How to Fix Warping on Bambu Lab Printers
Warping is when the corners of your print curl up and away from the build plate, sometimes far enough to tear the part loose mid-print. Here is how to stop it on an X1, P1, A1, X2D or H2D — with the exact Bambu Studio values to change.
Why prints warp
Plastic shrinks as it cools. The layers near the plate cool first and pull inwards, and because the corners have the least material holding them down, they lift first. The more a material shrinks, the worse it warps: PLA and PETG are fairly tame, while ABS, ASA, PA (nylon) and PC shrink so much that they need a warm, enclosed chamber to print flat at all.
Sharp corners concentrate that shrinking stress in one spot, which is why a long rectangular bracket almost always warps before a round vase does.
Quick fixes
Wash the build plate. Skin oil from your fingers is the most common reason parts let go, and wiping with IPA mostly pushes the grease around instead of removing it. Use dish soap and warm water, dry with a clean towel, and only touch the plate by its edges afterwards.
Raise the plate temperature by about 5 °C. A hotter plate keeps the bottom layers above the point where they stiffen and start pulling. Sensible targets: PLA 60–65 °C (never above 65, it turns soft), PETG 80–85 °C, ABS 95–100 °C, PA 100–105 °C. Bambu’s ASA profile already runs the plate at its maximum of 100 °C and the PC profile at 110 °C — don’t push those higher; use a brim and chamber heat instead.
Turn on a brim. Set Brim type to Outer brim only with a width of 8 mm. The extra contact area anchors the corners, which makes a huge difference on tall or narrow parts.
Cut back part cooling for ABS and ASA. The part fan freezes each layer so fast that the material contracts and pries itself off the plate. Lower Max fan speed to 30–40 % and set No cooling for the first 5 layers so the base can settle before any airflow hits it.
The auxiliary fan — the warping cause most people miss
The X2D, H2D, X1C, X1E and P1S all carry an auxiliary part cooling fan in the side wall that blows air horizontally across the plate. That airflow is not symmetrical: the corners closest to the fan cool — and shrink — faster than the rest of the part. If your prints always warp on the same side, this fan is the prime suspect.
- PLA: Bambu’s profile runs the auxiliary fan at
70 %. Dropping it to30–40 %keeps most of the cooling but removes the uneven corner chill. - PETG, ABS and ASA: current Bambu profiles keep the auxiliary fan at
0 %for exactly this reason — but older and speed-tuned profiles ran it at 40–70 %, so open the setting and verify it really is 0.
Bambu Studio: Filament settings → Cooling → Auxiliary part cooling fan
The P1P, A1 and A1 mini have no auxiliary fan, so this section doesn’t apply to them.
Chamber temperature and enclosure
For high-shrink materials, the chamber matters more than any slicer value:
- X2D and H2D have active chamber heating. Bambu’s own X2D profiles use
65 °Cfor ABS/ASA and60 °Cfor PA and PC. Set it under Filament settings → Filament → Chamber temperature, and let the chamber reach temperature before the print starts. - X1E can actively heat its chamber to
60 °C— use it for every engineering material. - X1C and P1S are enclosed but unheated. Close the door, keep the top on, and let the hot bed warm the chamber for 10–15 minutes before starting. Keep the auxiliary fan off so it doesn’t cool the chamber back down.
- P1P, A1 and A1 mini are open printers. Honest answer: ABS, ASA, PA and PC on an open frame cannot be saved with settings — the material shrinks too much without a warm chamber. Print small, low parts with a wide brim, add an enclosure, or switch to PLA or PETG.
Whatever you print, keep the machine away from drafts — an open window or an air-conditioning vent hitting one side of the printer will warp that side.
Advanced tuning
- Round the corners in CAD. Sharp corners warp first; a few millimetres of fillet spreads the stress.
- Add “mouse ears”: small 0.2–0.4 mm-thick discs at each corner that you snap off after printing. They act as local mini-brims.
- Use glue as an adhesion layer. A thin film of glue stick improves grip and doubles as a release agent. For PA and PC it is practically mandatory — both to hold the part and to protect the plate coating when you remove it.
- Never put ABS, ASA, PA or PC on a Cool Plate or SuperTack plate. These are low-temperature surfaces; the 90–110 °C bed those materials need will ruin the coating, and Bambu marks the combination as unsupported (the profile sets the bed to 0).
Frequently asked questions
Why do the corners of my 3D prints curl up off the build plate?
Plastic shrinks as it cools: the layers near the plate cool first and pull inwards, and corners have the least material holding them down, so they lift first. The more a material shrinks, the worse it warps — PLA and PETG are fairly tame, while ABS, ASA, PA and PC shrink so much they need a warm, enclosed chamber to print flat at all. Sharp corners concentrate the stress, which is why rectangular brackets warp before round vases.
What bed temperature stops warping?
Raise the plate about 5 °C toward these targets: PLA 60–65 °C (never above 65 °C — it turns soft), PETG 80–85 °C, ABS 95–100 °C, PA 100–105 °C. Bambu's ASA profile already runs its maximum of 100 °C and PC 110 °C, so don't push those higher — add an 8 mm outer brim and chamber heat instead. Wash the plate with dish soap and warm water first; skin oil is the most common reason parts let go.
Why do my prints always warp on the same side?
The auxiliary part-cooling fan is the prime suspect. On the X2D, H2D, X1C, X1E and P1S it blows horizontally across the plate, so corners nearest the fan cool and shrink faster. For PLA, drop it from Bambu's stock 70 % to 30–40 %; for PETG, ABS and ASA current profiles keep it at 0 % — but older speed-tuned profiles ran 40–70 %, so open the setting and verify it really is 0.
Warped print on the plate right now?
Answer five quick questions about your printer, filament and build plate, and our rule engine turns them into a prioritized fix list with exact slicer values — the same knowledge these guides are written from.
Get a personalized fix list in 2 minutes — free Works with Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer and Cura. No account needed.Sources
- Printed Model Warping: Causes and Solutions — Bambu Lab Wiki
- Model Warping, Falling Off, or Collapsing — Bambu Lab Wiki
- Introduction to Bambu Lab 3D Printer Fans — Bambu Lab Wiki