May 29, 2026
Description
Notice!
This is only compatible with the original AMS. Please view my other designs for designs supporting other AMS systems, there are plenty.
Update May 7, 2026
Hydra has been updated to version 1.12. Changes:
RFID performance greatly improved, holders tilted back and up which aligns better with the spool tags for a more reliable reading.
RFID board sockets and hex cutouts completely redesigned.
Aligned the two rear screw holes, they were previously a tiny bit off.
AMS main board mounting improved.
When using spools with RFID tags, it's recommended to use the optional spool guides.
Please use the print profiles if you can, they're tried and tested with correct print settings and supports.
Update March 9, 2026
Hydra has been updated to version 1.11. Changes:
1.5 mm narrower total width, making it easier to fit in the AMS box without squeezing it in.
Front rollers slightly larger cutout for the bearings.
Middle/rear dovetail removed as it made assembly difficult and it was not really needed anyway, the motor mounts hold it steady in the rear.
New front dovetail to align the front lip.
Small adjustment to the AMS main board mount.
RFID friction fit mount optimized.
Please use the print profiles if you can, they're tried and tested with correct print settings and supports.
Update February 1, 2026
Hydra for the original AMS has been updated to version 1.10, it's the first update of the series for a very long time and as it's largely based off the newer Hydra for the AMS 2 PRO so it comes with some nice improvements, especially support for even wider spools and PTFE tubes replaceable from the top.
Changes:
Rebranding, Hydra AMS is now known as Hydra - Enhanced Bambu Lab AMS to avoid confusion and for which AMS system this is for.
Feeders tilted back to clear very full spools (avoids very full spools hitting the feeder or load button).
New: PTFE tubes replaceable from top.
New: Removable and reversible front and rear spool guides.
Improved rear roller positions, allowing for slightly larger diameter spools.
Optimized Hydra tray position and placement of the front locking tabs.
You must use some manual supports, see instructions below. If you're uncertain, please use the print profiles where all of this is prepared.
New built-in support boxes, these prevent the side walls of the main print from warping. Previously, the supports were just low infill waste prints but these new boxes are very much usable (and stackable!), there will be containers and add-ons for these soon, see the pic below, the orange boxes. You must still use some manual supports, see instructions below. If you're uncertain, please use the print profiles where all of this is prepared.
Buy Hydra
You can now buy the Hydra printed parts and required bolts from MatterHackers at a very affordable price, free US shipping is included.
Hydra has a strict non-commercial license, it can only be sold with licensing through Hume Beam Engineering Solutions.
About
Download the files then follow the assembly guide a bit down on this page.
Optional but recommended files to print:
High Capacity AMS Silica Dry Box to keep filament dry. Compatible with both Hydra and Bambu Lab AMS.
PTFE Load Buttons to both save the funnels and improve ergonomics.
Adjustable Spool Holder for Silica Gel / Spool Weight - Compatible with both Hydra and Bambu Lab AMS.
If you download the individual 3MF files in the files section, they are design files only and can be easily printed on any printer / slicer. If you get a warning that they do not come from Bambu Lab just ignore the warning, they were exported directly from my design software.
Thanks to the testers for all the support and especially GuyH who has been instrumental.
Leave feedback in the comments. Thanks!
Reviews on YouTube
Nero 3D
MandicReally (Hydra starts around minute 5.40)
Support
All my designs and mods on Printables are free to use and remix. They have a non-commercial license. If you enjoy this or any of my other designs you can send me a small donation using the link below. Thanks :)
https://www.paypal.me/humebeamengineering
If you prefer Crypto/BTC you can send me a message.
If you send a donation be sure to mention "Hydra - Enhanced Bambu Lab AMS" in the comments box and you will be added to the list below.
Official Supporters
If you have donated $5 or more you will be added to this list as an official thank you from me and you will also be assigned a serial number, the list will be updated as often as possible.
You can request a custom serial number if you send a $20 donation or more but please be aware it may take a couple of days before your custom silica box is uploaded as I need to make these manually. Cheers!
If you've bought Hydra from one of the authorized resellers you can also request a serial number by submitting a proof of purchase.
