Bambu Lab hotend types: which hotend each printer uses

Bambu Lab makes four hotend families: X1/P1 (X1 Carbon, P1P, P1S), A series (A1, A1 mini, A2L), H2/P2S/X2D (H2D, H2S, P2S, X2D and the H2C’s left side) and the Vortek induction hotend on the H2C’s right side. Buy spares from your printer’s family: the only cross-fit Bambu Lab allows is an H2-family hotend on an A-series printer.

Which Bambu hotend fits which printer?

Each family has its own mount, so the family decides what fits. Rows are alphabetical by family.

Sizes are the variants on Bambu Lab’s store listings; fits come from the nozzle-printer compatibility table in Bambu Lab’s nozzle guide. Bambu Lab’s X1 hotend guide says its hotends are “designed as a single unit”, so a nozzle change means a hotend change; the A-series and H2 guides likewise replace the whole hotend.

The X1E sits outside the X1/P1 row. Bambu Lab’s X1 guide says the X1 Series complete hotend fits the X1 and X1C, “not with X1E”. The X1E takes its own complete hotend in 0.4, 0.6 or 0.8 mm hardened steel, which resellers such as 3D Printer Gear list.

To tell which nozzle material is fitted now, look at the fins. Bambu Lab’s nozzle guide says hardened steel hotends have black heat-dissipation fins and stainless steel ones have gray.

What hotend does each Bambu Lab printer come with?

Every printer below ships with a 0.4 mm nozzle. The A1, A1 mini and P1S get stainless steel; the X1 Carbon, P2S, X2D and H2 series get hardened steel. Rows are alphabetical.

Fitted nozzles and temperatures are from each printer’s spec sheet or FAQ; spares are from Bambu Lab’s packing lists. The X1E ships with a 0.4 mm hardened steel nozzle and reaches 320 °C, per its spec sheet.

What hotend does the Bambu Lab P1S come with?

The Bambu Lab P1S comes with a 0.4 mm stainless steel hotend from Bambu Lab’s X1/P1 family, and a second 0.4 mm stainless steel hotend ships in the box as a spare. Its replacement part is the Bambu Hotend - P1 Series, and the P1S’s published nozzle limit is 300 °C whichever hotend is fitted.

The Bambu Hotend - P1 Series comes two ways, per Bambu Lab’s nozzle guide:

• Hotend: the metal part only. You move your heater and thermistor across from the old hotend.
• Complete Hotend: nozzle, heater, thermistor, silicone sock and fan, pre-assembled.

Bambu Lab sells it in 0.2 mm stainless steel or 0.4, 0.6 and 0.8 mm hardened steel. A 0.4 mm replacement from Bambu Lab is therefore hardened steel, unless you fit the stainless spare from the box. For carbon- or glass-fiber filament, Bambu Lab’s P1 FAQ calls for a hardened hotend plus the Hardened Steel Extruder Gear Assembly. Hardened steel nozzles on Bambu Lab printers covers that upgrade step by step.

The swap takes an H2.0 hex key. Unload the filament, let the nozzle cool below 50 °C and power off. Remove the toolhead front cover and unplug the hotend fan, thermistor and heater cables. Then take out the two screws.

After fitting, set the new nozzle on the printer’s screen. Since Bambu Studio V02.01.01.52, the nozzle field under Printer Parts is display-only.

The X1C hotend is a near match. Bambu Lab’s X1 guide says the bare hotend fits both the X1 and P1 series, but the Complete Hotend comes in separate X1 and P1 versions. For a P1S, buy the P1 Series one.

Bambu Lab’s compatibility table lists no Bambu Lab high-flow hotend for the P1S. It lists the E3D High Flow ObXidian, developed jointly with E3D, for the X1C, P1P and P1S. Bambu Lab’s High Flow hotend compared covers that hotend and other high-flow options.

What are the differences between Bambu Lab hotends?

Bambu Lab hotends differ mainly in how they mount. The X1/P1 hotend screws in and wires to the toolhead, while the A-series hotend clips onto a heater that stays in the printer. The H2/P2S/X2D hotend latches in tool-free and comes in standard flow, high flow and tungsten carbide. The H2C’s induction hotend is swapped by the printer itself.

What is the Bambu Hotend - P1 Series?

It is the X1/P1 family’s hotend. Bambu Lab’s P1P guide calls it an all-in-one design: the nozzle is built into the heat block and joined to the heatsink by a thin metal tube. Bambu Lab’s X1 guide lists the parts: a tip of heat-treated mold steel (55 to 60 on the Rockwell C hardness scale) or 304 stainless steel, a nickel-plated brass heat block, a titanium alloy TC4 heatbreak and an aluminum 6063 heatsink. Bambu Lab’s nozzle guide rates it to 320 °C.

