Bambu Lab print farm: what you need and what you give up
Updated 31 October 2026
To run a farm of Bambu Lab printers you pick one of two routes: Bambu's free Farm Manager on a Windows PC, or, on current firmware, third-party software with every printer in LAN-only and Developer Mode. Third-party software can add browser access and a queue that picks the printer and starts the job, but Bambu doesn't support Developer Mode.
We print motorcycle parts for our shop Revsticks in Thun on seven printers, three P1S and one X1C among them. We also make Rackrew, one of the third-party options, so weigh our opinions with that in mind.
What you need
| Item | Why |
|---|---|
| An always-on computer on the printers' network | Farm Manager's server needs Windows 10 or later. Rackrew's bridge needs Docker on a Linux computer or Raspberry Pi. |
| A reserved IP address per printer | Rackrew connects by address, and a printer with a new address looks like a dead one. |
| A separate network segment | Developer Mode leaves MQTT, the live stream and FTP open, and securing them is your job. |
| One sliced file per printer model and nozzle | Rackrew won't send a file sliced for a P1S to an X1E. |
| A person to clear plates | Software starts prints. It doesn't take parts off the bed. |
Starting prints on our seven machines took about 45 minutes every morning. Farm software removes that job. Clearing plates remains.
How third-party control works
Third-party control has no cloud step. The software talks to the printer on your network, using MQTT on port 8883 for status and commands, and FTPS on port 990 for files.
This only works with both modes on. With LAN-only alone, software can connect but the firmware rejects every command. The steps are in LAN-only and Developer Mode, and the Rackrew side in Bambu setup.
In Rackrew, the bridge does this: the Rackrew agent, in Docker on your network. One bridge reaches every printer on that network. It connects outward, so nothing on the internet has to reach your printers. Three consequences:
- Files. Print files are stored in Rackrew. The bridge downloads each file once, keeps a copy and sends it to the printer over your LAN.
- Access codes. Rackrew stores them encrypted and sends them to the bridge when it connects. You are trusting us with them.
- Internet outages. A running print carries on. Routing runs in Rackrew, so no new job starts until the link is back.
What you give up
Bambu Handy and cloud printing. Both stop working for that printer. Farm Manager doesn't keep them either: PrintStash reports (checked 7 October 2026) that Bambu says to unbind printers from Handy before pairing.
The easy firmware route. Updates move to a microSD card or USB stick, or a temporary return to the cloud. The handbook page lists both routes.
Vendor support. Bambu's January 2025 post says it "will not be able to provide customer support for this mode, as the communication protocols are not officially supported."
Certainty about the future. On 8 May 2026 Bambu wrote that "Bambu Connect, Lan Mode and Developer Mode are available". That sentence doesn't mention farm software or promise how long the mode will stay. As of 30 October 2026 we found no announcement removing it, but later firmware could restrict it, and third-party control would then stop working on any printer you update.
Our hedges: update one printer first, run a real job on it, and keep the offline firmware file for your fleet's version.
Which models work
Rackrew's driver lists 14 Bambu models. Being on the list isn't the same as having been tried.
| Models | What we can say |
|---|---|
| P1S, X1 Carbon | The printers we print on, with a driver we have working. One real P1S is connected to Rackrew in production today. |
| A1 mini, A1, A2L, P1P, P2S, X1, X1E, X2D, H2S | Same driver. We have not run them on real printers. |
| H2D, H2D Pro, H2C | Same driver. Which nozzle each AMS unit feeds is read from fields decoded from another project's captured reports. Untested by us on a live H2D. |
Each series also needs a minimum firmware for Developer Mode. The table is on the handbook page.
One limit: our Bambu driver always starts plate 1 of a 3MF, so export one plate per file. Server slicing, on paid plans, makes one file per plate for you.
How AMS handling works
You don't map AMS slots by hand. The printer reports the material and colour in each slot. Rackrew finds a slot for each filament in the file, whatever the order, and sends that mapping with the print command.
- Colour is an exact match.
#1A1A1Aand#1B1B1Bare different colours to the router. A file with no recorded colour matches any spool of the right material. - TPU runs from the external holder. Flexible filament can't go through the AMS, so Rackrew only matches it there.
- Filled filament needs a hardened nozzle. A file asking for PETG-CF won't go to a printer with a soft nozzle.
- Grams are checked on assigned spools only. Rackrew's check doesn't use the AMS's own estimate. You assign a spool to a slot, each completed print subtracts the grams its file names, and a job the spool can't finish is skipped.
That ledger drifts, because failed prints use filament it doesn't count. Weigh a spool now and then and correct it from a scale.
When a job can't start, the Queue says why, for example not enough PLA #1A1A1A loaded or needs PLA #1A1A1A loaded.
How jobs get routed
You add a job and say how many copies. You don't choose a printer. The router runs when a printer goes idle, when you add a job, and on a ten-second sweep in case a status message was missed.
It takes sticky batch jobs first, then normal jobs, then fillers. For each it checks tags, nozzle, printer model, nozzle hardness, filament and grams. The full order is in how routing works.
Two things still need a person. After a finished print the printer waits until someone clicks Bed cleared, unless you have a system that clears the bed and have told Rackrew so. After a failed print the copy goes back in the queue and that printer takes no work until someone clicks Back in rotation.
Farm Manager or third-party software, in brief
Farm Manager is free, made by Bambu and doesn't need Developer Mode. It doesn't depend on a mode Bambu won't support. It runs on Windows and handles Bambu printers only. Our comparison has the detail, including what its 3.0 release changed.
Bambuddy is free, self-hosted and AGPL-licensed. It has a queue scheduler, a spool inventory and filament checks, and it needs Developer Mode too. If you dislike subscriptions and only run Bambu printers, try this or Farm Manager first.
SimplyPrint and Printago are hosted, multi-brand products with more features than ours, including AI failure detection at SimplyPrint. SimplyPrint's guide (updated 25 May 2026) asks for LAN-only and Developer Mode on current firmware. Printago describes a bridge app for newer firmware.
Rackrew is hosted, with the bridge on your network. It runs Bambu and Klipper printers in one queue, so a Klipper farm or a mixed room works the same way. It has no AI failure detection, and you can't invite teammates yet.
What it costs
Rackrew is free for 2 printers, without server slicing. Farm is CHF 14 a month for 5 printers, Workshop CHF 24 for 10, then CHF 2 per extra printer. Yearly billing is cheaper, see pricing. The print farm calculator works out what a plate costs you.
To try it, connect two printers for free, with no card, at app.rackrew.com/login.