The Bento Box has a better origin story than most 3D-printer accessories: it started life in September 2022 as a free STL by a designer going by Thrutheframe, built to give X1C and enclosed-P1P owners a real air-scrubbing solution for ABS printing before Bambu’s own enclosed printers even existed. The files are still free on Printables and MakerWorld if you want to print your own housing. What you’re buying here, from VOXELPLA, is the commercial version of that same design — a partnership between Thrutheframe and VOXELPLA that sells a pre-assembled kit instead of making you source your own fans and filter media.
Mechanically it’s a two-stage scrubber that sits inside the printer’s enclosure rather than venting outside: a medical-grade HEPA 13 filter stage plus a reusable, acid-free activated carbon stage (VOXELPLA calls their carbon cartridge “C-MAG,” and it comes pre-filled with about a pound of carbon media). Air gets pulled through by two 24V 4028 dual-ball-bearing fans that VOXELPLA claims move roughly 50% more air than the stock 4020 fans without a noise penalty — plausible given the physically larger fan size, though I haven’t seen that airflow number independently measured. The kit ships with the 3D-printed housing pieces (heat-inserts and magnets already installed), both filter media, the fans, a 24V power supply, mounting screws, and a duct adapter. It’s not a drop-in cartridge like the X-Filter — you’re assembling a small appliance, though the pre-installed hardware keeps that to maybe fifteen minutes with a screwdriver.
Because it recirculates air inside the enclosure instead of exhausting outside, it doesn’t require you to cut a vent hole or route ducting out of your workshop, which is the main reason people reach for it over a vent-to-outside setup. Coverage spans the full Bambu enclosed lineup (X1C, X1, P1P, P1S) plus Voron Trident builds and a couple of VOXELPLA’s own enclosure products. Expect to swap the HEPA stage every 2–3 months under regular use — the carbon side is reusable/reloadable rather than fully disposable, which helps the ongoing cost versus a fully cartridge-based system.
Pricing sits around $40–45 depending on sales, which is a real step up from a slot-in cartridge but reasonable for what amounts to a small assembled appliance with two consumable filter stages and a pair of proper fans included. Given the same underlying design is available as a free download for anyone with a spare hour and a filament spool of their own, the value proposition here is really “pay for the assembled kit and known-good filter media” rather than paying for the design itself — worth knowing if you’re the type who’d rather print the housing and just buy replacement filters separately.
Pros
- Traces back to a well-regarded, still-free community design rather than a black-box proprietary part
- Two real filtration stages (HEPA 13 + activated carbon) rather than carbon alone
- No external venting needed — recirculates and scrubs air inside the enclosure
- Reusable carbon cartridge keeps long-term consumable cost down versus fully disposable filters
- Broad compatibility across Bambu enclosed printers and several DIY enclosure setups
Cons
- Requires actual assembly, not a slot-in cartridge — a bigger project than the stock filter swap
- Airflow and filtration performance claims are manufacturer-sourced, not independently lab-verified
- Takes up interior chamber space that a slot-mounted filter doesn’t
- HEPA stage still needs periodic replacement (~every 2–3 months), an ongoing cost to budget for
- Being a third-party physical mod, it’s one more thing to account for if you ever need warranty service on the printer itself