What is the Bambu Hotend - A1 series?

It is one hotend for the A1, A1 mini and A2L: Bambu Lab’s compatibility table lists a single “A1 Series Hotend” for all three, and the store sells it as Bambu Hotend - A1/A2. The hotend is just the nozzle and heatsink, located by a built-in magnet and locked by a buckle, while the heating assembly stays in the toolhead. Bambu Lab rates it to 300 °C. Unlike the X1/P1 and H2/P2S/X2D listings, it includes a 0.4 mm stainless steel replacement.

What is the Bambu Hotend - H2/P2S/X2D?

It is one hotend for the H2D, H2S, P2S, X2D and the H2C’s left side. Bambu Lab’s FAQs say the H2D’s and X2D’s left and right hotends are identical. Its heater and thermistor stay in the toolhead’s heating base, so it unlatches with no wiring. Bambu Lab rates it to 350 °C, though the P2S and X2D stop at 300 °C.

It comes in four versions:

• Standard Flow. Every printer in the family ships with it. Bambu Lab’s H2D sheet rates it at 40 mm³/s in Bambu Lab ABS at 280 °C.
• High Flow. It comes in hardened steel only, rated at 65 mm³/s in the same H2D test. Bambu Lab’s High Flow hotend compared covers fit and flow.
• Tungsten carbide. It is made for abrasive filament and rated to 350 °C, in standard or high flow from 0.4 to 0.8 mm. See the wear-resistant nozzle comparison.
• TPU hotend. It fits the H2D’s right side only and prints flexible filament only. With it fitted, the cutter cannot be used, per Bambu Lab.

What is the H2C induction hotend?

The H2C’s right side takes Vortek induction hotends, which fit no other printer; its left side uses the standard H2-family hotend. Each induction hotend carries its own nozzle, thermistor and small circuit board. A coil in the toolhead heats it without contact, from room temperature to 220 °C in about 8 seconds, according to Bambu Lab. The printer swaps among up to six of them from a rack.

Which Bambu Lab hotends are interchangeable?

Only hotends within a family, plus one direction across families: an H2-family hotend on an A-series printer. Bambu Lab’s statements, family by family:

• Within the A series and the H2 family: the A1, A1 mini and A2L share one hotend, and one H2-family hotend fits the H2D, H2S, H2C (left), P2S and X2D.
• X1/P1: the bare hotend fits both series, but the Complete Hotend comes in X1 and P1 versions. The X1E takes neither complete hotend, and its own assembly fits no other printer (see the temperature section below).
• A1 hotend on an H2-family printer: not supported. The P2S FAQ says the P2S is “compatible with H2D nozzles but not with A1 nozzles”. The H2S FAQ calls the two hotends “not fully compatible” and “strongly” recommends against the A1 hotend on H2 series printers.
• H2 hotend on an A1: “feasible”, says the H2S FAQ, with the H2 series silicone sock. Bambu Lab’s nozzle guide says the A2L accepts quick-release nozzles from the whole lineup, but cannot guarantee their performance and advises A-series nozzles.
• X1/P1 and every other family: Bambu Lab’s compatibility table lists no cross-fit in either direction.

Third-party hotends exist for the X1/P1, A-series and H2 families; check the maker’s printer list before buying. Bambu Lab’s High Flow hotend compared lists the high-flow ones with the printers each maker names. Whatever you fit, set the nozzle type and diameter on the printer’s screen before the next print. On the P2S that is under Filament > Nozzle & Extruder > Nozzle Type.

What is the max temperature of a Bambu Lab hotend?

Bambu Lab printers cap the nozzle at 300 °C on the A1, A1 mini, P1S, X1 Carbon, P2S and X2D. The X1E reaches 320 °C, and the H2D, H2S and H2C reach 350 °C. Each Bambu Lab hotend carries its own rating of 300 to 350 °C, but the printer’s limit is the one that applies.

Bambu Lab’s nozzle guide rates the A-series hotend to 300 °C, the X1/P1 hotend to 320 °C, and the H2/P2S/X2D, tungsten carbide and H2C induction hotends to 350 °C. A higher-rated hotend does not lift a printer’s limit: an H2-family hotend in a P2S still stops at 300 °C. The X1E reaches 320 °C with its own hotend assembly (heater, thermistor and thermal grease), and Bambu Lab’s X1E FAQ says the X1, X1C and P1 series cannot take it.

Firmware temperature limits covers what has to change before any printer’s limit is raised, and the Bambu Lab hub sets out which materials each limit allows.

Running any hotend above its printer’s published limit is at the owner’s risk and can void the warranty; see does upgrading void the warranty. If a modification changes the heater or thermistor, the firmware’s thermal protection must match the new parts.