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Bambu 3D printers start printing on their own overnight resulting in damaged parts and botched print jobs

Bambu's flagship X1-Carbon model was affected by the issue (Image Source: Bambu)
Bambu's flagship X1-Carbon model was affected by the issue (Image Source: Bambu)
A cloud server error on August 15th caused many Bambu 3D printers to unexpectedly start print jobs at night, creating misshapen messes, damaging printers and raising safety concerns. The company has responded with an apology and explanation, and it has promised that the error is being fixed.

In an unsettling and potentially risky development, some owners of Bambu’s desktop 3D printers woke up on August 15th to find that their devices had started printing unexpectedly during the night. In some cases, multiple copies of objects were printed over existing ones, and several printers ended up damaged. The issue affected the X1-Carbon and P1P models. Bambu has since responded stating that the cause was a cloud service outage, and that firmware fixes are underway to prevent a repeat of such an incident.

Several users have reported the issue on Reddit and X (fka Twitter) with pictures and videos showing mangled/duplicated print jobs and damaged components. Apart from the disconcerting aspect of having a machine fire up unprompted and unsupervised in the middle of the night, many have rightly flagged it as a serious fire hazard, given that printing nozzles typically reach high temperatures. However, no serious accident has been reported.

The company posted an apology and explanation a day later. Essentially, print jobs sent through LAN Mode on the 15th failed due to issues in Bambu’s cloud service. Upon getting no confirmation, some users made multiple attempts. Later, the server sent out commands for all these “jammed jobs” without checking if an object was already on the print bed, causing the hardware troubles.

In a follow-up post, Bambu has promised that upcoming firmware fixes and changes to the cloud service will add two check: firstly, that completed prints are removed from the bed before starting the next one, and secondly, that the temperature of heated parts are monitored continuously, alerting the user and shutting down the heaters in case of an error. It has also assured affected users of “assistance to repair the printers” where needed, as well as spare parts and filament spools to compensate for any damage and wastage incurred.

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User video shows a printer repeatedly trying to print the same object (Image Source: u/Ced_Battlewind)
User video shows a printer repeatedly trying to print the same object (Image Source: u/Ced_Battlewind)
An attempted second print on top of the first one (Image Source: u/beehphy)
An attempted second print on top of the first one (Image Source: u/beehphy)
The botched print found by the user (Image Source: u/beehphy)
The botched print found by the user (Image Source: u/beehphy)
Printing nozzle bent and damaged (Image Source: u/beehphy)
Printing nozzle bent and damaged (Image Source: u/beehphy)
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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2023 08 > Bambu 3D printers start printing on their own overnight resulting in damaged parts and botched print jobs
Vishal Bhardwaj, 2023-08-20 (Update: 2023-08-20)