I’m looking at what could be the strangest Bambu Lab upgrade yet.
The enormous commercial success of Bambu Lab has created a kind of informal third-party ecosystem around the company. There are several parties that build upgraded components or accessories for Bambu Lab equipment. One example might be the Panda series from BigTreeTech, which we reviewed a while ago.
BigTreeTech’s other brand, BIQU, now has a new product for Bambu Lab P1x and X1x series devices, the “Panda Jetpack”.
It’s a full replacement cover for the toolhead on these machines. The original toolhead cover is easily removed, and this replacement snaps on.
BigTreeTech said the Panda Jetpack is itself 3D printed, made from nylon, and printed on HP equipment using the MJF process. It should be quite durable and heat-resistant.
Why would you want to replace the cover? BigTreeTech provides two reasons:
- Lightweighting the toolhead
- Providing extra cooling inside the toolhead
What’s that all about? The lightweighting idea is that the grams removed from the toolhead mean there is less momentum to overcome during rapid directional changes. This should reduce the possibility of ringing.
I’m having a hard time believing that this is the case. The Bambu Lab machines already are fine-tuned with vibration compensation that works pretty well — anyone printing objects on these machines will attest to their high quality.
As for the cooling, this is intended to reduce the possibility of hot, sloppy material somehow rising up into the cold zone of the toolhead. That can cause a terrible jam that might require serious surgery to repair.
Again, I am having a hard time believing this is necessary. While I am pretty sure this must have happened occasionally, I have never heard of this happening on any Bambu Lab printer. In fact, the AMS filament changer units seem pretty good at pulling filament out of the hot end.
What’s left for the Panda Jetpack? It does change the look of the device somewhat, and that might be desirable by some operators. BigTreeTech has included a way to put custom logos on the new cover, which could be somewhat interesting.
Personally, I don’t think I will use this US$40 accessory, as I’m more focused on function and simplicity.
I think the final word on the Panda Jetpack should go to commenter 2_pups, who said:
“GREAT ADD-ON.
Easy to install and works great. I have had fewer front cover errors since I switched to this one.”
Via BIQU
