If you’ve been rocking a multicolor setup with a Bambu Lab printer, you’ve probably noticed something—these machines poop a lot. Not literal poop (obviously), but those little piles of wasted filament every time the printer swaps colors.
In part one and part two of our poop-reduction series, we covered some great ways to cut back on that plastic spaghetti. Now, we’re back with three more tips that take things to the next level—so you can waste less filament, save time, and maybe even keep a little more of your sanity.
1. Calibrate Your Flushing Volume
By default, Bambu Lab Studio plays it safe. Every time your AMS changes filament, it purges a lot—like, way more than necessary for most color swaps.
Here’s how to fix that:
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Go to your AMS settings in Bambu Lab Studio.
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Look for the flushing volume listed next to each filament type.
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If you’re switching between similar colors—like two different blues—you can safely reduce the purge volume by 30% to 50%.
Now, if you’re going from black to white, don’t get too bold. But for light-to-light or red-to-orange transitions? Dial it down and test. You’ll be surprised at how much filament you save just by tweaking this setting.
2. Plan Color Order Strategically (Light to Dark)
This one’s all about print strategy. The order of your filament swaps matters more than you think.
When designing a multicolor model—or even just loading your AMS—consider how colors transition:
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Dark to light = heavy purging
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Light to dark = minimal purging
So if your design allows it, arrange your print colors from light to dark. And when printing multiple parts on a single build plate, print the lighter parts first, then the darker ones. It’s just like painting: darker colors cover lighter ones more easily—and the same principle applies to molten plastic.
3. Use Color Palettes or Grouped Objects
This last tip might be the biggest game-changer of all.
Instead of printing multicolor objects layer by layer (which forces the AMS to constantly swap colors), try batching your parts by color:
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Group all your red parts onto one plate
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All your blue parts on another
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Then run them as separate jobs
Yes, you’ll need to do a little more assembly afterward—but you’ll nearly eliminate mid-layer purging altogether. And with the cost of filament these days, the glue is cheaper than the plastic. Plus, your printer spends less time idling and purging, which means faster total print time in the long run.
TL;DR – Stop the Spaghetti, Save Your Sanity
To recap:
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Calibrate flushing volume to match the real-world needs of your filament swaps
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Plan your color order from light to dark whenever possible
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Group your objects by color to avoid mid-print swaps
With these three tips, you’ll reduce waste, save money, and keep your multicolor prints running smoother than ever.