As a 3D printer designer I am amazed and afraid at the same time. Bambu Lab has blown everybody out of the water by having high quality at such a cheap price, but I expect a lot of companies to go down in the next year just because they can't compete with the chinese price. I personally just bought inventory for our next batch of printers which I will now sell at parts price just because of this tiny disruptor. But at the same time, I am amazed how Bambu Lab has created a working ecosystem out of nowhere and made 3D printing accessible to a lot more people. I just hope that someday soon a european or american brand will stand up, create something comparable with a more open mindset at maximum 50% higher price and are able to find customers that value local development. Good luck with your channel and congrats on the quick growth!
I can't see a lot of companies going under. The majority of printer manufacturers are Chinese, so the pricing advantages Bambu has is lost on a lot of the others aside from Prusa and the voron squad. What Bambu did, however, is light an atomic level fire under all these other manufacturers, and let them know that another ender 3 clone won't cut it any more. Bambu nailed the two most challenging aspects of 3d printing: reliability and ease of use. And now other companies are scrambling to catch up, and that benefits us as consumers. None of them have really caught up to bambu yet, but they're getting there. I have four bambu printers in my house and they've all been reliable workhorses. Bambu deserves all the praise they get.
I agree! Good competition will only promote further innovation and aggressive pricing which every consumer will benefit from! Like you’re saying I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before other companies start releasing some truly impressive printers. Unfortunately just like everything else, there’s going to be few companies that hold the market until someone new can come along with new ideas
But it's 2x the price of a cheapo printer even without the mosaic clone ams(and a three3d is half of a cheapo printer). Fdm printers just are fundamentally simple, inkjets are much more complex, yet cheaper. To scale down price at this point you have to engineer the manufacturing more than the printer, a1 is essentially an optimized printrbot with benefits of large scale manufacturing.
It is an interesting story about bambu labs. It was a Kickstarter project founded by 5 ex-DJI engineers. They did everything right including having nice technical illustrated manuals, a wiki technical website, great free 3d library, great industrial design aesthetics,etc I would not be surprised the Billionaire DJI boss has invested into the company by now. Injection moulds as found on the a1 mini is not cheap as is the color touchscreen, etc. Most 3d printers still look like a few pieces of strewn together extrusions...not a thing of beauty.
I've had 2 P1s's for about a year and was looking to add a 3rd. Great Video! I now have an A1 Mini heading my way this week. Huge thanks on your focus on this tiny powerhouse of a machine.
Can I ask what your printing and selling to need three printer? I want to start but they would need to earn their keep. Would love to chat privately plz
It's amazing to see such a small channel creating such nice content. If you had 200k subscribers I'd totally get the high level content, but someone who just started a channel making something that good? Dude, you have a gift, use it to keep spreading information! Keep it up!
This video is honestly what made me pull the trigger. I love my p1s with a recent ams I got. But I’ve got Bambu fever with these sales. So thanks for helping me go after the a1 mini combo
Excellent review, keep it up! The mini was my first bambu printer too, and now I have two A1s and two minis. Adding an AMS lite to the arsenal very soon.
@@NWGR thank you, I've seen a few people say that the mini's a bit better since it's moving around less weight and I was worried as I'm looking to get the A1 :)
@@InklanUtterfield No problem. Maybe there would be a difference if you do a full volume print on the A1 that's really tall. but even then usually all you need to do is slow down the print. For all intents and purposed though, build quality is excellent on both. You can't go wrong with either. 🙂
@Jet L Here some extensive tips from personal experience on how to further increase bed adhesion and things good to know: -) Wash your build plate with brand quality dish soap (not the cheap stuff) after a few prints. Wiping it down with isopropyl alcohol is sufficient for most times but it tends to smear fats around instead of fully dissolving them. -) Use microfiber cloth. Paper and cotton towels leave tiny fibers on the build plate which can (almost negligibly) reduce bed adhesion due to them being like dust particles. Also cotton, paper etc. cloths are abrasive and can scratch the nice "holographic" build plates (they are cool, give them a try :). -) Was an eye-opener for me personally: (Any brand of) specialized glue for 3D printing. (NOT glue stick or hair spray, they reduce adhesion). Especially once you get into materials that warp, this will make your prints SO much more likely to be successful. They hold your part down in the corners like they are fused together with the build plate. Once the plate cools down the glue releases. Awesome. (I prefer 3DLAC Plus as small pump spray, to save space. Also I can refill it into even smaller pump spray bottles. Not a fan of the huge pressurized spray bottles that also make a mess. Additionally I use the touch application version (looks like a stick) when I don't want a spray-mess on the printer, when leaving the build plate on (also it's cheaper than the green Bambu stick). I ALWAYS use 3D printing glue when I print something long or important. -) Smooth PEI plates have higher bed adhesion. Textured PEI plates are mostly sufficient and are in many cases better for crazy sticky materials. Also they are more convenient, since the print releases easier once the plate has cooled down. But the overall bed adhesion of (hot) textured PEI is slightly worse. That is also why it needs to run 5°C hotter than the smooth PEI sheet (check out the parameters in Bambu Studio). The hotter PEI gets, the better it sticks to most filaments. -) Use a brim for tall prints, small footprints and/or sharp corners. The "Mouse Ear" option can save you a lot of work in post processing. (Check out Slant3D's 4min video: "Stop Using Brims, Do This Instead") This option is available in Orca Slicer, so I recommend using it for that alone. Also its basically 99% the same UI as Bambu Studio, just has slightly more options and novel techniques tend to get implemented faster there. -) Increasing extrusion width for the first layer (squeezing out fatter lines) can increase pressure and thus the material might bond better with the bed. Also it slightly increases surface area / reduces number of crevices. -) Similarly, reducing the first layer thickness might result in more application pressure, but I would not play around with that and stick to 50% nozzle diameter. -) Increasing bed temperature (and/or melting temperature for the first layer) can also increase bed adhesion. But you need to keep the plate at that hotter temperature for the whole print for it to keep the effect. -) Reducing first layer printing speed might also help, but honestly... I do the opposite on my A1-Minis and run fine with it :D -) Excellent point from you: Reducing printing speed has nothing to do with layer adhesion initially, BUT when printing fast the printer starts extruding inconsistently (makes waves, blobs, leaves residue) and when the print nozzle rushes over the part it scrapes over those structures and can knock the print of the build plate if bed adhesion was insufficient. -) In some cases rafts might help (ever had the need to use one yet). -) Ive also heard roughening up or "refreshing" build plates with sand paper can help adhesion, but I haven't tried that out myself. And finally The glue stick misconception: It is not used to make prints stick better! Glue stick is meant to create an interface layer between bed and print, so the print is able to release at all, if you printed with a crazy sticky material like TPU or PETG. In a sense you can say: glue stick's purpose in 3D printing is to take bed adhesion down a notch in a controlled way. Personally developed the following application method: Do not smear glue stick on the build plate directly like thick paste, like you see it in every video out there. It makes a mess, is a very inconsistent application method, you use a ton of glue stick unnecessarily, and it makes the thickness of the build plate vary (if you care). Instead spray the build plate with isopropyl alcohol first where the print will be. Spray a good amount, so that it does not evaporate in like 10 seconds. Now take the glue stick and gently glide with it over the surface. (This was not possible before.) With this you can now regulate the amount applied in a very fine way, since one pass leaves like 1/30 the amount of glue stick it would normally. The more often you pass over the same place now, the more glue stick gets dissolved in the alcohol and subsequently layer adhesion gets reduced in fractions of a level with each pass (up to some point). You could make a video about that method, since I've nobody seen using that so far. (Only once you tried it, verified it for yourself that it works and got a lot of experience of course, don't parrot tips just because they sound plausible). Also I've made my own "glue-stick spray" where I use 80% alcohol, 20% distilled water (I figured "since glue stick is water soluble") and dissolved roughly some 5% glue stick in that, trying to rip and squeeze it apart in the solution. Took a while. Heat helped. Doesn't spray well (squirts one jet) but it gets a bit higher concentrated solution on the plate faster. I use one finger to distribute the solution on the build plate then, since I intend to get reduced layer adhesion anyway when using it. First I thought of getting a silicone brush or something similar but turns out the things you have "on hand" are often the easiest to use 😄
I looked at the a1 Mini but my Kingroon kp3s already got small covered, I needed 250+ so went for the A1, Just the single spool version, Im extremely happy with it. After having Kingroons and Creality printers, the Bambu is a different level. not just a step up, but a complete staircase. If your new to 3D printing, Start here. You wont regret it.
