Essential accessories for a first time A1 mini user?

Bambu Lab A Series Bambu Lab A1 mini
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Hello all,

i’ve decided to get into this hobby, by purchasing an A1 mini. Before I pull the trigger, I’d like to ask for any consumables/accessories (besides filament) that you think is necessary to be purchased with the printer itself.

I’ve set my mind on the A1 mini, due to its accessible price. I’m thinking of skipping the AMS lite, at least for now. My initial prints will probably be inserts for most of my board games. And I do expect to print a lot of useless crap, just because i can. :smiley:

My main goal is for the experience to be smooth and as trouble free as possible. I’m fairly technically proficient as an engineer, but I don’t know, for example, if the 0.4mm nozzle will be a limiting factor.

But what should I really buy with the printer, that will be useful? Grease, oil, different size nozzles, multiple print surfaces? should i purchase any glue to put on the bed before every print (tbh i’m surprised this is even a thing people need to do)? Any other must-have things I should get right from the get-go?

Also I’m thinking of buying 4kg of PLA as a beginning. Unless, this is too few?

Last but not least, based on what i’ve read here and there, i’m quite concerned about humidity. I live on an island and it’s quite humid here. 70-80% is typical and it can get to high 90s at some point. I’ve read that moisture in the fillament can be a detrimental factor to a smooth print, so if you have any advice on how to get ahead of that before hand, i’d appreciate it. And how sensitive is the PLA? if i leave the in-use spool on the printer for, let’s say 5 days will it be ruined?

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Worthwhile purchase:

  • Bambu Smooth PEI Plate - Better adhesion, and besides, sometimes you just want a smooth surface
  • Nozzle 0.2 - but only if you really want to print the tiniest details; this will significantly increase the print time. Useful for text.
  • Vacuum bags

I’d say the smooth plate is almost essential; the 0.2 nozzle is only really useful if you want to print miniatures, for example - it’s pretty much useless for standard projects. Also, vacuum bags - they’re cheap and pretty much a must-have.

The printer come with one tube of each.

Thanks to modern plates, the days of using adhesive are over. When adhesive is used, it’s not because it sticks better, as the name might suggest, but because it’s easier to remove. It serves as a kind of temporary layer for the printer plate. If you want to print with PLA, however, you don’t need adhesive.

Let me put it this way: moisture will eventually become an issue, but if you’ve just bought a new printer and plan to do a lot of printing anyway, I wouldn’t worry about it just yet. Later on: Yes! Right now? No, PLA doesn’t absorb that much moisture. It can become a problem, though!

But, as I said: I’d set up the printer first and then see how things go. Don’t leave the spools sitting around unused for days. Must-have: Vacuum bags!

No one can answer that for you, but here’s my general tip to get you started: White and black are practically essential. Everything else is a bonus. You could also see if you’d like to try adding some matte white PLA, for example, if you enjoy painting your prints. There is standard PLA, which has a slight gloss, and matte PLA.

Note: A Smooth PEI Plate might be cheaper from third-party manufacturers, but if you’re in the process of ordering an A1 Mini, you’ll often get a special discount, which makes it worth it. Take your time browsing the website; don’t rush. You can often add items through the A1 Mini order page at discount.

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Thank you very much for your reply! This is very helpful!

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One of my printers is a Mini. I love that thing!

Of the “must haves”…

And then there’s the “too fun to pass up”…

Enjoy the new adventure!

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As others already suggested:

A second build plate. It lets you continue printing while you wait for the earlier print to cool. A “cool” plate can reduce the power consumption, especially for long prints. I like the SuperTack one, but some people here seem to hate it …

Storage for your filament. Some people like vacuum bags, I prefer these round “tupperware” containers. They’re also stackable.

Search makerworld.com for “A1 mini” and see what useful add-ons and tweaks you can print to “hack” your printer. A poop deflector, poop bucket, things to re-route cables and tubes, etc.

In almost 2 years my A1 mini has not needed any replacement parts yet. Small containers with grease and oil are included and have been all I needed to use so far. But then again, it only gets a few hours of use per week. YMMV.

Have fun exploring the world of 3d printing!

