E3D Bastion Coated Extruder Gears for Bambu Lab X1 / P1 Series
E3D Bastion Coated Gears for Bambu Lab (X1 / P1) The Bastion Coated Gears are a precision-machined, hardened steel extruder upgrade for the Bambu Lab X1C, X1E, P1P, or P1S. Both the drive gears and the hobbs are treated with Bastion, E3D's own ultra-hard coating, so they grip filament cleanly and hold their tolerances far longer than the stock parts they replace. That matters most when you run abrasive material like carbon fiber or glass filled. Every meter of filament turns your extruder gears around 40 times, and each rotation slowly wears stock teeth down until extrusion starts to drift. Bastion gears are built to handle that and keep extruding accurately, print after print. The Science Behind the Coating Bastion is a Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) coating, applied to hardened steel with a Physical Vapour Deposition sputtering process. Against steel, dry, it measures a coefficient of friction around 0.1. In comparison, a common alternative like Titanium Nitride is roughly six times higher at every gear contact. DLC coatings also "run in", so friction drops a little further as the surface beds and the gears get smoother the more you print. The coating is just 0.005 mm thick, around twenty times thinner than a human hair, so it adds no meaningful bulk and preserves the precision machining underneath. Proven to Outlast Stock Gears Ran completely dry, Bastion gears outlasted lubricated uncoated gears by five times in tooth contact cycles. With a little lubrication, they passed two million contact cycles, at which point the test was stopped because they simply would not fail. The coating also raises load-carrying capacity by 10 to 15 percent. It reduces stress on the gear flanks, so they handle heavier loads for longer without showing fatigue. Stock and Bastion hobbs, new and after extended use. The used pair ran the equivalent of 12 months of printing: at least 20 kg of fiber-filled material, 10 kg of glow-in-the-dark, and the usual standard test filaments. The stock teeth round off, while the Bastion teeth keep their edge. Technical Parameters Fit & Contents Compatibility Bambu Lab X1C, X1E, P1P, P1S In the Box Coated extruder gears and hobbs Gear Material Hardened steel Coating & Performance Coating Bastion Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC), PVD applied Coating Thickness 0.005 mm Coefficient of Friction Around 0.1 against steel, dry Load Capacity 10 to 15% higher than stock Maintenance Self-lubricating - light lubrication every few months recommended