Hume Beam #0001, Hume Beam #9999, Sven Hausherr #1313, Aaron Gray #1337, FireBall #1725, Trevor Mungovan #2425, Jamie Placzek #4759, 57y10 #8764, Katherine Jones #0666, Bernhard Birkfellner #3101, Guy H #0002, Kevin Pereira #0003, Phill Tran #0004, Bernard Ruf #0005, Justin Altemeier #0006, Remigiusz Kowal #0007, Jerome Grimminck #0008, Anthony Cascone #0009
Thomas Finzel #0010, Seldon3dPrinting #0011, Dwizzle Roasting #0012, VipCold #0013, Bearded Bucket #0014, Hannes Schäfer #0015, Joseph Korang #0016, Brian Welty #0017, Elmar Wesle #0018, Paul M #0019
Pippo pewte.ch #0020, Hampus Björk #0021, Martin Watley #0022, Riccardo Sacchetti #0023, James Majors #0024, Raia Gennaro #0025, Christopher Walters #0026, Andrew Shrapnel #0027, Kevin Kent #0028, Aron Gustafson #0029
Szabó Tibor #0030, Nikhil Ramkarran #0031, Dorothy Rafferty #0032, Charles Ho Fung #0033, Anup Chavda #0034, Dorian Picard #0035, Mark Berg #0036, John Vinson #0037, Robert Martin #0038, Karl Liljeström #0039
Kurt Althaus #0040, Martin Ziegler #0041, Miguel Contreras #0042, Todd Ferguson #0043, Joseph VonDohlen Jr #0044, Jacob Wine #0045, H. Schittko #0046, Rex Catron #0047, Meatbingo #0048, Barry Kwan #0049
GnollProblem #0050, Sean Griffiths #0051, Yannick Lory #0052, Bonnie Gulliver #0053, Aki S #0054, Jeremy Rauch #0055, Jim Fano #0056, Jeffery Stephens #0057, Kimberly Booth #0058, Mikael Olsson #0059
Michael Fetting #0060, James Beck #0061, Christian Bätz #0062, Eric Ridge #0063, Christopher Ondrovic #0064, Stefan Wollmuth #0065, Anthony Soprano #0066, Andreas Riebe #0067, ServTheNet #0068, Alan Kilgore #0069
Gene Buckle #0070, Phil Harvey #0071, Neal Baggett #0072, Vincent Robel #0073, Zachery Hansen #0074, Matthew Shaw #0075, Scott Marcy #0076, Steven Lionel #0077, John Cardwell #0078, Chris Martin #0079
Łukasz Szuman #0080, Ron Allison #0081, Bella Art de Nicole #0082, 7iron #0083, JKP Enterprises #0084, Klaus Löhr #0085, Harley Hong #0086, SSI Racing #0087, Chris McLeod #0088, Steven Mohr #0089
Worked Wood #0090, David Adam #0091, Michal Kowalski #0092, Custom Computer Concepts #0093, Kenneth Ostromek #0094, Stigh Aarstein #0095, Patrick Lavoie #0096, Jeremy Hopke #0097, Erik Johansen #0098, Djundi Karjad #0099
Jason Litman #0100, Robert Jorgenson #0101, Edward Cartier #0102, Robert Pence #0103, Andres Arrieta #0104, SpriteForge.com #0105, HRtechnik llc #0106, Swen Krauter #0107, Michael Bush #0108, Jordan Newman #0109
Jared Stymiest #0110, Andreas Klotz #0111, Jordan Joiner #0112, Fred Logue #0113, Gregory Carlton Bouten #0114, Nicholas Daniel #0115, Eric James #0116, Rutger Bogaerds #0117, AtomicFilament #0118, Kevin Clack #0119
Letusgo2Hell #0120, Gaspard Grosjean #0121, Poppy's Popcorn Co. Inc. #0122, Tony Herrero #0123, William Aprea #0124, Troy DeJesus #0125, Justin Schuhmann #0126, Belenos #0127, Jack Mettler #0128, Barracuda72 #0129
Oz_Rob #0130, Ben Silber #0131, fatgeek #0132, Bernt Ahlbäck #0133, Joshua Warren #0134, Thomas Heuer #0135, Thomas Schulz #0136, William Hamilton #0137, Todd Schisler #0138, Phillip Perry #0139
guruguys #0140, Johannes Cornelissen #0141, Jan Schermer #0142, John Kaminski #0143, SaintHate #0144, Josiah Netherton #0145, Steve Beverley #0146, Boran Li #0147, Jeff ONeil #0148, Joseph Palicke #0149
Massimiliano Mancin #0150, Patrick Pennza #0151, Donald Lafferty #0152, Big Brook Pond Engineering #0153, Robert Schwinn #0154, Jacob Perez #0155, MIcheal Jeffrey #0156, Brett Corr #0157, Chris Reed #0158, Boris Ott #0159
John M Murphy Jr #0160, Jose Serrano #0161, Peter Lewis #0162, Christopher Phillips #0163, Tyler Wickline #0164, Integrated Overland #0165, fixumdude #0166, Nic Alkema #0167, Torsten Steckenreiter #0168, Francisco Peebles #0169
Jens Michlo #0170, Jon Libby #0171, Eric Sutherland #0172, Andrew Poth #0173, Mercury Cubed #0174, Louis Watermeyer #0175, Michael Müller #0176, kirikugo #0177, Markus Lohmann #0178, Stefan Zuegg #0179
Thomas Kotowski #0180, James Hunt #0181, Marc Schauber #0182, Kenneth Ostromek #0183, Jakub Kanhäuser #0184, Ants-3D #0185, Ronny Stiffel #0186, John Cooley #0187, Christian Noack #0188, Christian Menz #0189
