Finally after much prevarication I am getting ready to place an order for the A1 Combo! I am in the UK so the accessories etc seem to differ and with less choice available than in some other countries, so I have to go with what is available. I am a complete newbie to 3D printing, so please be gentle with me, I have been studying the various forums (which I will post this enquiry to) and the Bambu Lab Wiki!
I would like some advice as to which accessories to purchase with the printer and also which initial filament to get. I am going to stick with Bambu Lab filaments initially in order to try and reduce my learning curve!
My shopping list at present is:
Bambu Lab A1 3D Printer Combo
Accessories
Filament
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PLA Tough with Spool – Vermillion Red
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PLA Tough with Spool – Black
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PLA Tough with Spool – White
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PLA Tough with Spool – Lavender Blue
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PLA Tough with Spool – Light Blue
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PLA Tough with Spool – Silver
All at £26.99 - £9.00 discount = £17.99
With regard to the suggested accessories list is there anything else I should add? I was wondering about another plate, but I am unsure which plate is supplied with the printer, I have watched some unboxing videos and the supplied one appears to be gold, so is it the Bambu Textured PEI plate as shown here ? Both of the high temperature and the cool plate are out of stock at present.
Regarding the filament, my main reason for ordering the PLA Tough rather than PLA Basic is that many PLA Basic colours seem to be currently out of stock on the UK website at least.
I would be interested as to opinions as to the difference between Tough and Basic?
I note from the web site that PLA Tough is to be discontinued. I assume that PLA Tough and Basic can be used together and would bond to each other? Looking at the Bambu Labs website the Hex Codes for say grey in each of the type is different so I assume that the colours are also slightly different between the 2 types of filament?
Can anyone tell me the correct colour filament to order to match the colours of the A1 printer?
A lengthy post, for which I apologise, but I am sure that there will be many helpful people who will offer their sage and knowledgeable advice for which I am grateful.
Michael
you already get two spare cutter heads and one spare wiper with the printer, so the spare cutters arent strictly neccesary to begin with. ive no clue how long they actually last but i’d imagine they last a very long time as long as you dont use abrasive filament.
I’ve never used the Tough, but heard it’s PLA+…but Bambu put out a notice that it is now discontinued…once a color sells out, it’s gone.
The hotend kit is a good choice IMO
You really won’t need the cutters for a while, there are two spares in the kit. Also not really sure why you want a spare AMS hub? It’s not the kind of thing that should fail easily.
If you are considering top-mounting the AMS, do get the hardware kit for it.
I’d also consider getting a roll of PETG at the discount price. PETG can be more tricky to print with, but after comparing prints with PETG and PLA Tough, PETG is a better choice for structural parts, especially if they may need a small mount of flex. And when you get it printing well, the prints are very nice.
I’m considering picking up another print plate, just so I can set the machine working on another print while the first one is cooling.
dnsmayhem Thank you for your reply.
My only reason for thinking about the AMS hub was that I saw a video where it got blocked and the person had some issues in clearing it. I thought that a spare one would allow a more rapid turn around and the blocked one could be cleared in slow time. Also am I correct in thinking that the same hub is used (with 4 inputs) irrespective whether the AMS is being used or not, with only one of the inputs being used with a single spool holder?
The only reason for getting additional cutters was not having to pay the postage when I do need them.
I was avoiding other than PLA filament purely because of my complete lack of knowledge of 3D printing. But I will take on board your comments. I note that there are 3 types of PETG on the Bambu site; PETG-Basic, PETG-CF and PETG Translucent. Any thoughts as to which would be the most suitable for a newbie like me.
You mention getting another print plate, can you confirm which plate the A1 come with?
Again thank you for your advice.
Michael
Destiny Thank you for your response. The only reason for getting additional cutters was not having to pay the postage when I do need them.
Regards
Michael
The hub is a “dumb” part. Just a 4-into-1 funnel, so to speak. I guess you could have issues with it, but IMO, would have to be either a manufacturing flaw, or something truly weird.
PETG-CF is pretty much pointless unless you are a Carbon Fiber nut.
PETG-Basic and PETG-Translucent pretty much print the same, so, it’s just a matter of choice depending on what you are doing.
The A1 comes with a double-sided textured pei plate. Unless you have issues with the texture, it’s a good plate IMO, and fairly foolproof. I’ve yet to use anything like glue stick, hairspray, etc to get a print to stick. Just keep it clean with soap and water, and keep your fingers off of it.
Last I looked, the other plate types, cool plate (don’t bother IMO) and smooth pei high-temp plate, are not currently available. I will probably pick up the smooth pei plate when it comes available, just to have the option. But smooth plates are more fussy, and do require use of glue on the plate.