Zeltar Design

What Is Input Shaping?

When a 3D printer’s moving parts accelerate and decelerate quickly, the frame and gantry experience vibrations. These vibrations cause ringing or ghosting artifacts in prints—those subtle ripples or ripples you see around corners and details.

Traditionally, the faster you try to print, the worse these vibrations become. Printers either slow down to maintain quality or accept degraded results.

Input shaping is a control technique that sends carefully timed movement commands to the motors to cancel out these vibrations before they happen. It’s a bit like noise-canceling headphones, but for mechanical oscillations.

How Does Bambu Lab Implement Input Shaping?

Bambu’s firmware measures the printer’s natural frequencies—how the frame vibrates in different axes. It then calculates a set of motor commands designed to minimize those vibrations during printing.

This happens dynamically and transparently. Users don’t need to tweak any settings. The firmware handles it all, allowing the printer to run at speeds 3-5x faster than most competing machines without ringing.

Why It Matters

• Print Quality: Parts come out smoother, with crisp edges and little to no ringing artifacts—even at high speeds.
• Print Speed: Because vibration is controlled, the printer can accelerate faster without sacrificing quality, dramatically reducing print times.
• Machine Longevity: Reduced mechanical stress means less wear on belts, motors, and frame components.

Limitations and What to Watch For

Input shaping depends on a rigid, well-built frame. It works best on printers like the Bambu X1 Carbon, which uses a CoreXY design with a stiff chassis. On looser frames or budget printers, input shaping can only do so much.

Additionally, input shaping requires careful tuning during firmware development. Bambu’s tight control over hardware and software allows them to implement this well, but custom or modded printers may not get the same benefit.

The Future of Motion Control in 3D Printing

Input shaping is gaining traction industry-wide, but Bambu Lab has been ahead of the curve in integrating it deeply into their product line.

As processors become more powerful and sensors more precise, expect motion control techniques like input shaping, resonance compensation, and real-time feedback loops to become standard—not just on prosumer machines, but across the industry.