Bambu Studio: add a pause and swap filament colors

Setting the pause in Bambu Studio

1. 1

   Slice it once

   Hit Slice plate. You land on the Preview tab, with a tall layer slider down the right side.

2. 2

   Scroll up to the color change

   Slide the top handle upward until you reach the lowest layer that has only the second color in it. On a name sign, that's usually where the letters start rising off the base. The slider's label gives you two numbers: the layer and its height in mm.

3. 3

   Drop in the pause

   Right-click the handle marked + and pick Add Pause. A small marker shows up on that layer, and the printer will stop right before it begins.

4. 4

   Re-slice and send it

   The pause makes the old slice stale, so press Slice plate one more time. Then print or export the way you normally do.

Which layer, though? The first one in the new color. Here's how to spot it.

Your printer's stop command

You can skip this part. Bambu Lab ships the pause command in every one of its printer profiles.

When the printer stops

Load your first color and start the print. Once it reaches the pause:

1. 5

   The printer stops

   Once the layer underneath is done, the printer halts and slides the toolhead aside.

2. 6

   Take out the first color

   Open the filament menu on the printer's screen and tap Unload. It heats up, cuts the strand, and backs it out. Tug the leftover piece free of the feeder.

3. 7

   Feed in the second color

   Slide the second spool's end into the feeder until it grabs hold, then tap Load. Watch the purge until no trace of the old color is left, and pull the purged string away from the nozzle without bumping the print.

4. 8

   Keep going

   Press Resume, on the printer or in Bambu Handy, and the rest prints in the new color.

Changed your mind? Taking the pause out

Slide back to the layer with the marker and click the × that sits next to the handle. (A right-click on the handle also offers Delete Pause.) Slice once more afterward.

Things that trip people up

• Have an AMS or AMS lite? Skip the pause. Give each part its own filament and the printer changes colors on its own.
• Once a project has two filaments you may spot Change Filament in the menu. With no AMS, nothing walks you through that swap, so stick with Add Pause.
• Can't click Add Pause? The print sequence is probably set to By object. Change it to By layer under the process settings and the option comes back.
• Don't pause in the first 2 or 3 layers. A thin print waiting that close to the bed can cool off and peel up.

Quick answers

Which layer do I right-click in Bambu Studio?

Whichever layer should be the first one in color two. Bambu Studio makes the stop just as that layer is about to print, so everything under it stays in color one.

Is a two-color name possible on an A1 mini with no AMS lite?

It is. Put a pause on the layer where the color switches. When the printer stops, unload and load from its screen, then resume.