How to Print ABS and ASA on Bambu Lab Printers
ABS and ASA make tough, heat-resistant parts — and they are the materials where the printer matters more than the settings. Both shrink hard as they cool, so success is mostly about keeping the air around the print warm and still. Here is what actually works, printer by printer.
What makes these materials different
ABS and ASA don’t soften until around 100 °C, which is exactly why people print them: brackets under the hood, outdoor fittings, anything a PLA part would sag out of. The price is shrinkage. As each layer cools from nozzle temperature it contracts, and in cool moving air the accumulated stress rips corners off the plate and cracks parts along their layers. Bambu’s own strength data tells the story: layer-direction impact strength is 13.8 kJ/m² for PLA but only 7.4 for ABS and 4.9 for ASA — and those figures assume a properly warm chamber. Print them cold and the layer bond gets far worse.
ASA is functionally ABS’s outdoor twin: same printing behaviour, same chamber demands, but it keeps its colour and toughness in sunlight, which is why it has largely replaced ABS for anything that lives outside.
Baseline: Bambu’s stock ABS and ASA profiles
| Setting | ABS | ASA |
|---|---|---|
| Nozzle temperature | 270 °C (260 °C first layer) | 270 °C |
| Allowed nozzle range | 240–280 °C | 240–280 °C |
| Bed, textured PEI | 90 °C | 100 °C |
| Bed, Engineering plate | 90 °C | 100 °C |
| Cool Plate / SuperTack | 0 = unsupported | 0 = unsupported |
| Chamber temperature | 65 °C | 65 °C |
| Part cooling fan | 10–60 % | 25–35 % |
| No cooling, first layers | 3 | 3 |
| Auxiliary (side) fan | 0 % | 0 % |
| Flow ratio | 0.95 | 0.95 |
| Max volumetric speed | 16 mm³/s (35 high-flow) | 18 mm³/s (35 high-flow) |
Read that cooling row again, because it is the opposite of PLA: the part fan barely runs, it stays off entirely for the first 3 layers, and the auxiliary side fan is 0 %. Every bit of unnecessary airflow turns directly into warping and cracking.
The chamber decides everything — printer by printer
- X2D and H2D (active chamber heating): set Chamber temperature to
65 °C— the value Bambu’s own ABS and ASA profiles use — and let the chamber actually reach it before the first layer goes down. This is the closest thing to a cheat code these materials have. Bambu Studio: Filament settings → Filament → Chamber temperature - X1E (active heating): can hold the chamber at up to
60 °C. Use it for every ABS/ASA print. - X1C and P1S (enclosed, passive): no heater, but the enclosure works if you help it. Close the door, keep the top glass on, and preheat: run the bed at its ABS temperature for 10–15 minutes before starting so the trapped air warms up. Medium-sized parts print reliably this way; huge flat plates remain a gamble.
- P1P, A1, A1 mini and other open printers: honestly, don’t. No settings rescue ABS or ASA on an open frame — the material shrinks too much in room-temperature moving air. Parts warp off the plate or crack along layers, usually both. Either add a real enclosure or print PETG instead, which covers many of the same jobs without any chamber at all.
Whatever the printer, keep it away from drafts. An air-conditioning vent or open window pointed at one side of the machine will warp that side even inside an enclosure.
Adhesion: hot plate, big brim, no shortcuts
Use textured PEI or the Engineering plate at 90 °C for ABS and 100 °C for ASA. The Cool Plate and SuperTack are marked incompatible in Bambu’s profiles (bed temperature 0) — their coatings are not built for 90–100 °C, so don’t improvise.
Wash the plate with dish soap, then add a brim: Outer brim only, 8 mm. At these shrink levels, corners need the extra anchoring even on a perfect surface. A thin film of glue stick doubles as insurance and as a release agent.
Still lifting? The warping guide has the full escalation ladder, and the build plate guide covers which plate takes which material.
Cracking instead of warping?