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A lot of good guidance already. So just a few extra thoughts:

  • Put a smooth plate and a glue stick in your basket. Smooth surfaces can really help with board game accessories.
  • Similarly, thinking about board game accessories, you’ll probably want to get an AMS light pretty soon. That extra tweak on a piece being colorfull, currency coins/notes, sign’s or that overhanging feature benefitting from a dissimilar support interface…
  • For fine details, you’ll probably want to add a 0.2mm nozzle. And a spare .4! You haven’t learned the hobby if you haven’t wrecked a nozzle :joy:
  • Depending on prints, 4kg of filament can be enough for 4 to 16 days. It is really helpful to use the bulk order discounts!
  • You’ll need a stiff, clean brush and basic dishwashing liquid (no oils!) for the textured plate and a microfibre cloth for the smooth PEI. Use these only (!) for build plate cleaning.
  • Get a plastic spatula for brim/prime line removal. Printed ones are good, but the edges of the cheap injection moulded ones are still better.
  • Get a filament dryer. You can use the printers heat bed, but then you can not print at that time… Or get an AMS2 instead of an AMS light (did I mention you’ll want an AMS :joy: )
  • Give yourself a monthly allowance on filament!!!

:four_leaf_clover: & :crossed_fingers:

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If you have plans to buy this in the future, buy it now while you get the combo price. It’s good for more than just multicolor printing and I can’t imagine using any of my printers without an AMS.

  • Load two spools of the same filament and let it switch to the next spool when one runs out.

  • Helps save long prints from failing because a spool ran out.

  • Makes it easier to use up partial spools instead of throwing them aside.

  • Keep your most-used colors or materials loaded and ready.

  • Reduces how often you have to manually unload and reload filament.

  • Makes starting the next print faster because filament is already loaded.

  • Gives you a cleaner workflow with less cutting, feeding, and swapping by hand.

  • Can be used with support material or support interface material to make supports easier to remove.

  • Helps reduce simple mistakes when using Bambu filament because the printer can detect the filament type and color.

  • Makes the printer more flexible, even if most of your prints are single color.

I agree with others on a second build plate. I would get a hardened steel .4mm nozzle, use the stainless as a backup. I also agree the .2mm nozzle is useless unless you have a real need for precision miniature prints. (And don’t buy refill filament in the beginning, you will want the blank spools in the future as you grow your filament collection to support refills.)

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You’re in luck since the A1 mini is both popular and small, you can get lots of good quality build plates for quite cheap.

Pick up a cool plate of any manfacturer [usually they are a satin very lightly textured finish on bottom], a smooth/engineering plate [matte smooth on bottom], and at least one effects plate, i recommend the carbon fiber weave looking ones.

I really really like the Biqu Cryogrip Glacier type. Not quite a true cold-plate, still likes to be at 40-50C for PLA, but is sticks ultra well, isn’t too fussy, and is a very pleasant shade of blue :slight_smile:

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I highly recommend a bottle of 99% IPA for cleaning the print bed. Regular kitchen paper towels are fine for scrubbing the print bed with the IPA just make sure you wear gloves as it will strip the oils right out of your hands too. (And keep it out of reach of Children, flames, sources of ignition and sunlight) The usual stuff. And also make sure you open a window or something when you use it :sweat_smile: it also works best on a cold build plate as a hot one makes it evaporate way too fast. You shouldn’t have to use it often, but If you tend to touch the build plate alot or accidentally get grease or oil on it from maintenance you will definitely want it ! Happy printing

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Im not big on predicting what you might want later, A printer, some filament and maybe an extra nozzle. If you live in a humid area a filament drier is probably a good idea. Learn to use what you have and then see where it takes you. I bought a .2 nozzle with my first printer because it sounded like a good idea, I used it once and haven’t used it since, the printer has about 2800 hrs and the .2 nozzle has about 2hrs.

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Thank you all very much for your replies.

The more I read/watch about 3D printing, the more things I want to buy. Fancy fillament, nozzles, extra build plates, accessories. It’s an endless pit. I’ve already thinking about possibilites of complex designs, putting my 3D design experience in use, but the moment I had thoughts of buying a more advanced printer I had to stop and re assess.

I’ve decided to go with the AMS light combo, with just a 0.2mm nozzle and 10kg of fillament for the bulk discount and see where it takes me.

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I bought a 0.6 nozzle for larger prints, it really makes a difference in print time.

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Yeah. 0.6 is great for functional parts.

Don’t bother with 0.2 unless you make miniatures.

Definitely don’t get a 0.8, it’s not worth it.

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The urge to order all the things with your printer can be powerful. Here are some things I bought that were or were not actually useful:

Useful:

  • AMS system. Absolutely makes life easier.
  • Filament :slight_smile:
  • hardened steel nozzle - for abrasive materials like flow in the dark, glass filled or carbon fiber filaments.

