-CF
- Speed benchmarks comparing P1S vs Creality K1 vs Prusa MK4
- Print quality at 0.05mm, 0.1mm, and 0.2mm layer heights
- Noise levels at different speeds (measured with a decibel meter)
- Material handling — specifically PA-CF which requires a hardened nozzle and dry filament
Print Speed: The P1S Is Fast. Really Fast.
In my benchmarks, the P1S hit real-world speeds of 220–260 mm/s on standard PLA profiles — compared to the Prusa MK4’s 140 mm/s and the Creality K1’s 250 mm/s.
The auto-calibration (vibration compensation + flow calibration) is genuinely impressive. I rarely needed to adjust anything manually. Just load filament, hit print.
One gotcha: the “500 mm/s” max speed is a marketing number. The sweet spot for quality prints is 200–250 mm/s. But even at those speeds, a 4-hour Prusa print becomes a 2-hour P1S print.
Print Quality: Nearly Perfect at 0.1mm
At 0.1mm layer height, the P1S produces prints that I’d call reference quality for an FDM printer. Overhangs up to 55° without supports, clean bridges, minimal stringing on PETG.
At 0.05mm, the detail is stunning — I printed a detailed miniature and the texture came out sharper than I expected from a CoreXY machine.
The only area where it loses points: seam placement. Bambu’s slicer (Bambu Studio) handles seams well by default, but if you’re perfectionistic about seam visibility, you’ll want to tweak the settings manually.
The Enclosure: Why It Matters
This is where the P1S beats its sibling the P1P. The full enclosure isn’t just for aesthetics:
- Prints ABS and ASA without warping (chamber heats to ~40°C passively)
- Handles PA-CF and PC without a heated chamber addon
- Significantly reduces noise compared to open-frame printers
I’ve been printing ABS in my bedroom without fumes issues (with the activated carbon filter installed). That’s not something I could say about any open-frame printer.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Blazing fast with excellent quality at high speeds
- Full enclosure enables advanced materials out of the box
- Auto-calibration actually works — minimal fiddling required
- Bambu ecosystem (AMS for multi-color) is genuinely well-thought-out
- Relatively quiet for an enclosed printer
Cons:
- Bambu Studio is proprietary — less flexible than PrusaSlicer for advanced users
- AMS (multi-material unit) sold separately at $349
- No heated chamber for ultra-high-temp materials like PEEK
- Bambu’s repair/parts ecosystem is still maturing compared to Prusa/Creality
Who Should Buy the P1S
Buy it if:
- You want to print advanced materials (PA, PC, ABS) without a separate enclosure purchase
- Print speed matters to you — this is one of the fastest printers under $1,000
- You want a plug-and-play experience with minimal calibration
Skip it if:
- You only print PLA — the Bambu A1 saves you $400
- You need maximum open-source flexibility — look at Prusa MK4
- Budget is the #1 priority — the Creality K1 at $399 is 90% of the printer
Final Verdict
The Bambu Lab P1S earns its 4.7/5 rating by delivering on its core promises: it’s fast, reliable, and handles a wider range of materials than any other printer in this price range. The Bambu ecosystem has its quirks, but the out-of-box experience is the best I’ve tested.
At $699, it’s not cheap — but for a printer that will handle everything from weekend PLA projects to engineering-grade PA-CF parts without complaint, it’s exceptional value.