Great Video! Just got my A1 mini and wasn’t sure about getting the AMS combo as a newbie to 3D printing, but decided to go for it! Your video makes me feel better about my combo decision. Receiving the printer, as a separate shipment, 4 days before the Bambu filament arrives is a bummer, and the sample doesn’t last long. I was looking at Elegoo on Amazon and should have just ordered it to get going, glad you mentioned a brand as I had no idea given all the different filaments. Thanks!
Great Video! Love the fact that you are making all these videos with the A1 Mini. I got the same 3D printer a few weeks ago and I have to say that I LOVE IT. Best printer for the price! Continue with these videos, I really like them!
My A1 mini has been hit and miss. It’s currently waiting on a new heatend assembly bc the filament blobbed, wasn’t detected and burnt out the thermometer sensor as it sat over night. For what was supposed to be plug and play, I’ve had a lot of issues with failed prints too. Hoping the upgrade to the A1 will help fix the issues.
I was just looking into buying this 3d printer and wasn't sure. this is really a useful and compact video that helps me enough. just subscribed to see more!
Solid review. I had a Neptune 3 Pro for a few months then got the 4 Pro. I'm pretty over Elegoo. Waiting to see what Bambu releases later this year / early next before I see what my next venture is. I'm 100% going Bambu though regardless. X1C or whatever is next. I can also agree Elegoo filament is very very good for the price. It's my go to.
Thank you! I moved on from elegoo and haven’t looked back or had a single regret switching to bambu. It will be interesting to see what they release later this year!
great video thank you. I just picked up an A1 Mini to add to my Prusa MK3S+ so I could do more rapid prototyping. Even though I have been 3D printing for several years, getting oriented in the bambu world has been a bit of a switch. Some things about this are SO much better!!! Hope I'm as happy after one month as you are....we'll see!
@@jet_lea SO many things to love about the A1 Mini!! I have printed the benchy and am now printing my first .stl of my own design over the Bambu Studio networking app. Remote printing is available for the Prusa too of course, but I never set it up, so there is a bit of an unfair comparison going on, but I can see now that just shooting a print straight from my laptop itself is a great improvement for me. So far the mini is kicking butt! It is much faster and has a zillion little improvements over the MK3. I suspect your advice will be correct for me too - - - I didn't get the AMS Combo and now I wish I had.... :\ Maybe there is a P1S with AMS in my future however LOL
Update: Ran out of filament midprint - was able to resume with new filament no problem - - - this experience alone was so much better than on Beatrice (my mk3). (maybe the mk4 or the prusa mini has nailed this equally well, feel like I may be unfair to Prusa in general, but whatever, AM LOVING HILDE (my A1 Mini!)
I've been looking at this printer recently as a way to get into 3d printing. I don't have a lot of space so I was thinking of shipping the auto feeder. Now less sure about that and might look at making apace for it. Thanks for the info!
So I went a different direction, albeit a harder road, but different. I bought a K1 from Microcenter. Ugh... 3 count them 3 K1 returns later, I was sick of Creality. I bought a Flashforge 5mPro with the money back from the K1 purchase. Awesome machine, absolutely no problems now for months. Got a second Flashforge, this time the 5m, built the enclosure, awesome as well, but 3 yr old cheap 250g silk PLA, yeah, some PLA is just crappy. Finally gave Creality a try again with the Ender 3 V3 KE, no probs with this Creality machine, its a TPU printing beast. Finally got myself a A1 after they fixed the heated build plate cable issue... Awesome machine as well, the print quality is above the V3 KE but below the Flashforge Core xy printers. I agree with you about the app on the phone, its awesome, the Creality app for the KE is almost a good, not gonna lie. I think my next printer will be the A1 mini with the AMS light. You've convinced me, but I'm probably going to install it on the A1.
HA. Same thing happened to me except with the A1. I bought the A1 without the AMS and started using it less than a week ago. It took "maybe" 2 days before I realized that I wanted the AMS unit. Problem is, it costs nearly twice as much to purchase a stand alone AMS versus purchasing it with a printer. I ended up ordering an A1-mini with AMS bundle which means my A1-mini cost me about CA$150 PLUS, I was able to pick up some spare parts and reduced price filament at the same time.
I love my A1 Mini, what a great machine. And you made the right choice getting the AMS lite, multicolor printing is super fun. I have Zero problems with the machine so far and i keep it running when i leave the house/ when i go to sleep as well. Just recently i have some concerns but not because of the machine itself, but some of filaments i have are poorly spooled and the printer stops printing when the filament gets stuck.
"The time is gonna pass anyways, so you might as well be printing as it passes." That pretty much sums up my philosophy on it. 😂 I've also been using Elegoo filament most of the time. I've had really good results with it.
I’m getting better! I took a few cad classes years back so i have a very basic knowledge but im no where near where I would like to be :) Always learning
I was confused like you about the Bambu studio software not working. If you read the fine print during the installation, you may notice that it needs a computer that supports Open GL 2.0 or above. My older laptop was only good for version 1.1 and although it loaded the Bambu Studio, it never could send files to the printer or see what the printer was doing. And probably some other features were missing, but there was no warning message, it just did not work. As soon as I got my "new to me" Lenovo ThinkPad P71, all those problems vanished. Of course, buying another laptop just to get Open GL 2.0 to work cost as much as the A1 combo itself, I still feel like it was a good investment because technology is never going to stop evolving and you either get on the train or you get left behind. Note- I will still have to find a way to play DVD's without my old laptop's DVD player, but you might find a laptop that still has that feature along with everything else you need. It probably won't be the P71 just FYI
Currently got a Ender 3 v2. Im so sick of the bed levelling issues and just the printer in general. honestly considering forking out the $400 aud to for the A1. Amazing review!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts man. I'm starting to go down the 3D printing rabbit hole and I'm looking for my first 3D printer. I'm tossing up between the Bambu Labs A1 and A1 mini. I know you mentioned the size difference not being significant, but do you think it's worth it if I upgrade to the A1 for peace of mind? (I'm pretty much only interested in functional prints).
Nice video, bro, as a small creator myself, I appreciate the effort you had put on this, I have been 3D printing for a little more than a year and I have like 8+ years when it comes to the 3D software part itself. I must say I am tired of Enders and I am really excited to have my product A1 Mini shipped very soon (although, I cannot afford the AMS at this point, even for the a1 mini I had to really work hard to earn a decent saving living in a 3rd world country) Regardless of all those sad stories haha, this is another cool review I found on UA-cam. In excitement on my wait, I have probably become an expert at reviews of Bambu Lab A1 mini xD having unintentionally watched too many videos on it, and I am really excited about all the feedbacks ya'll provided. Looking forward to create more awesome stuff with it. If you would like to print some of my exclusive upcoming models, would love to create em for you, or collabs as such :D Lemme know if you'd be interested fam!! GG
That’s awesome! You’re gonna love the bambu printers, it’s like a breath of fresh air compared to the ender printers. Thank you for checking the video out and I will definitely let you know if i need and modeling in the future!
I bought an Ender 3 clone a few years ago and it was ok but that setup with the paper bed leveling was such a pain. The A1 mini together with the Bambu Studio software is a big upgrade. I have also been leveling up my skills with 3D CAD design so there is minimal friction to spin up a design and go print it out now.
Actually I have both the A1 mini with AMS light and the new Kobra 3 Combo. Both work well and do a fantastic quality. However, the Kobra 3 Combo is only 60 bucks more than the A1 mini combo at the moment. Not only is it bigger (like the A1), but the ACE pro is more like the AMS, not the AMS light, and additionally has an integrated filament dryer. So at the moment I would recommend the Kobra 3 combo instead of the A1 / A1mini. For the A1 mini there is a quite nice enclosure available - Prusas enclosure for the Prusa mini is a perfect fit. You need to use a bit longer bowden tubes and an extension cable to put the AMS light onto the top of the enclosure, but it is a very nice setup I can realy recommend. Of course prusas enclosures are not cheap. But I got a 50€ coupon and for me it is worth the 150€. Esp. as I barely heat in winter, so they need enclosures.