Wasted my money:

  • spare nozzles. Thought I’d run though them but since the industry moved away from brass nozzles they last so much longer.
  • 0.8mm nozzle. Never used it. Hot end on my printer can’t melt material fast enough for it to be useful.
  • spare build plate. I don’t mind popping things right off the printer before the cool. Especially pla: flex the plate, off it pops, next print please!
  • Support filament. Modern slicers have gotten good at making support structures easy to detach. Not worth the extra print time and waste for my projects. Your needs may vary though.
  • Bambu Lab anti-vibration feet. If it’s really a problem for you there are better solutions available on maker world that you can DIY
  • PA6-CF filament. Not so much a waste as I bought it and haven’t needed it. ASA-CF is also strong and heat tolerant, and easier to work with and cheaper. (Needs aggressive room ventilation though.)
  • lots of extra filament cutters. After over 1000 hours of printing I have replaced the cutter blade… once.

Things I didn’t buy at first but did real fast after starting:

  • Filament drier. Given your very high ambient humidity I would recommend this. PLA is less sensitive to humidity than most other materials but you’ll still see a difference in print quality. Bambu’s AMS 2/Pro is a fair choice if you aren’t printing around the clock. I also bought a third party drier so I could prepare filament while something else was printing.
  • More colors of filament :slight_smile:
  • Desiccant for filament storage
  • Those little cheap hygrometers; they’re $2 each or less when you buy a bundle of them. Throw them into your filament storage so you’ll have a better sense of how much drying (if any) is needed when you pull out a spool you haven’t used in a while.
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I received my printer today. I’m quite excited! Setup and calibration all took around 30 minutes and off we go to print our first benchy. :slight_smile:

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20 minutes later the benchy was ready. It seems quite ok to me, apart from some very minor stringing and a bit of fillament “dropping” at the round window of the cabin. Should i be worried?

Also, I can see some clear horizontal lines, i guess that’s where the infil is

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I printed this with bambu lab PLA basic straight out of its package (a new spool, not the sample that comes with the printer) with ambient temperature at around 30 degrees.

I’ve printed a few things since. Bed scraper, hex key handles, printer handle etc. The irony of me getting a 3d printer to print stuff for my 3d printer is not lost on me. :smiley:

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That sort of light stringing can be cleaned up with a flame or heat gun, fyi. Those butane lighters that shoot blue jet flames (crackhead lighters lol) work really well and won’t scorch if you pass it over quickly.

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I started with an A1mini combo 8 months ago to see if I would like it. 800 hundred hours later I also have an A1 combo, two sun S4 dryers fitted with micro AMS prints from emics on maker world an 300 hours on the A1 already.

I buy 4kg as matter of course and still don’t think that’s enough sometimes. Grease and oil come with the kit so you should be good for a bit on that. Use the stock PEI plates and have never felt the need for any type of glue, just keep them clean. I’m in a humid area as well and when prints started getting funky I learned that humidity, after a time, is your greatest adversary. Took 8 months for me with spools hanging out in the open on ams lites before I noticed a problem. picked up two sunlu s4’s, printed the micro ams parts, made the conversion to attach them to the side of the S4’s, ran ptfe from the boxes to the hotted and, so far anyway, all is well.

This hobby can be a deep rabbit hole but it’s fun.

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Thank you for your information. A rough estimate on how long i can do without drying is really helpful. I don’t really want to start drying everything and I was hoping that PLA can do without it, at least for a couple of months. Current ambient humidity is around 80%.

TBH i tried a print with SUNLU PLA silk and it came out very stringy and blobby, while brand new, so I was starting to think that i need to dry it. But it turns out that filament calibration and slower speeds fixed it and it now prints great.

I’m mainly using the textured PEI plate, as it is very trouble-free, especially for simple parts. I’m only using the smooth plate for copmlex geometries that need a lot of supports.

I ended up buying 11kg of fillament, I now want to buy even more, just to try different colours and finishes :slight_smile: I really want to try all the different PLAs (wood, metal, multi-colour, glow etc) so my long term plan is to buy a small 2 spool dyer and keep the filament in vacuum bags with some silica gel.

The AMS micro looks incredible, but it seems a bit of an overkill for me. Hopefully I won’t be proven wrong. :crossed_fingers:

In general, this A1mini combo with basic PLA is extremely easy and beginner friendly. So much so, that I’m already thinking about daring to print some TPU…