If the base sticks but the walls split apart higher up, that is the same shrinkage acting on layer adhesion instead of the plate. The fixes point the same direction: more chamber heat, less fan — cap the part fan near the bottom of its band — and a nozzle at the hot end of the range. The layer separation guide covers it step by step.
Fumes and ventilation
ABS and ASA are styrene-based and smell like it while printing. Print them in a room you are not sitting in, or ventilate; on the X1E, use the built-in air filtration. Enclosed printers with activated-carbon filters reduce the smell but don’t remove the need for fresh air in the room. Emptying the printer’s waste chute and letting the chamber air out after the print helps more than people expect.
Brand cheat sheet
Manufacturer-published ranges — note how much hotter some brands run their beds than Bambu’s defaults:
| Brand | Product | Nozzle | Bed | Drying |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polymaker | PolyLite ABS | 245–265 °C | 90–100 °C | 70 °C / 6 h |
| Polymaker | Polymaker ASA | 230–260 °C | 75–95 °C | 70 °C / 7 h |
| eSUN | eSUN ABS+ | 230–270 °C | 95–110 °C | — |
| eSUN | eSUN eASA | 240–270 °C | 90–110 °C | — |
| Prusament | Prusament ASA | 255–265 °C | 105–115 °C | 80 °C / 4 h |
| Overture | Overture ABS | 245–265 °C | 80–100 °C | 75 °C / 7 h |
| Overture | Overture ASA | 240–270 °C | 70–95 °C | 75 °C / 7 h |
| SUNLU | SUNLU ABS | 250–280 °C | 80–100 °C | 75–85 °C / 6–8 h |
| Elegoo | ELEGOO ABS | 240–280 °C | 90–100 °C | 70 °C / 8 h |
| Elegoo | ELEGOO ASA | 240–270 °C | 90–100 °C | 80 °C / 8 h |
| Bambu Lab | Bambu ABS | 240–270 °C | 80–100 °C | 80 °C / 8 h |
| Bambu Lab | Bambu ASA | 240–270 °C | 80–100 °C | 80 °C / 8 h |
Prusament doesn’t sell ABS at all — ASA is their stated replacement, and their 105–115 °C bed spec is the highest in the table. If a third-party spool won’t stick at Bambu’s 90–100 °C, check the manufacturer’s own bed range before blaming the plate. Both materials also pick up moisture over time; a crackling nozzle means it’s time for the dryer.
Frequently asked questions
Can I print ABS or ASA on an open 3D printer?
Honestly, don’t. On open machines like the Bambu P1P, A1 and A1 mini, no settings rescue ABS or ASA — the material shrinks too much in room-temperature moving air, so parts warp off the plate or crack along layers, usually both. Either add a real enclosure or print PETG instead, which covers many of the same jobs without any chamber at all.
What settings does Bambu’s stock ABS/ASA profile use?
Nozzle 270 °C (ABS first layer 260 °C), bed 90 °C for ABS and 100 °C for ASA on textured PEI or the Engineering plate, chamber temperature 65 °C, part fan just 10–60 % for ABS and 25–35 % for ASA with no cooling for the first 3 layers, auxiliary fan 0 %, flow ratio 0.95. Cool Plate and SuperTack are marked unsupported. Add an outer brim of 8 mm.
Why do my ABS parts crack along the layers instead of warping?
It’s the same shrinkage acting on layer adhesion instead of the plate: each layer contracts as it cools, and in cool moving air the stress splits walls apart higher up. The fixes point the same direction — more chamber heat, the part fan capped near the bottom of its 10–60 % band, and a nozzle at the hot end of the range. ABS’s layer-direction impact strength is only 7.4 kJ/m² versus PLA’s 13.8, assuming a warm chamber.
Printing ABS or ASA on your specific machine?
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- Bambu Studio chamber temperature setting — Bambu Lab Wiki
- X1E Chamber Setting Guide — Bambu Lab Wiki
- X1E air filtration setting guide — Bambu Lab Wiki
- Printed Model Warping: Causes and Solutions — Bambu Lab Wiki