Just got the A1 mini without the AMS system. I have a generic PLA which has a range of 190-210 degrees Celsius. Is it easy to use different materials? What are the different things you had to change in the slicer and the physical printer itself using the touchscreen interface? This is my first print ever with the machine using a generic material. Please recommend.
I would use the generic settings built in to the printer. I wouldn’t mess with any slicer settings if i don’t have to. when you use the touchscreen, tell the printer exactly what filament you’re using. for example, Generic PLA. 99% of the time the generic settings are just fine
Great videos! I am waiting for my A1 mini. It probably arrives on friday. I am impatient to print all the accessories you suggest (very great choice!) to improve them.
I ordered the printer by itself. It in route from CA to CO right now. I noticed that you can't purchase the AMS lite to add on period. How did you do that? 😮
You can purchase the ams lite separate, unless they changed that in the last month. It should be on the bambu website under “printers>automatic materials systems>ams lite”
Good stuff - love the D'backs print. On the Elegoo pla, did you set it up as a custom filament or are you calling it generic? Love to know the settings you used. Thanks for the content.
The timing of this video is interesting... looks like it was posted 18 hours ago, which is exactly when my mini was delivered to my front door. It's sitting here in front of me, still in the box. Tempted to open it right now but I don't have time to set it up until this coming weekend
Coming from Anet A8, upgrades, tinkering. Ender 4 and 5, corexy conversions. then I got an A1 mini to hold me over while I dismantle ender 5 do make a mercury zero g build, but I was so blown away I bought an A1 instead.
6:10, the .05 tolerance part actually get fused in the slicer because of a setting called "slice gap closing radius", i printed a similar test on my a1 mini after setting it to .025 and it worked kinda crazy that you started a month ago already
@@jet_lea no problem, I only found out about it after watching the video where you showed it, slicing one myself and going "the model has a gap, why is the slicer filling it in?"
Love your vidoes i just got the A1 mini on the 16th of this month i didnt no what the hell i was doing my niebor has the bigger model and he showed me some steps i got to tell you i love this thing i just wanted to ask what is the filament you purchase im on a buget you keep the videos coming your doing a great job stay safe.
I got the Mini as the A1 had just been recalled. No regrets though would like the extra size of the A1. Not got an AMS as not found anything I would use it for, yes I would like one. With regard to the video, nice lighting. What lamp do you use?
Thanks for checking it out! I totally agree with what you’re saying and to be honest i mainly use the ams system to avoid having to change filaments as much and i love it! as far as lighting i use 2 GVM lights as well as a Neatfi overhead lamp :)
I'd really love to sing praise like you, but two days ago something broke and I can't print at all with my A1. All sorts of error message to do with filament, the extruder or nozzle. I've checked everything and can't find the cause. Took the whole printing head apart. This'll be a good chance to test customer service even though I'd rather not have to. Until it happened, I was extremely happy with it, so I hope I can somehow get it fixed.
I’m sorry you’ve had so many issues with it. I personally haven’t had any experience with their customer service however I have heard good things. I’d be interested to hear back from you to find out the fix as well as your experience with the customer service
@@jet_lea customer service answered within 1 day (excellent!) and the problem was the filament tangle sensor. They are sending me a new one and for while I'm waiting, they showed me how to deactivate the sensor in the printer settings. There is one more issue with my AMS Lite I have to figure out, but that may be an issue with the ultimate enclosure I printed for it. Changing filaments is still problematic, but once it's changed, I can print normally. I'll let you know if I figure that one out. I've been printing since yesterday and my mood has drastically improved :) Currently, I'm printing anti-vibration TPU feet and we'll see if they help reduce noise.
Great video. Subbed. I don’t have your issues but I do think the cooling in the A1 lines are sub par. I print wargaming terrain and the overhangs of bridges on these little guys are just abysmal at normal speeds. I’ve not tried slowing it down but it massively ups the print times for me. Don’t have any issues with the software either but then I could just be lucky!
@@jet_lea adjusting the filament temps to the lower end of the suggest range for the PLA that I used and have set the slicer settings to basically have the fan on 100% at all times. This has helped a bit but my Neptune 4 absolutely leaves the A1 for dust when it comes to overhangs and bridging quality due to the blower fan on the arm that comes as standard. I’m hoping someone designs a new part fan vent for the A1 like they did the P1S. That might improve it further if someone manages to pull it off!
I have yet to buy the A1 Mini and I'm still wondering if the AMS lite that costs almost as much as the A1 mini itself is worth it to me, as I've never used a printer before and am interested in creating functional stuff. Also I'm thinking about painting stuff myself, if I actually want to have colors, though I have no experience in that either
I wondered the same thing when I first got my a1 mini and i found the convenience of not having to change rolls every time i wanted to swap colors to be worth it for me!
I have the A1 combo and it will spoil you for not having to paint anything or change filament to change colors yourself every 10 minutes. Just do it! You will thank me later! Right now I'm printing the fancy two color tool box on my A1. It''s amazing just to watch!
great video, i went with a1mini but without ams lite combo , price wise i wish i did now . … but i had purchaed the x1c with ams 2 weeks before ! i thought i would use the mini just for smaller projects , but its actually a great small form machine
“This 3d printer is like the Honda Civic of 3d printing” Right on man! Great description! So right now it’s $200 w/o ams. $350 w/ams. Paypal pay-in-4 (no interest) is available. I was considering the mini alone as my first printer but now I’m thinking I better get the combo?
If the combo is in your budget, you will not regret it. The convenience of not having to swap filament rolls every time i want to change colors was worth it for me!
@@jet_lea do you recommend any of the add-ons that are suggested when buying it? There is a “textured plate” offered, smaller nozzles, extra filaments. Should I add a roll of PETG or stick with PLA? I’m thinking maybe get some white mat pla because it will probably be easier to paint.
@TheFutureLooksGrimm I would recommend pla to begin with because it is the easiest to print and has the least amount of failed prints, at least for me. The matte colors help hide the layer lines as well. I have never used a different build plate so I can’t really say anything about that however I do recommend a .2mm and a .6mm nozzle for more detailed prints or larger prints!
@@jet_lea thanks for the help. I ordered the a1 mini! But I couldn’t afford the AMS. I used PayPal pay-in-4 as it is. I’ll just have to get it another time. I got a couple matte pla, a 0.2mm nozzle with it. I recently learned that the filament needs to be dried before using? So I’m looking at a dryer on Amazon.
@@jet_lea print quality is finee. its jsut scary to see it change position over the course of a few hours. scared it will fall off a shelf or something if i leave it running a whole night
I use IPA before each print because it’s quick and can be done right at the printer and there’s no need to dry it. Then every now and then I’ll clean it with dawn and warm water at the sink and dry it well. Been working great.
So how many rolls of filaments have you used up since you bought? Wondering what catastrophic fails will happen at it s end of life ( eg. A belt snaps)
I still haven’t finished a full roll of filament yet! I have one roll with about 10% left and 3 with over 50%. I am also very interested to see failures however I haven’t heard of very many
Just bought mine yesterday and I do regret not getting it first. Before I got my creality K1. But man it's REALLY good, a few nit picks here and there.
I live in a very dry climate so moisture isn’t a huge issue for me however i still store my filament in bags with desiccants. Currently looking into making a mod for the ams system that will help lower humidity
Love my mini so much that made me by an A1 3 months later 😂 quick tip for you. Print another one of those wire guides that you have on your tool head for the other side and thank me later. And let me tell you......
The success of Bambu Lab had changed one big thing: the other brands woke up and *fast printing with Klipper* (which Bambu simply copied) *has gotten normal.* You get the same fast results and a bigger build volume with an Ender 3 V3, a Sovol SV07 or a Anycubic Cobra 3. *So the A1 is nowhere near special!* But it's good for us all that that amateur 3D printing finally evolved further. I personally do like companies more that are open about their tech and I try to support local companies. With open software it would easily be possible to reduce that waste and that purge with every print. That's one very big disadvantage. It's simply a waste machine, especially with than AMS. But after all: all progress is good progress. And those AMS solutions are only the middle step to more advanced systems like the MMU3 from Prusa, Multiextruder Solutions and what's next to come.