David Bernabeu #0190, Christopher Mallery #0191, Ralf Ehleiter #0192, Andrew Wickham #0193, David Rouleau #0194, Bruce Milyko #0195, Sean Stoube #0196, Peter Biegel #0197, Dominik Popp #0198, @3dprintkings #0199
samwiseg0 #0200, Susan Alvarez #0201, Thomas Jameson #0202, Benjamin Achtenberg #0203, Stephen McComas #0204, Volker Alkemper #0205, Daniel Pomierski #0206, Hagen Weigel #0207, Lex Hanna #0208, Dannel Albert #0209
Jeremy Birdwell #0210, Jeremy Birdwell #0211, Jeremy Birdwell #0212, Jeremy Birdwell #0213, Edward Crouse #0214, Kevin Ford #0215, John Willing #0216
For version 1.00 through 1.09, get a Silica Dry Box with your serial number here:
Hydra - Silica Dry Boxes / Serial Number Tags
For version 1.10 and later a Silica Dry Box will be available shortly.,
Thanks again!
If you want to remain anonymous, leave a note with your donation. If I've missed your donation let me know.
About - Continued
Hydra is an enhanced drop-in main body replacement for the Bambu Lab AMS, a multi filament companion to the Bambu Lab X1/P1, H2 and A1 series printers. The Bambu Lab AMS internals are used, you just need to move over the parts; the four feeder motors, the rear motor, the front and rear rollers, the RFID boards and the main board as well as the PTFE tubing and cables.
The name Hydra is inspired by the mythological creature which grew two new heads as one was cut off, similar to how the AMS's tend to duplicate if you don't keep a firm grip of your wallet. I have other designs with names from Greek mythology (Icarus / Hercules) so I thought it was fitting.
Hydra uses dovetail joints for assembly and utilizes the standard AMS outer casing as well as maintains RFID compatibility. 2 x 20 mm cap head M3 bolts is recommended to ensure the parts interlock and won't slide apart.
The main changes / improvements over the standard AMS are:
Increased spool widths, up to 77 mm, meaning most 1 Kg spools will fit.
Increased spool diameters, up to 202.5 mm diameter spools fit.
Adjustable spool rollers in four positions for 120 mm to 205 mm diameter spools.
PTFE tubes replaceable from top.
Removable and reversible front and rear spool guides.
AMS feeder / motor mechanism angled backwards to allow printing of full spools, use a PTFE load button to reduce angle and drag of low filled spools.
PTFE Load Buttons to both save the funnels and improve ergonomics (optional, it's a separate download)
BOM - Bill of Materials
You can print Hydra in just about any filament you like. However, if you plan on keeping the AMS on top of the printer it's best to print it in ABS or ASA as the heat from the printer can soften the printed Hydra parts if they are printed in PLA for example. Around 600 g of filament is required at the recommended print settings.
I've printed most of the test builds in Prusament ASA, PLA and eSUN PLA and ABS+, both brands and filament types work great.
Filament
Fasteners
You need some M3 hex bolts (socket head), I recommend 20 mm but just about anything between 15 and 25 mm should work.
If you don't have any at home it's best to grab a couple of the kits below, it will have everything you need for this build and more:
Optional
I highly recommend these Nano Coated Helical Extruder Gears from FYSETC, I use them for all my Bambu printers, they're inexpensive and offer a number of improvements of the stock gears:
Although not required these PEO/PEI/PEY bed sheets are great, I have most options myself, it gives a quite cool look on the first layer. There are a few shops offering different plates:
The Hex Tools are superb for any 3D printer, I've had a few different ones over the years, these are the ones I use now as they are quite compact with replaceable different hex bits, they're the ones you see in the assembly guide a few pages down:
Recent Timelapse Test Prints
Some test prints from Hydra from the past few days. All of these prints except the first timelapse are prints through Hydra. Some of them are single colour and some are with lots of switches, with and without prime towers.
The Benchy prints are just filament swaps with the flushing volumes set to 0 for all colours, an AMS stress test if you will, that's why they're a little more rough on the layer adhesion.
