Looprint could be one of the most useful free utilities for Bambu Lab 3D printer operators.
The goal here is to automatically switch to a new print job after one completes. Normally this requires human intervention: someone must remove the print from the plate and then start the second job.
How can this be done automatically? It’s actually pretty straightforward: When a job completes, the system waits until the plate is fully cooled down. This typically loosens the bond between the print because plate and print expand differently in heat.
This principle is leveraged by Looprint, created by Nicki Anderson: after cooling, the printhead is maneuvered to push the loose print off the plate. This clears the plate and makes it possible to run a second job.
All of these moves are automatically generated by Looprint, which operates as a post processor for sliced GCODE. Here’s how it works:
- Takes an already sliced G-code or 3MF
- Removes original start/end code
- Wraps the print in a loop
- Adds cooldown and push-off logic between prints
- Automatically ejects finished prints
- Repeats the process for as many loops as you choose
There’s one other thing you must do: slice the 3D model using a brim. That’s because Looprint strips out the usual prime line — it can’t push that off. The prime line is used to make sure the material is flowing properly, so here we do it with a brim instead. The brim is attached to the print itself, so it is guaranteed to be removed when pushed off.
You start by slicing a 3D model — which should be a single part with a brim — in BambuStudio as usual. Then the GCODE is exported as a file to your PC.
Looprint provides a web page where you upload that GCODE for conversion. You must specify a few things, such as the number of looped prints you need, and confirm that you included a brim in the job. The printer type is automatically set because it’s already buried in the GCODE file by BambuStudio.
The conversion process is pretty easy to use, and I expect any Bambu Lab 3D printer operator could manage it.
The system is set up to handle jobs for Bambu Lab A1, A1 Mini, P1, P1S, X1, X1C. Note that you’ll have to leave the door open for the P and X series because Looprint can’t push off the part otherwise.
Does Looprint work? They may have some updates required, as I could not get it to work on an A1 system. Several attempts resulted in “unable to load filament”, and eventually I just pre-loaded a material and selected that. Unfortunately that job also failed in an infinite “eject the poop loop”.
Nevertheless, it would seem that these are simple software fixes that should appear sooner or later. When they do, you might have your Bambu Lab 3D printer churning out large quantities of parts automatically.