I completely agree with everything you said. I’m very interested to see what bambu reveals later this year for their new printer, i’m hoping for a large volume printer similar to the neptune max
@@jet_lea Since big printers are a niche product because most people don't have the space in their home and don't always print stuff bigger than 220^3 ... I hope they work more on a Multiextruder if not an IDEX solution like a Sovol SV04. It could be 300^3 I wouldn't mind ... but those Bambu Lab guys came for the money ... they wanna sell lots of products. And the bigger the machine is, the less people gonna buy it. If someone wants to print 2 or 3 big things I would recommend just to buy an existing printer (like a Sovol SV07 plus), save some cash with that and not buy a big premium machine that prints mostly smaller stuff, costs 1000 bucks+ and needs that space in every dimension. Most big bedslingers can be disassembled quite easy.
14:14 Not sure what kind of person buys 3D printers these days but ninety-nine percent of what I'm looking for is highly-customized functional parts for the workplace and home repairs. I've yet to find a model on a sharing platform that fills a need.
I would still suggests getting the Combo, despite you're using multicolour or not. The convenience of loading the filament, the LESS hassle of changing filament (I know it sounds like Im lazy). But, coming from Ender 3 V3 SE... which I had... to do alot of tweaking, seasonal issue with needing maintenance and troubleshooting... With the A1... I barely had to do any maintenance, no leveling, no cleaning of filament, no time spending on unclog or declogging the extruder. The AMS helps as well, when you just need to prep filament for the next print. You can do it while the printer is printing as long as you're not touching the filament its using. Actually, right now Im actually considering getting A1 mini combo as well for 3rd printer. lol (My ender....... I will probably try to take my time to fix it ... while my Bambu is speed printing things all time) -_-
2month after buy A1 mini............. don't make a mistake by not buy a1mini combo ........i need to pay more than i hav to by not having the combo so worth it.
Yo, loved the video. I got the A1 mini as my first ever 3d printer about a week ago, and it has been basically perfect. I actually haven't had many of the issues that you mentioned in the video. I haven't cleaned my build plate with soap and water yet. I just run prints back to back after snapping off everything from the print before. I do have the textured build plate as it came with the 3d printer, and I only had 1 failed print (which was an extrusion issue). How does your build plate get dirty? Is it just random dust particles, or is it something different than that? Is this something I should watch out for in the future? Also, I've never had any issues with the Bambu Labs desktop application, but I do have a decently powerful PC - so that could be why I've seen different results. One issue that I do have is that when the printer does flow calibration, the filament always slips off the spool and gets stuck. I think I can get this fixed with the print that relocates the filament spool, which you mentioned in a previous video. Overall, the printer has been amazing and I definitely recommend anyone that wants to get into 3d printing to buy it over anything else on the market right now.
I’ve only had issues with the build plate after touching it to get a stuck print off. It’s rarely a problem, I just like to remove that factor by cleaning it almost every time with some isopropyl. For the bambu labs, i’ve been using a mac computer, maybe that’s the issue? As far as the issue you’ve been having, the relocation could definitely help however i’ve never experienced that specific issue myself. I completely agree with you, this is the printer to recommend!
Even though this guy looks like a serial killer, I really like him and his videos. Somehow he puts a good atmosphere while watching and I really enjoy watching him and found a lot of useful stuff for my A1 mini. Keep it bro. (hope you don't mind the joke at the first sentence :D )
What do you call a beginner printer? you had another machine previous. I bought my first printer (stand alone a1mini) 21 days ago and i ordered my second one ( a1mini combo, regretted not having ams lite ) yesterday. But i printed about 24/7 and 6h+ projects from day 1 😂😂😂
I meant as on u say u are no expert but a beginner so i was wondering what 3dprint experience u did have before the bambulab. You had a machine before so i'm curious how long u had that machine
As a 3D printer designer I am amazed and afraid at the same time. Bambu Lab has blown everybody out of the water by having high quality at such a cheap price, but I expect a lot of companies to go down in the next year just because they can't compete with the chinese price. I personally just bought inventory for our next batch of printers which I will now sell at parts price just because of this tiny disruptor. But at the same time, I am amazed how Bambu Lab has created a working ecosystem out of nowhere and made 3D printing accessible to a lot more people. I just hope that someday soon a european or american brand will stand up, create something comparable with a more open mindset at maximum 50% higher price and are able to find customers that value local development. Good luck with your channel and congrats on the quick growth!
I can't see a lot of companies going under. The majority of printer manufacturers are Chinese, so the pricing advantages Bambu has is lost on a lot of the others aside from Prusa and the voron squad.
What Bambu did, however, is light an atomic level fire under all these other manufacturers, and let them know that another ender 3 clone won't cut it any more. Bambu nailed the two most challenging aspects of 3d printing: reliability and ease of use. And now other companies are scrambling to catch up, and that benefits us as consumers. None of them have really caught up to bambu yet, but they're getting there.
I have four bambu printers in my house and they've all been reliable workhorses. Bambu deserves all the praise they get.
I agree! Good competition will only promote further innovation and aggressive pricing which every consumer will benefit from! Like you’re saying I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before other companies start releasing some truly impressive printers. Unfortunately just like everything else, there’s going to be few companies that hold the market until someone new can come along with new ideas
But it's 2x the price of a cheapo printer even without the mosaic clone ams(and a three3d is half of a cheapo printer).
Fdm printers just are fundamentally simple, inkjets are much more complex, yet cheaper.
To scale down price at this point you have to engineer the manufacturing more than the printer, a1 is essentially an optimized printrbot with benefits of large scale manufacturing.
It is an interesting story about bambu labs. It was a Kickstarter project founded by 5 ex-DJI engineers. They did everything right including having nice technical illustrated manuals, a wiki technical website, great free 3d library, great industrial design aesthetics,etc I would not be surprised the Billionaire DJI boss has invested into the company by now. Injection moulds as found on the a1 mini is not cheap as is the color touchscreen, etc. Most 3d printers still look like a few pieces of strewn together extrusions...not a thing of beauty.
this is very well said. Bambu printers are pretty much the only 3d printers which also serve as decorations
Doing the whole vid while it was printing in the background is a game changer. They should hire you as a rep
I definitely wouldn’t mind 👀
"Time is gonna pass anyways, so you might as well be printing" - Fantastic 🤣 Thanks for the vid, hope mine arrives soon, can't wait to start.
I've had 2 P1s's for about a year and was looking to add a 3rd.
Great Video! I now have an A1 Mini heading my way this week.
Huge thanks on your focus on this tiny powerhouse of a machine.
Can I ask what your printing and selling to need three printer? I want to start but they would need to earn their keep. Would love to chat privately plz
It's amazing to see such a small channel creating such nice content. If you had 200k subscribers I'd totally get the high level content, but someone who just started a channel making something that good? Dude, you have a gift, use it to keep spreading information! Keep it up!
Thank you! I hope to one day be at that level, I love making these videos so they won’t stop anytime soon:)
You do a great job with the videos, it's like you are a natural. Super job!
I try, thank you very much!
This video is honestly what made me pull the trigger. I love my p1s with a recent ams I got. But I’ve got Bambu fever with these sales. So thanks for helping me go after the a1 mini combo
The a1 mini is a great machine!
Excellent review, keep it up!
The mini was my first bambu printer too, and now I have two A1s and two minis. Adding an AMS lite to the arsenal very soon.
They are quite addicting:)
Hey, can I ask if there's a print quality difference between the A1s and minis, please?
@@InklanUtterfield No difference in print quality, just build volume. 🙂
@@NWGR thank you, I've seen a few people say that the mini's a bit better since it's moving around less weight and I was worried as I'm looking to get the A1 :)
@@InklanUtterfield No problem. Maybe there would be a difference if you do a full volume print on the A1 that's really tall. but even then usually all you need to do is slow down the print. For all intents and purposed though, build quality is excellent on both. You can't go wrong with either. 🙂
@Jet L Here some extensive tips from personal experience on how to further increase bed adhesion and things good to know:
-) Wash your build plate with brand quality dish soap (not the cheap stuff) after a few prints.