I've not included all test prints from the last few days as some are very similar and just for stress tests.
For those wondering, the bed used here is full 3.0 mm Carbon Fiber, Satin/Smooth finish with a high temp epoxy. I've cut it myself, glued with a double sided 3M sheet to a 250x250 steel plate.
Carbon Fiber has excellent thermal conductivity, is super stiff at this thickness and will not flex if prints attempt to. It has excellent adhesion for most filaments and prints just pop off once the plate has cooled off. When extra adhesion is needed, I use Nano Polymer by Vision Miner.
For prints needing a fancy first layer I use a textured PEI bed, link was posted above.
Before Printing Hydra
Make sure you dial in flow correctly before you start, we've seen a few Hydra prints that were overextruded so avoid that. The problem then is you can't join the dovetail joints and assembly properly and the rollers can bind. Printed correctly, everything works just as stock but support for larger spools (among other advantages).
The Bambu Lab printers usually do a pretty good with automatic flow calibration but it's best to confirm flow anyway, sometimes it is inaccurate.
Once you have done that, print the Hydra roller and dovetail test joints, more info here:
Print Settings
Print the parts in the direction I have set them. I recommend using a wide brim for improved bed adhesion and Nano Polymer if you have some. The parts are tall and quite narrow.
I recommend using a minimum of 3 walls, top and bottom and an infill of 15% or higher. I've printed all my Hydra prototypes with a 0.40 mm nozzle and a layer height of 0.20 mm on my X1C with otherwise mostly stock settings. Supports are needed for the rear motor mount and for the wall just above it.
Hydra has built-in support boxes to prevent warping, do not remove these! Instead set the wall count to 1 wall and use an infill of 5% to save some material on these (using the Object settings in the slicer). If you're uncertain just print the Print Profiles I've made where this is all prepared.
I've marked them in red here:
The boxes are fully functional and stackable.
Notice: If you're uncertain please use the Print Profiles where this is all set correctly and it's tried and tested!
Use dry filament.
Warranty
Hydra does not void your warranty but be careful, especially with the AMS main board, use an antistatic wrist band. Although the mod is completely reversible and you can't tell the parts have been installed in Hydra, I take no responsibility and you're on your own. Be careful and take it slow, read this page twice before you start.
Assembly Instructions
This guide is intended for Hydra version 1.10 onwards. If you have an earlier version, please download that PDF in the files section. If you're unsure which version you have, the version number is printed in the front right part.
Remove the Bambu Lab AMS internals from the standard AMS, follow this guide, it's not difficult:
https://wiki.bambulab.com/en/x1/maintenance/replace-the-ams-main-frame
Be sure to mark all cables and connectors before you remove them. I recommend marking each connector on the board and corresponding cable with a thin permanent marker pen as pictured below:
Precaution: Always wear an antistatic wrist band when working with electronics.
The RFID boards are secured with hot glue so pull that off before removing them, the same goes for the ferrite core on the cables between the AMS main board and the small board in the rear of the AMS. A user suggested some IPA to resolve the glue but I have not tested this myself.
Once that is done, you should have all the parts as pictured below. If you are unsure on how to remove the parts, just follow the assembly instructions in reverse.
Here are all the parts just before assembly.
You need the following hex tools. The 1.5 and 2.0 mm are needed for the AMS parts and the 2.5 mm is needed for joining the two printed parts with the 20 mm cap head screws.
You can find these tools on AliExpress and I like to use them for my 3D printers but of course any hex tools will do.
Main Parts Assembly
If you use the Single Piece Remix please ignore this whole section.
Slide the printed parts together and secure them with some M3 cap head (socket head) screws. I've used 20 mm ones myself. The screws are optional as the parts still interlock fine but if you have some, use them.
For the lower dovetail, use a 20 mm M3 socket head. The length is not that important, just that it's not too long and bottoms out.
For the upper dovetail, first place the Hydra circular logo then screw in a 20 mm screw. The logo has an alignment tab so you get it rotate correctly.
Printed parts assembled.
Mounting the motor
Flip the assembly upside down and install the motor, it secures with four (stock) screws and rubber bushings. Fully tighten but do not overtighten them.
RFID boards
Install the RFID boards. They are friction fit. Be careful when you slide them in, find the correct angle and they will slide all the way in.
The connector (circled in red) should face this direction, it's to ensure the surface soldered parts clear the printed parts.
Do the same for the other side.
Install the feeders
Sort the front feeder motors. The ones place in the middle of the AMS have a shorter piece of PTFE so keep that in mind. If you accidently place them wrong you can just switch of the tubing.
