Short answer: The Bambu Lab P2S keeps everything that made the P1S the default enclosed printer — same 256 × 256 × 256 mm build volume, same CoreXY speed — and upgrades the four things that limited it: a hardened steel nozzle (so carbon-fibre filaments are supported), a stronger servo extruder, active chamber airflow, and a proper colour touchscreen with a 1080p AI camera. If you print PLA, PETG and the occasional roll of ABS, the P1S still does the same job for less. If fibre-reinforced materials or unattended printing are in your plans, buy the P2S. Both are in stock in Sydney — see current pricing on each product page.
What is identical
Start with what has not changed, because it is most of the printer. Both machines are fully enclosed CoreXY printers with a 256 mm cube build volume, a 300°C nozzle, 20,000 mm/s² acceleration, and automatic bed levelling. Both run the same Bambu Studio workflow, and both handle the everyday materials — PLA, PETG, ABS, ASA and TPU — without drama. Neither has an actively heated chamber; that remains an H-series feature (see the H2S). So the question is not “which is the better printer” in the abstract — it is whether the four upgrades below are worth it for your work.
Upgrade 1: Hardened steel nozzle — carbon fibre unlocked
The P1S ships with a stainless steel nozzle, and Bambu Lab lists carbon- and glass-fibre filaments as not recommended on it — chopped fibres chew through stainless quickly. The P2S ships with a hardened steel, tool-free quick-swap nozzle, and fibre-reinforced grades are on the official supported list.
Two honest notes here. First, the carbon-fibre materials genuinely worth buying are the engineering ones — PET-CF, PAHT-CF, PPA-CF — not PETG-CF, where chopped fibre in a PETG base adds stiffness but little real strength. Second, remember these materials also need drying discipline (PAHT-CF in particular must be dry) — our filament storage guide matters double for them. If that world is where you are heading, the P2S is the cheapest ticket into it in the current Bambu range.
Upgrade 2: The DynaSense servo extruder
The P2S extruder produces roughly 70% more pushing force than the P1S design and adds eddy-current flow sensing — the printer measures whether plastic is actually flowing rather than assuming it. In practice this means fewer half-clogged “air prints”, more reliable extrusion at the machine’s higher 600 mm/s top speed (the P1S tops out at 500 mm/s), and better behaviour with slippery or demanding filaments. The bed also runs to 110°C against the P1S’s 100°C, which is welcome headroom for large ABS and ASA parts — if warping is your enemy, our warping guide covers the rest of the fight.
Upgrade 3: Active chamber airflow
This one is subtle and excellent. The P1S enclosure is passive: it traps bed heat, which is what makes ABS and ASA workable — but it means you open the door for PLA and close it for ABS, and forget at your peril. The P2S actively manages chamber air: it holds warm air in for ABS and ASA, and flushes cool air through for PLA, so the door stays shut for every material. In a dusty workshop, a classroom, or an Australian summer where the ambient temperature swings 15 degrees in a day, “never touch the door” is a genuine quality-of-life upgrade. To be clear, neither machine has a chamber heater — for very large ABS parts or true high-temperature engineering work, that is what the H2S is for.
Upgrade 4: Screen and camera
The P1S has a 2.7-inch monochrome LCD driven by buttons and a 720p camera that updates every two seconds. The P2S has a 5-inch colour touchscreen and a 1080p 30 fps camera with AI spaghetti and foreign-object detection. If you babysit prints from your desk anyway, the P1S screen never bothers you — everything happens in Bambu Studio or the Handy app. If you run long jobs overnight or sell prints and cannot afford a failed 14-hour part, the AI failure detection alone can pay for the difference.
Side-by-side
| P1S | P2S | |
|---|---|---|
| Build volume | 256 × 256 × 256 mm | 256 × 256 × 256 mm |
| Top speed | 500 mm/s | 600 mm/s |
| Nozzle (stock) | Stainless steel | Hardened steel, quick-swap |
| Carbon fibre filaments | Not recommended | Supported |
| Max bed temperature | 100°C | 110°C |
| Chamber | Passive enclosure | Active airflow management |
| Extruder | Standard | DynaSense servo, flow sensing |
| Screen | 2.7″ monochrome LCD | 5″ colour touchscreen |
| Camera | 720p, 0.5 fps | 1080p, 30 fps + AI detection |
| AMS support | AMS, AMS 2 Pro, AMS HT | AMS 2 Pro, AMS HT |
The AMS question
Both printers do multi-colour. The P1S works with the original AMS as well as the newer AMS 2 Pro and AMS HT; the P2S is designed around the two newer units, which add filament drying — a bigger deal in Australian humidity than the spec sheet suggests. If you are choosing between them, our AMS 2 Pro vs AMS HT comparison breaks it down, and the AMS setup guide covers loading, TPU rules and Bambu Studio settings. Buying printer and AMS together as the P1S Combo or P2S Combo costs less than adding one later.
Which one should you buy?
Buy the P1S if your materials are PLA, PETG, TPU and occasional ABS or ASA, and you would rather put the savings into filament. It has years of field history, every spare part exists (we stock P1S hotends in Sydney), and nothing about it is experimental. Schools in particular rarely need more — our printers-for-schools guide goes deeper.
Buy the P2S if carbon-fibre materials are in your future, you print overnight or for customers and want AI failure detection, or you simply want the current platform with the longest runway ahead of it. We stock P2S nozzles and parts locally too.
The value sleeper: the official refurbished P1S Combo — factory-certified with AMS and full warranty. If budget is the deciding vote, it is the strongest value in the whole line-up; our refurbished guide explains how Bambu’s certification works.
Coming from an open-frame machine instead? Read A1 vs P1S first — the enclosure question comes before the P-series question. And whichever printer you land on, our Australian filament guide will match the materials to it.
FAQ
Is the P2S chamber actually heated?
No — it manages chamber temperature by controlling airflow, holding warm air in for ABS/ASA and flushing cool air through for PLA. There is no heating element. An actively heated chamber (65°C) is what you pay for in the H-series.
Can I print carbon fibre on a P1S if I fit a hardened nozzle?
You can fit hardened hotend hardware to a P1S, but Bambu Lab still lists fibre-reinforced filaments as not recommended on the platform, and the standard extruder and stainless filament path were not designed around abrasives. For occasional PLA-CF you may get away with it; if CF parts are a real requirement, the P2S is the supported route and will save you the tinkering.
Does the original AMS work with the P2S?
The P2S is designed around the AMS 2 Pro and AMS HT. If you already own an original AMS and are planning a P2S, contact us before ordering and we will confirm compatibility for your exact setup — it is a two-minute question that avoids an expensive assumption.
Is the P2S faster in real prints, not just on paper?
Somewhat. The 600 vs 500 mm/s headline rarely decides a real print — acceleration is identical — but the stronger extruder holds quality at high flow rates better, so speed-oriented profiles degrade less. Expect modestly faster real-world prints, not a generational leap.
Where can I get either machine serviced in Australia?
Here. 3D BRO is an authorised Bambu Lab reseller and Australia’s authorised Bambu Lab service centre — repairs, warranty work and spare parts are handled locally from Regents Park, Sydney, for both the P1S and P2S.
Both printers ship fast Australia-wide from our Sydney warehouse — check current pricing and stock on the P1S, P1S Combo, P2S and P2S Combo product pages, browse the full Bambu Lab range and filaments, or ask us which fits your work — we print on both every day.