Wiping it down with isopropyl alcohol is sufficient for most times but it tends to smear fats around instead of fully dissolving them.
-) Use microfiber cloth. Paper and cotton towels leave tiny fibers on the build plate which can (almost negligibly) reduce bed adhesion due to them being like dust particles. Also cotton, paper etc. cloths are abrasive and can scratch the nice "holographic" build plates (they are cool, give them a try :).
-) Was an eye-opener for me personally: (Any brand of) specialized glue for 3D printing. (NOT glue stick or hair spray, they reduce adhesion).
Especially once you get into materials that warp, this will make your prints SO much more likely to be successful.
They hold your part down in the corners like they are fused together with the build plate. Once the plate cools down the glue releases. Awesome.
(I prefer 3DLAC Plus as small pump spray, to save space. Also I can refill it into even smaller pump spray bottles. Not a fan of the huge pressurized spray bottles that also make a mess. Additionally I use the touch application version (looks like a stick) when I don't want a spray-mess on the printer, when leaving the build plate on (also it's cheaper than the green Bambu stick).
I ALWAYS use 3D printing glue when I print something long or important.
-) Smooth PEI plates have higher bed adhesion.
Textured PEI plates are mostly sufficient and are in many cases better for crazy sticky materials. Also they are more convenient, since the print releases easier once the plate has cooled down.
But the overall bed adhesion of (hot) textured PEI is slightly worse. That is also why it needs to run 5°C hotter than the smooth PEI sheet (check out the parameters in Bambu Studio). The hotter PEI gets, the better it sticks to most filaments.
-) Use a brim for tall prints, small footprints and/or sharp corners.
The "Mouse Ear" option can save you a lot of work in post processing. (Check out Slant3D's 4min video: "Stop Using Brims, Do This Instead")
This option is available in Orca Slicer, so I recommend using it for that alone. Also its basically 99% the same UI as Bambu Studio, just has slightly more options and novel techniques tend to get implemented faster there.
-) Increasing extrusion width for the first layer (squeezing out fatter lines) can increase pressure and thus the material might bond better with the bed. Also it slightly increases surface area / reduces number of crevices.
-) Similarly, reducing the first layer thickness might result in more application pressure, but I would not play around with that and stick to 50% nozzle diameter.
-) Increasing bed temperature (and/or melting temperature for the first layer) can also increase bed adhesion.
But you need to keep the plate at that hotter temperature for the whole print for it to keep the effect.
-) Reducing first layer printing speed might also help, but honestly... I do the opposite on my A1-Minis and run fine with it :D
-) Excellent point from you: Reducing printing speed has nothing to do with layer adhesion initially, BUT when printing fast the printer starts extruding inconsistently (makes waves, blobs, leaves residue) and when the print nozzle rushes over the part it scrapes over those structures and can knock the print of the build plate if bed adhesion was insufficient.
-) In some cases rafts might help (ever had the need to use one yet).
-) Ive also heard roughening up or "refreshing" build plates with sand paper can help adhesion, but I haven't tried that out myself.
And finally
The glue stick misconception:
It is not used to make prints stick better!
Glue stick is meant to create an interface layer between bed and print, so the print is able to release at all, if you printed with a crazy sticky material like TPU or PETG.
In a sense you can say: glue stick's purpose in 3D printing is to take bed adhesion down a notch in a controlled way.
Personally developed the following application method:
Do not smear glue stick on the build plate directly like thick paste, like you see it in every video out there.
It makes a mess, is a very inconsistent application method, you use a ton of glue stick unnecessarily, and it makes the thickness of the build plate vary (if you care).
Instead spray the build plate with isopropyl alcohol first where the print will be. Spray a good amount, so that it does not evaporate in like 10 seconds. Now take the glue stick and gently glide with it over the surface. (This was not possible before.)
With this you can now regulate the amount applied in a very fine way, since one pass leaves like 1/30 the amount of glue stick it would normally. The more often you pass over the same place now, the more glue stick gets dissolved in the alcohol and subsequently layer adhesion gets reduced in fractions of a level with each pass (up to some point).
You could make a video about that method, since I've nobody seen using that so far. (Only once you tried it, verified it for yourself that it works and got a lot of experience of course, don't parrot tips just because they sound plausible).
Also I've made my own "glue-stick spray" where I use 80% alcohol, 20% distilled water (I figured "since glue stick is water soluble") and dissolved roughly some 5% glue stick in that, trying to rip and squeeze it apart in the solution. Took a while. Heat helped.
Doesn't spray well (squirts one jet) but it gets a bit higher concentrated solution on the plate faster.
I use one finger to distribute the solution on the build plate then, since I intend to get reduced layer adhesion anyway when using it.
First I thought of getting a silicone brush or something similar but turns out the things you have "on hand" are often the easiest to use 😄
wow this is some really great info, thank you for taking the time to write this. I’m sure it’ll be super valuable to tons of people
Thanks for this video! I just bought mine last night and can't wait...subscribing to see what else you have going on with printing advice 😊
I looked at the a1 Mini but my Kingroon kp3s already got small covered, I needed 250+ so went for the A1, Just the single spool version, Im extremely happy with it. After having Kingroons and Creality printers, the Bambu is a different level. not just a step up, but a complete staircase. If your new to 3D printing, Start here. You wont regret it.
That is a great way to put it!
Get the AMS Lite if for nothing else than you don't have to keep changing filaments by hand!
Great Video! Just got my A1 mini and wasn’t sure about getting the AMS combo as a newbie to 3D printing, but decided to go for it! Your video makes me feel better about my combo decision.
Receiving the printer, as a separate shipment, 4 days before the Bambu filament arrives is a bummer, and the sample doesn’t last long. I was looking at Elegoo on Amazon and should have just ordered it to get going, glad you mentioned a brand as I had no idea given all the different filaments. Thanks!
Thats me my next purchase
You are making great content. Been thinking of getting and learning 3D printing, and thanks to you, I will. Keep up the great work.
Thank you! It’s been a very rewarding journey learning how to 3d print!
Great Video! Love the fact that you are making all these videos with the A1 Mini. I got the same 3D printer a few weeks ago and I have to say that I LOVE IT. Best printer for the price! Continue with these videos, I really like them!
Thanks for checking it out! Tons more a1 mini videos to come :)
My A1 mini has been hit and miss. It’s currently waiting on a new heatend assembly bc the filament blobbed, wasn’t detected and burnt out the thermometer sensor as it sat over night.
For what was supposed to be plug and play, I’ve had a lot of issues with failed prints too. Hoping the upgrade to the A1 will help fix the issues.
I’ve heard good things about their customer service, i hope they treat you well and get this fixed for you!
I was just looking into buying this 3d printer and wasn't sure. this is really a useful and compact video that helps me enough. just subscribed to see more!
thanks! hope it helped you make up your mind
Solid review. I had a Neptune 3 Pro for a few months then got the 4 Pro. I'm pretty over Elegoo. Waiting to see what Bambu releases later this year / early next before I see what my next venture is. I'm 100% going Bambu though regardless. X1C or whatever is next.
I can also agree Elegoo filament is very very good for the price. It's my go to.
Thank you! I moved on from elegoo and haven’t looked back or had a single regret switching to bambu. It will be interesting to see what they release later this year!
great video thank you. I just picked up an A1 Mini to add to my Prusa MK3S+ so I could do more rapid prototyping. Even though I have been 3D printing for several years, getting oriented in the bambu world has been a bit of a switch. Some things about this are SO much better!!! Hope I'm as happy after one month as you are....we'll see!
I hope so too! I know it’s early on but do you prefer the prusa?
@@jet_lea SO many things to love about the A1 Mini!! I have printed the benchy and am now printing my first .stl of my own design over the Bambu Studio networking app. Remote printing is available for the Prusa too of course, but I never set it up, so there is a bit of an unfair comparison going on, but I can see now that just shooting a print straight from my laptop itself is a great improvement for me. So far the mini is kicking butt! It is much faster and has a zillion little improvements over the MK3. I suspect your advice will be correct for me too - - - I didn't get the AMS Combo and now I wish I had.... :\ Maybe there is a P1S with AMS in my future however LOL
Update: Ran out of filament midprint - was able to resume with new filament no problem - - - this experience alone was so much better than on Beatrice (my mk3). (maybe the mk4 or the prusa mini has nailed this equally well, feel like I may be unfair to Prusa in general, but whatever, AM LOVING HILDE (my A1 Mini!)