Insert the PTFE tube in the middle and the connector and cable in the left slot then push it all the way down to align with the screw holes. Secure the four small screws with the 1.5 mm hex tool.
Before installing the screws, I find it easier to place the front roller (rubber covered) first then installing the screws. Take notice of the small drive gear! It must face the correct direction.
Once roller is in place, cross tighten the four small screws with a 1.5 mm hex tool.
Tighten fully but do not overtighten, you should see the screws peek out just above the top (last pic)
Confirm the front roller rotates freely and easily. If it doesn't, ensure the screws are properly tightened and that the front feeder sits in place.
Proceed to install the other three front feeders and rollers, make sure they all move smoothly.
Once done, connect the PTFE tube to the rear motor (internal filament hub)
AMS main board
Almost done. Now we install the AMS main board. There are two tabs on each side it goes under and it is fastened with two small screws in the middle (use 1.5 mm hex tool). If the tabs don't reach the board, don't worry about it, it still sits firmly with the screws only.
There are slight variations of the hardware revisions of the AMS boards but the screw and capacitor locations are the same.
I find it useful to actually thread the small holes with the screws first, then remove the screws, place the board and finally install said screws.
Be careful with the capacitors on the board, they are located on the other side of the board in the pic below, these are guided through the holes in the printed part (see the picture just above).
Connecting the cables
Connect all the cables to the main board. Follow this section carefully and everything will be connected correctly. If you connect them wrong you can burn out the board so please don't skip this step. All cables are bidirectional.
Connect the first feeder (leftmost) here:
Connect the first (left) RFID board here:
Connect the second feeder here:
Connect the second (right) RFID board here:
Connect the third feeder here:
Connect the fourth feeder here:
Guide the motor cable through the slot here. It's the wider (6-pin) cable coming from the actual motor of the internal filament hub.
Then connect it here:
Next, guide through the other two cable from the filament hub as well:
Connect the thinnest (4-pin) cable here, is the speed measurement cable:
Connect the hall sensor cable (5-pin) here:
The ferrite core with the cables between the main board and the small rear PCB sits in the little slot in the middle front, just behind the main board. It's just friction fit so slide it in. If the cable is still attached to your AMS box, remove it now and proceed below.
The cables are bidirectional (as are the rest) so it doesn't matter which in which way you plug them in.
Connect the thicker square plug here, it's the power plug for the board.
Finally, connect the slimmer cable here, it's the bus cable from the main board to the rear power board.
Once both are connected, slide in the ferrite core into the friction fit mount. You can pull on the cables a little to tighten it up but make sure to leave enough slack.
If you want to double check once again, here are the schematics.
Picture Source: Bambu Lab Wiki
Time to install Hydra in the Bambu Lab AMS box. I find it easier to stand it up at a 90 degree angle like pictured with the whole assembly moved as much forward as you can:
Connect the power cable from Hydra here:
And the bus cable here:
Next, fold down the Hydra assembly into the AMS box, ensure the front lock with the tabs of the box.
There is one tab on the front left and one of the front right of the box.
Fasten it with the two main frame screws. 2.0 mm hex tool is used.
Install rear rollers and spool guides
Install the rear rollers in the desired slots. The position in the picture below is the standard setup, compatible with almost all 1 Kg spools.
They can also be moved forward one step for a little smaller spools for example. Of course you can move them to any slot independently.
Install the (optional) spool guides. They're useful to keep the spools centered or near the RFID boards for a reliable reading (if you use Bambu spools). The spool guides are removable and reversible, usage depends on the spool type.
Compared to the stock AMS, the spool guides can be placed both front and rear for perfect alignment of the spool, or even removed fully. To install just slide on in, they're easily removed as well.
Finally, connect the AMS cable and PTFE tube. It's safest to do this with the printer shut off.
All done!
Top: Hydra with optional spool guides. Rear rollers in default position.
Bottom: Hydra (Single Piece Remix) without optional spool guides. Rear rollers in default position.
Prelude, Precaution and some more tips
Make sure the front feeders are fully inserted and tightened. Also make sure the bearings on the rollers are fully inserted over the shaft. Finally, 77.0 mm wide spools is the absolute max, else the spools will not turn like they are supposed to. If you use cardboard spools, add some electrical tape to the lip to get better grip.
Another good idea is to use my Adjustable Spool Holder for Silica Gel / Spool Weight that's compatible with both Hydra and Bambu Lab AMS.
This keeps the spools dry and adds some weight to them, preventing near empty spools to jump up and jam. It can still happen but is less likely.
That's it! Thanks for your support.
License:
Creative Commons — Attribution — Noncommercial
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