Swapmod compatibility: printers, build plates, slicers and plate counts
Everything on this page is the short answer to a question somebody has asked us before buying. If your question is not here, ask in the Discord — and tell us, because it probably belongs on this page.
Supported printers
| Printer | Edition | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Bambu Lab A1 mini | STL download | Current |
| Bambu Lab A1 mini | Kit (hardware) | Legacy – still supported, still sold |
| Bambu Lab A2L | STL download | Current |
| Bambu Lab A1 (full size) | STL download (external link) | The automation system for BambuLab A1 developed by Swap-Systems is distributed by our cooperation partners at jobox.tech. |
| Any other printer or brand | None | Not compatible, and not planned as an adaptation of the existing files |
swapmod is not a Bambu Lab product and is not endorsed by Bambu Lab. The printer names are used for compatibility purposes only.
Build plates
- Bambu Lab plates are what we design around. Third-party plates will often work, but magnetic strength and surface and steel thickness vary between manufacturers, and both matter to a mechanism that relies on the plate letting go at the right moment.
- All Bambu Lab plate types work. Textured PEI, smooth PEI, SuperTuck — the hook attaches the same way on each. SuperTuck has not yet been tested on swapmod for A2L.
- BambuLab SuperTuck plates needs to be coated with a thin layer of PLA at the bottom side (0.1-0.2mm) to protect the unused bottom side and reduce the magnetic force.
- Smooth PEI picks up light scratches over time. Leave the protective film on the side you are not using.
- You can use both sides of a A1 mini plate, provided you reverse the hooks. In case of some plates for A2L, which shows significant curvature, only one side can be used because .
- BiQu Cryogrip plates: a free hook mod for Cryogrip plates is available for A1 mini version. An A2L version is not yet available.
- Minimum: two plates. Below that there is nothing to change to.
How many plates to run
Two numbers exist for every magazine: what fits, and what we are prepared to recommend. Plan around the second one.
| Printer and edition | Recommended / maximum | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A1 mini, STL edition | Up to 8 / max. 15 (with a free mod) | The magazine physically holds more, and extender mods go further still. Eight is the figure we stand behind for consistent results. |
| A1 mini, Kit edition | Up to 8 / max. 15 (with a free mod available on discord) | The magazine physically holds more, and extender mods go further still. Eight is the figure we stand behind for consistent results. The kit package includes screws to equip 10 plates. |
| A2L, STL edition | Up to 8 / more not yet tested | Start with six until you know how your machine behaves, then work upwards. |
The more useful way to think about capacity is in hours rather than plates. Eight plates of four-hour jobs is thirty-two hours of unattended running — a night and the whole of the following day. A full weekend from Friday evening needs closer to sixty hours, so plan on one reload. If your jobs are shorter you will reload more often; if they are longer, the magazine is rarely the limit. Please not, you still can reload cleared plates into the magazine while the printer is running.
Slicers and the print queue
You keep using Bambu Studio or Orca Slicer exactly as you do now. Both are supported, and separate self-test files are provided for each.
What is new is the step after slicing. The swaplist app takes the sliced .gcode.3mf files your slicer produces and joins its plates into one continuous queue with the plate change gCode inserted between each job. It runs in the browser, and it only has to be online* while it converts — the finished queue prints without an internet connection. Conversion happens locally on your computer and none of your data is sent to our server. We recommend using Firefox browser, especially for conversion of large files.
*Swaplist app for STL Edition requires an internet connection to run the conversion. The app for Kit Edition of the swapmod doesn’t need to be online at all.
What is not supported
- Editing a queue while it is running. With swaplist you have to stop the print to change the queue. Third-party print management services can edit a running queue; the swaplist app cannot.
- The “skip objects” function. It is unavailable in a swaplist queue. This is a limitation of the cloud service rather than of swapmod, and we cannot work around it.
- Printers other than the A1 mini and A2L. Including the full-size A1. The files are not adaptable to other machines by scaling them. For a full-sized A1 version see above (Supported printers).
- Automatic part removal. swapmod changes plates. You harvest them.
- Failure detection. If a print fails, the queue continues.
- Swapmod printed with silk, matte, CF and GF filaments. Regardless of the appealing appearance, we advise against printing your swapmod parts using these materials. Their dimensional tolerances are not reliable enough for a mechanism that depends on fit. Ordinary PLA and PETG with a 0.4 mm nozzle. We also recommend printing all parts with the material set in the file. Printing all parts in PETG could lead to tolerance issues, while printing everything in PLA will not stand the temperature.
The AMS
Swapmod works alongside the AMS/AMS lite/AMS Pro, and the combination is genuinely useful: one colour per plate (when applicable) removes most of the purge waste that multi-colour printing on a single plate produces.
What you need to print and buy to build it
| A1 mini (STL) | A2L (STL) | |
|---|---|---|
| PLA | about 450 g (about 16 hours) | about 900 g (about 26 hours) |
| PETG | about 100 g (about 6 hours) | about 300 g (about 7 hours) |
| Plates in the project file | 3 × PLA, 2 × PETG | 2 in total, one PLA and one PETG |
| Magnets | 10 round, 10 mm × 3 mm | 10 round, 10 mm × 3 mm |
| Screws | 5 × ISO 7380-1 M3 × 8 mm, plus 1 per plate | 15 × ISO 7380-1 M3 × 8 mm, plus 4 per plate |
| Tools | 2 mm hex key, Phillips screwdriver | 2 mm hex key |
| Pre-composed set (optional) | EUR 6 (EU shipping) | EUR 9 (EU shipping) |
Availability by region
Due to regional intellectual property considerations, swpmod is not available for purchase in the United States. Orders with a US billing or shipping address will be declined.
Swapmod is also not available in regions covered by international sanctions. This applies to the download editions as well as to physical items.
The screw and magnet sets ship within the EU only; everywhere else, the parts are standard and available from any hardware supplier.
Taking it off again
Swapmod clips on and comes off without leaving a mark on the printer; nothing is drilled, glued or permanently altered. The STL edition can stay attached permanently, including when you print normally. The Kit edition should be detached when you are not using it, as it can interfere with a regular printing process using regular (unconverted) files.
Please note: Bambu Lab’s manual states that nothing should be placed in front of or behind the printer. Swapmod does exactly that, and your printer warranty may not cover damage caused by using it. Please read the safety notes on the product pages before you buy.