Love this Vid. You rock. My A1 mini is in the mail and I can't wait!
I've been looking at this printer recently as a way to get into 3d printing. I don't have a lot of space so I was thinking of shipping the auto feeder. Now less sure about that and might look at making apace for it. Thanks for the info!
Just got the A1mini a week ago, awesome machine just love it, no issues with it, amazing machine.
That’s exactly right, simply amazing
So I went a different direction, albeit a harder road, but different. I bought a K1 from Microcenter. Ugh... 3 count them 3 K1 returns later, I was sick of Creality. I bought a Flashforge 5mPro with the money back from the K1 purchase. Awesome machine, absolutely no problems now for months. Got a second Flashforge, this time the 5m, built the enclosure, awesome as well, but 3 yr old cheap 250g silk PLA, yeah, some PLA is just crappy. Finally gave Creality a try again with the Ender 3 V3 KE, no probs with this Creality machine, its a TPU printing beast. Finally got myself a A1 after they fixed the heated build plate cable issue... Awesome machine as well, the print quality is above the V3 KE but below the Flashforge Core xy printers. I agree with you about the app on the phone, its awesome, the Creality app for the KE is almost a good, not gonna lie. I think my next printer will be the A1 mini with the AMS light. You've convinced me, but I'm probably going to install it on the A1.
Yeah, I have BL printers but the Flashforge 5m is interesting. It's the one printer I would consider for my next purchase. That and the Infimech TX.
HA. Same thing happened to me except with the A1. I bought the A1 without the AMS and started using it less than a week ago. It took "maybe" 2 days before I realized that I wanted the AMS unit. Problem is, it costs nearly twice as much to purchase a stand alone AMS versus purchasing it with a printer. I ended up ordering an A1-mini with AMS bundle which means my A1-mini cost me about CA$150 PLUS, I was able to pick up some spare parts and reduced price filament at the same time.
wow i should’ve done that as well, good thinking!
Very good Video , thanks. I bought the A1 Mini with the Ams Lite and i love it.
That’s awesome, thank you for checking it out!
I love my A1 Mini, what a great machine. And you made the right choice getting the AMS lite, multicolor printing is super fun.
I have Zero problems with the machine so far and i keep it running when i leave the house/ when i go to sleep as well. Just recently i have some concerns but not because of the machine itself, but some of filaments i have are poorly spooled and the printer stops printing when the filament gets stuck.
Oh no! I haven’t ran into any spool issues yet. I’m sure that’s annoying
Awesome video man, just ordered my mini! Subbed!
Thanks!
Thank you for another great video. Your videos are enjoyable and very informative.😊
Thank you! Glad you enjoy them
"The time is gonna pass anyways, so you might as well be printing as it passes." That pretty much sums up my philosophy on it. 😂 I've also been using Elegoo filament most of the time. I've had really good results with it.
Exactly! So far i’ve loved elegoo filament and have gone through a decent amount of rolls
Elegoo is the one filament I won't buy because of problems I had with it. It might have just been a humidity problem, though.
I have one due to arrive on Sunday! Have you learned how to design your own prints?
I’m getting better! I took a few cad classes years back so i have a very basic knowledge but im no where near where I would like to be :) Always learning
Dude, I love this vid. Getting my A1 Mini tomorrow. Looking forward to sharing the journey with ya! #subbed
Awesome! Thank you!
I was confused like you about the Bambu studio software not working. If you read the fine print during the installation, you may notice that it needs a computer that supports Open GL 2.0 or above. My older laptop was only good for version 1.1 and although it loaded the Bambu Studio, it never could send files to the printer or see what the printer was doing. And probably some other features were missing, but there was no warning message, it just did not work. As soon as I got my "new to me" Lenovo ThinkPad P71, all those problems vanished. Of course, buying another laptop just to get Open GL 2.0 to work cost as much as the A1 combo itself, I still feel like it was a good investment because technology is never going to stop evolving and you either get on the train or you get left behind. Note- I will still have to find a way to play DVD's without my old laptop's DVD player, but you might find a laptop that still has that feature along with everything else you need. It probably won't be the P71 just FYI
I’ve been using a mac and surprisingly i recently updated the mac as well as bambu studios and almost all of my crashing issues have gone away!
Very useful and interesting video. Thanks for the advice.
I've been sitting with one in my cart wondering if I should or not. Just helped me decide. Thanks.
No problem!
Another great video well done keep them coming UK 👍
Thank you! Much Love
I got one a week or so ago and absolutly love it so far no issue other than the softwear crashing.
Hopefully it’ll be fixed in a future update
Absolutely love my A1C but I wanted a second printer for smaller faster parts so I just ordered a mini today.👍
That’s awesome, let me know what you think about it!
@@jet_lea Arriving tomorrow. 👍
Currently got a Ender 3 v2. Im so sick of the bed levelling issues and just the printer in general. honestly considering forking out the $400 aud to for the A1. Amazing review!
You won’t regret it.
Thank you for sharing your experience.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts man. I'm starting to go down the 3D printing rabbit hole and I'm looking for my first 3D printer. I'm tossing up between the Bambu Labs A1 and A1 mini. I know you mentioned the size difference not being significant, but do you think it's worth it if I upgrade to the A1 for peace of mind? (I'm pretty much only interested in functional prints).
I’ve had my a1 since December and just now found out you can skip objects… Thanks so much 😂 i would’ve never known that without watching this
It’s not as well known as it should be!
@@jet_lea agreed
Nice video, bro, as a small creator myself, I appreciate the effort you had put on this, I have been 3D printing for a little more than a year and I have like 8+ years when it comes to the 3D software part itself. I must say I am tired of Enders and I am really excited to have my product A1 Mini shipped very soon (although, I cannot afford the AMS at this point, even for the a1 mini I had to really work hard to earn a decent saving living in a 3rd world country) Regardless of all those sad stories haha, this is another cool review I found on UA-cam. In excitement on my wait, I have probably become an expert at reviews of Bambu Lab A1 mini xD having unintentionally watched too many videos on it, and I am really excited about all the feedbacks ya'll provided. Looking forward to create more awesome stuff with it. If you would like to print some of my exclusive upcoming models, would love to create em for you, or collabs as such :D Lemme know if you'd be interested fam!! GG
That’s awesome! You’re gonna love the bambu printers, it’s like a breath of fresh air compared to the ender printers. Thank you for checking the video out and I will definitely let you know if i need and modeling in the future!
@@jet_lea 🙌🙌 Looking forward to it, hope to see your contents too, GG
I bought an Ender 3 clone a few years ago and it was ok but that setup with the paper bed leveling was such a pain. The A1 mini together with the Bambu Studio software is a big upgrade. I have also been leveling up my skills with 3D CAD design so there is minimal friction to spin up a design and go print it out now.
That’s awesome! I totally agree, i’m over the paper manual bed leveling and i’m slowly re-learning cad as well
I just replaced 2 ender 3s with a P1S, its comical how much better Bambu is.
@Fureinku It’s extremely impressive how innovative they are
Actually I have both the A1 mini with AMS light and the new Kobra 3 Combo. Both work well and do a fantastic quality. However, the Kobra 3 Combo is only 60 bucks more than the A1 mini combo at the moment. Not only is it bigger (like the A1), but the ACE pro is more like the AMS, not the AMS light, and additionally has an integrated filament dryer.
So at the moment I would recommend the Kobra 3 combo instead of the A1 / A1mini.
For the A1 mini there is a quite nice enclosure available - Prusas enclosure for the Prusa mini is a perfect fit. You need to use a bit longer bowden tubes and an extension cable to put the AMS light onto the top of the enclosure, but it is a very nice setup I can realy recommend. Of course prusas enclosures are not cheap. But I got a 50€ coupon and for me it is worth the 150€. Esp. as I barely heat in winter, so they need enclosures.
Wow i never realized the prices for the 2 were so close. That’s actually really great to know about the enclosure, i might have to check it out!
good video man!
