¶ 🧪 Multi-Material Printing
Multi-material printing allows you to Assess and Enhance prints that combine different material types, for example, PLA + PETG, or PC + TPU, in one project without having to split your project into multiple plates.
⚠️ Experimental Feature
Multi-material support is currently an experimental feature. Results are functional but you may encounter edge cases. If you run into issues, let us know at support@helioadditive.com.
ℹ️ For same-material multi-colour prints (e.g., PLA Basic Yellow + PLA Basic Green), see the Multi-Colour guide — multi-material mode is not required.
¶ ✅ Before You Start
Multi-material printing is inherently more complex than single-material printing. For best results:
- Each material should have the correct filament profile assigned in Bambu Studio according to the actual physical print setup
- Purge volumes should be calibrated before slicing to ensure bonding is not affected by cross-contamination
¶ 🖨️ Setup Steps
¶ 1. Enable the Multi-Material Feature
1. Click the Third-party icon in Bambu Studio
2. Click Enable Helio
3. Check the Multi-Material checkbox in the dialog
¶ 2. Set Up Your Multi-Material Print
You can use any number of supported materials for your multi-material print. Find the full compatibility list here.
Assign the correct filament profile to each slot before slicing. Helio reads material assignments directly from the G-code. Incorrect profiles will result in inaccurate results.
¶ 3. 🔬 Slice → Enhance
Click the Helio Icon → Enhance. Wait for the process to finish running.
The optimiser adjusts speeds around tool change layers to keep material in the optimal bonding window even across different material combinations.
Review the results and if satisfied, click “Print plate” to send directly to the printer.
⚠️ Incompatible Material Combinations
If two materials are thermally or chemically incompatible, the Thermal Quality Index (TQI) will remain at its minimum at the interface regardless of optimisation. This is not a fixable thermal issue; if you are seeing persistent minimum scores at a material boundary, it is a signal to reconsider the combination, not to run more optimisations.
¶ 🔧 Using Unsupported Material Profiles
If one or more of your materials is not natively in the Helio database, you can still run Assess or Enhance using the reference material flow:
- Download the latest Bambu Studio Beta:
👉 v02.05.02.51 - Activate Helio & enable the multi-material feature → Slice with any number of generic/unsupported filament profiles
- Click the Helio icon → For each generic profile, select the closest supported material from Helio’s list → Click Proceed Anyway
- Run Assess or Enhance as normal ✅
⚠️ Simulation accuracy will be approximations for unsuported materials. For critical applications, contact us at support@helioadditive.com — we add new materials regularly and may be able to prioritise yours.
¶ 📬 Need Help?
- Discord: discord.gg/EjQXDJP9kS
- Email: support@helioadditive.com
- FAQ: Check out our FAQ