Appreciate it!
Just got the A1 mini without the AMS system. I have a generic PLA which has a range of 190-210 degrees Celsius.
Is it easy to use different materials? What are the different things you had to change in the slicer and the physical printer itself using the touchscreen interface?
This is my first print ever with the machine using a generic material. Please recommend.
I would use the generic settings built in to the printer. I wouldn’t mess with any slicer settings if i don’t have to. when you use the touchscreen, tell the printer exactly what filament you’re using. for example, Generic PLA. 99% of the time the generic settings are just fine
Mine is arriving next week, and I can't wait 😄
Hope you enjoy it!
Great videos! I am waiting for my A1 mini. It probably arrives on friday. I am impatient to print all the accessories you suggest (very great choice!) to improve them.
Thank you! and thank you for checking the videos out, you’re gonna love the printer :)
I ordered the printer by itself. It in route from CA to CO right now. I noticed that you can't purchase the AMS lite to add on period. How did you do that? 😮
You can purchase the ams lite separate, unless they changed that in the last month. It should be on the bambu website under “printers>automatic materials systems>ams lite”
Good stuff - love the D'backs print. On the Elegoo pla, did you set it up as a custom filament or are you calling it generic? Love to know the settings you used. Thanks for the content.
I’ve been using it as generic pla however I also noticed that the standard bambu pla setting seems to work great as well!
The timing of this video is interesting... looks like it was posted 18 hours ago, which is exactly when my mini was delivered to my front door. It's sitting here in front of me, still in the box. Tempted to open it right now but I don't have time to set it up until this coming weekend
You will not regret setting it up early 👀
Don't think about it, just set it up, it's not super long according to people. You'd be surprised how much time you have when you don't think about it
The only failure I’ve had with a good first layer was a tall skinny print that fell over. Adding a brim fixed that.
I haven’t had to add a brim to anything yet but I also haven’t printed anything too tall!
@@jet_lea Brims can also help if you have a big flat piece that lifts up on the edges by the time the print is done.
I noticed Jet added the handle to the Mini. I would recommend that for an early mod.
I would as well!
Coming from Anet A8, upgrades, tinkering. Ender 4 and 5, corexy conversions.
then I got an A1 mini to hold me over while I dismantle ender 5 do make a mercury zero g build, but I was so blown away I bought an A1 instead.
It seems like bambu has a way of winning people over!
6:10, the .05 tolerance part actually get fused in the slicer because of a setting called "slice gap closing radius", i printed a similar test on my a1 mini after setting it to .025 and it worked
kinda crazy that you started a month ago already
That’s really good to know, I had no idea. I have so much to learn about bambu studios
@@jet_lea no problem, I only found out about it after watching the video where you showed it, slicing one myself and going "the model has a gap, why is the slicer filling it in?"
with your elegoo filament. iv noticed a lot of issues with it. what temps are you printing at?
that’s weird, im using standard “generic pla” settings, haven’t changed a thing. what kind of issues are you having?
Love your vidoes i just got the A1 mini on the 16th of this month i didnt no what the hell i was doing my niebor has the bigger model and he showed me some steps i got to tell you i love this thing i just wanted to ask what is the filament you purchase im on a buget you keep the videos coming your doing a great job stay safe.
I use elegoo filament! It’s great filament and it’s often on sale on amazon
I got the Mini as the A1 had just been recalled. No regrets though would like the extra size of the A1. Not got an AMS as not found anything I would use it for, yes I would like one.
With regard to the video, nice lighting. What lamp do you use?
Thanks for checking it out! I totally agree with what you’re saying and to be honest i mainly use the ams system to avoid having to change filaments as much and i love it! as far as lighting i use 2 GVM lights as well as a Neatfi overhead lamp :)
Just ordered it myself. Guess I'm gonna find out all those things as well)
hope you like it!
I'd really love to sing praise like you, but two days ago something broke and I can't print at all with my A1. All sorts of error message to do with filament, the extruder or nozzle. I've checked everything and can't find the cause. Took the whole printing head apart. This'll be a good chance to test customer service even though I'd rather not have to. Until it happened, I was extremely happy with it, so I hope I can somehow get it fixed.
I’m sorry you’ve had so many issues with it. I personally haven’t had any experience with their customer service however I have heard good things. I’d be interested to hear back from you to find out the fix as well as your experience with the customer service
@@jet_lea customer service answered within 1 day (excellent!) and the problem was the filament tangle sensor. They are sending me a new one and for while I'm waiting, they showed me how to deactivate the sensor in the printer settings. There is one more issue with my AMS Lite I have to figure out, but that may be an issue with the ultimate enclosure I printed for it. Changing filaments is still problematic, but once it's changed, I can print normally. I'll let you know if I figure that one out.
I've been printing since yesterday and my mood has drastically improved :) Currently, I'm printing anti-vibration TPU feet and we'll see if they help reduce noise.
hi, good video, I'm just thinking of getting the printer alone but since watching this I might go for the combo. :P
if you’re able to get the combo you will definitely not regret it:)
I need the file to that spool holder on top
You can find it on my makerworld which is linked in the description :)
Great video. Subbed.
I don’t have your issues but I do think the cooling in the A1 lines are sub par. I print wargaming terrain and the overhangs of bridges on these little guys are just abysmal at normal speeds. I’ve not tried slowing it down but it massively ups the print times for me.
Don’t have any issues with the software either but then I could just be lucky!
Thanks! What have you tried that’s helped with overhangs??
@@jet_lea adjusting the filament temps to the lower end of the suggest range for the PLA that I used and have set the slicer settings to basically have the fan on 100% at all times. This has helped a bit but my Neptune 4 absolutely leaves the A1 for dust when it comes to overhangs and bridging quality due to the blower fan on the arm that comes as standard. I’m hoping someone designs a new part fan vent for the A1 like they did the P1S. That might improve it further if someone manages to pull it off!
@noticer786 Good to know, thanks for the info!
I have yet to buy the A1 Mini and I'm still wondering if the AMS lite that costs almost as much as the A1 mini itself is worth it to me, as I've never used a printer before and am interested in creating functional stuff. Also I'm thinking about painting stuff myself, if I actually want to have colors, though I have no experience in that either
I wondered the same thing when I first got my a1 mini and i found the convenience of not having to change rolls every time i wanted to swap colors to be worth it for me!
I have the A1 combo and it will spoil you for not having to paint anything or change filament to change colors yourself every 10 minutes. Just do it! You will thank me later! Right now I'm printing the fancy two color tool box on my A1. It''s amazing just to watch!
@@MultiTman1000 alright yea multiple people recommended the combo I will get it
Thank you for another great video. 😊
Thanks for watching!
Where did you buy the AMS Lite separate? I've been looking for one, Bambu Lab is only showing it with the mini and I already have that.
it’s on the bambu website under “printers > automatic materials system > ams lite”
Good advice. I should have checked this video before getting the A1 Mini w/o AMS. The regret hit during the first week with the printer. Oh shait.
Same thing happened to me
Have you experienced some tacking noise when retracting ?
I have not personally noticed anything. Is it causing print failures?
great video, i went with a1mini but without ams lite combo , price wise i wish i did now . … but i had purchaed the x1c with ams 2 weeks before ! i thought i would use the mini just for smaller projects , but its actually a great small form machine
I’ve heard that a lot, it can truly stand on its own as a 3d printer!
“This 3d printer is like the Honda Civic of 3d printing” Right on man! Great description! So right now it’s $200 w/o ams. $350 w/ams. Paypal pay-in-4 (no interest) is available. I was considering the mini alone as my first printer but now I’m thinking I better get the combo?
definitely the combo!👍🏼
If the combo is in your budget, you will not regret it. The convenience of not having to swap filament rolls every time i want to change colors was worth it for me!
@@jet_lea do you recommend any of the add-ons that are suggested when buying it? There is a “textured plate” offered, smaller nozzles, extra filaments. Should I add a roll of PETG or stick with PLA? I’m thinking maybe get some white mat pla because it will probably be easier to paint.
@TheFutureLooksGrimm I would recommend pla to begin with because it is the easiest to print and has the least amount of failed prints, at least for me. The matte colors help hide the layer lines as well. I have never used a different build plate so I can’t really say anything about that however I do recommend a .2mm and a .6mm nozzle for more detailed prints or larger prints!
@@jet_lea thanks for the help. I ordered the a1 mini! But I couldn’t afford the AMS. I used PayPal pay-in-4 as it is. I’ll just have to get it another time. I got a couple matte pla, a 0.2mm nozzle with it. I recently learned that the filament needs to be dried before using? So I’m looking at a dryer on Amazon.
Thanks for the great reviews and update.
Thank YOU for checking it out!
The only issue I have had with it so far that bothered me is that it shakes so much during infill it walks across the desk
I’ve definitely noticed some shake but never enough to move the machine, does it effect print quality?
@@jet_lea print quality is finee. its jsut scary to see it change position over the course of a few hours. scared it will fall off a shelf or something if i leave it running a whole night
What do you use to clean your build plate? IPA or soap and water?
Just soap and water but make sure you rinse it and dry it good before putting it back on
I use IPA personally, don't need much. just to remove oils that come from your fingers and impair bed adhesion.
I use IPA and have had great success
I use IPA before each print because it’s quick and can be done right at the printer and there’s no need to dry it. Then every now and then I’ll clean it with dawn and warm water at the sink and dry it well. Been working great.
So how many rolls of filaments have you used up since you bought? Wondering what catastrophic fails will happen at it s end of life ( eg. A belt snaps)
I still haven’t finished a full roll of filament yet! I have one roll with about 10% left and 3 with over 50%. I am also very interested to see failures however I haven’t heard of very many
Have you noticed any spike in your electric bill?
Can share a link with the filament u use?
Just added an amazon link to the description!
after 1 month is too short. What after 6 month or better a year?
I'm sure everything will become a lot more concrete after more time :)
Great video! Subscribed
Awesome, thank you!
Printers on its way 😊🎉
Just bought mine yesterday and I do regret not getting it first. Before I got my creality K1. But man it's REALLY good, a few nit picks here and there.
Exactly! This printer stands out even more when being compared to other similar products :)
What do you due about moisture?
I live in a very dry climate so moisture isn’t a huge issue for me however i still store my filament in bags with desiccants. Currently looking into making a mod for the ams system that will help lower humidity
@@jet_lea I’m thinking of getting a ams, and a method to keep the filament dry on the spool would be great. 👍
Love my mini so much that made me by an A1 3 months later 😂 quick tip for you. Print another one of those wire guides that you have on your tool head for the other side and thank me later. And let me tell you......
I love my mini so much i may have also purchased another printer 😳
@@jet_lea 😂
Nice review man
Glad you enjoyed it!
The success of Bambu Lab had changed one big thing: the other brands woke up and *fast printing with Klipper* (which Bambu simply copied) *has gotten normal.*
You get the same fast results and a bigger build volume with an Ender 3 V3, a Sovol SV07 or a Anycubic Cobra 3. *So the A1 is nowhere near special!*
But it's good for us all that that amateur 3D printing finally evolved further.
I personally do like companies more that are open about their tech and I try to support local companies. With open software it would easily be possible to reduce that waste and that purge with every print. That's one very big disadvantage. It's simply a waste machine, especially with than AMS.
But after all: all progress is good progress.
And those AMS solutions are only the middle step to more advanced systems like the MMU3 from Prusa, Multiextruder Solutions and what's next to come.
I completely agree with everything you said. I’m very interested to see what bambu reveals later this year for their new printer, i’m hoping for a large volume printer similar to the neptune max
@@jet_lea Since big printers are a niche product because most people don't have the space in their home and don't always print stuff bigger than 220^3 ... I hope they work more on a Multiextruder if not an IDEX solution like a Sovol SV04.
It could be 300^3 I wouldn't mind ... but those Bambu Lab guys came for the money ... they wanna sell lots of products. And the bigger the machine is, the less people gonna buy it.
If someone wants to print 2 or 3 big things I would recommend just to buy an existing printer (like a Sovol SV07 plus), save some cash with that and not buy a big premium machine that prints mostly smaller stuff, costs 1000 bucks+ and needs that space in every dimension.
Most big bedslingers can be disassembled quite easy.
may just be for the shot but it seems you might be better off to turn the AMS to face more towards your printer rather than away from it.
Just for the better angle :)
14:14 Not sure what kind of person buys 3D printers these days but ninety-nine percent of what I'm looking for is highly-customized functional parts for the workplace and home repairs.
I've yet to find a model on a sharing platform that fills a need.
Should I buy it am still with ender 3 😢
you will not be disappointed if you do
A1 Mini Combo or A1 Standard?
That’s a good question, I love my a1 mini combo but i would not mind having more build volume
I would still suggests getting the Combo, despite you're using multicolour or not. The convenience of loading the filament, the LESS hassle of changing filament (I know it sounds like Im lazy). But, coming from Ender 3 V3 SE... which I had... to do alot of tweaking, seasonal issue with needing maintenance and troubleshooting...
With the A1... I barely had to do any maintenance, no leveling, no cleaning of filament, no time spending on unclog or declogging the extruder. The AMS helps as well, when you just need to prep filament for the next print. You can do it while the printer is printing as long as you're not touching the filament its using.
Actually, right now Im actually considering getting A1 mini combo as well for 3rd printer. lol
(My ender....... I will probably try to take my time to fix it ... while my Bambu is speed printing things all time) -_-
Thanks!
Great video.
Thanks for checking it out!
Thanks for sharing. 👍👍👍
Thanks for watching!
My guy 👌💯
thanks for checking out the video!
Thank you
no, thank you
The A1/A1 Mini AMS can't print all the filaments you mention right off the bat.
oh no! What can’t it print?
I too am guilty of forgetting to clean my build plate.
it definitely happens 😬
I have just got the anycubic kobra 3 colour. a good machine, cheaper and has a dryer in the filament holder.
Definitely a great competing product, I would love to compare them one day!
2month after buy A1 mini............. don't make a mistake by not buy a1mini combo ........i need to pay more than i hav to by not having the combo so worth it.
yes, if you can afford the combo you will not regret it!
Yo, loved the video. I got the A1 mini as my first ever 3d printer about a week ago, and it has been basically perfect.
I actually haven't had many of the issues that you mentioned in the video. I haven't cleaned my build plate with soap and water yet. I just run prints back to back after snapping off everything from the print before. I do have the textured build plate as it came with the 3d printer, and I only had 1 failed print (which was an extrusion issue). How does your build plate get dirty? Is it just random dust particles, or is it something different than that? Is this something I should watch out for in the future?
Also, I've never had any issues with the Bambu Labs desktop application, but I do have a decently powerful PC - so that could be why I've seen different results.
One issue that I do have is that when the printer does flow calibration, the filament always slips off the spool and gets stuck. I think I can get this fixed with the print that relocates the filament spool, which you mentioned in a previous video.
Overall, the printer has been amazing and I definitely recommend anyone that wants to get into 3d printing to buy it over anything else on the market right now.
I’ve only had issues with the build plate after touching it to get a stuck print off. It’s rarely a problem, I just like to remove that factor by cleaning it almost every time with some isopropyl. For the bambu labs, i’ve been using a mac computer, maybe that’s the issue? As far as the issue you’ve been having, the relocation could definitely help however i’ve never experienced that specific issue myself. I completely agree with you, this is the printer to recommend!
Even though this guy looks like a serial killer, I really like him and his videos. Somehow he puts a good atmosphere while watching and I really enjoy watching him and found a lot of useful stuff for my A1 mini. Keep it bro. (hope you don't mind the joke at the first sentence :D )
I’ll take the support! 😂
A wrecking ball without Miley Cyrus
What do you call a beginner printer? you had another machine previous.
I bought my first printer (stand alone a1mini) 21 days ago and i ordered my second one ( a1mini combo, regretted not having ams lite ) yesterday. But i printed about 24/7 and 6h+ projects from day 1 😂😂😂
in my opinion a beginner friendly printer is one that requires zero tweaking or problem solving to get it to work and the a1 mini is exactly that!
I meant as on u say u are no expert but a beginner so i was wondering what 3dprint experience u did have before the bambulab. You had a machine before so i'm curious how long u had that machine