Build Plates & Cleaning: I have learned a few things in my experience as an A1 Mini owner, and I thought I would share what I have learned so other users can benefit to the extent possible. All opinions are my own. Build Plates: I have read many warnings on build plates and that you shouldn’t touch them. Seeing new users go so far as to wear cotton gloves when handling them. I have also read that you should not use IPA (isopropyl alcohol) on them, but to wash them in warm water and mild soap. What I have found is, based upon my research of PEI and PEI Plates, IPA causes no known damage to the plate, and specifically dissolves oils and oil residue when applied fully to the plate. Also, you can’t help but touch them sometimes when removing delicate or larger models. Don’t panic, it is OK. As for the application of IPA, there are many square applicators on Maker World, and common paper towels, or shop towels, work just fine. I have 7 plates, 4 of which are PEI textured (all are Bambu Labs branded), I found a small spray bottle to apply the IPA to my cleaning pad, then I wipe the entire plate. It dries within seconds. Once a month I wash all the plates with Dawn dishwashing soap and a nylon bristled dish brush. SPRAY AWAY FROM THE PRINTER. With over 400 hours on two A1 Minis, i have never had an adhesion issue, or a print fail due to adhesion issues. Be cautious of aftermarket plates, even “Glacier Cold” plates. Adhesion issues and quality control issues have been reported. Do your research as some builds can take days and it would be a shame if the build failed at, or above, the 80% mark. There are many reviews of aftermarket build plates on YouTube for your review. Caution: I never spray IPA directly on the plate! The overspray may find its way to your Y axis rails and remember that IPA dissolves oils & greases. So, you may strip you Y-axis of lubrication without realizing it. Second, I ONLY use 99% IPA (which I think is laboratory grade). Even 90% IPA may leave an undesirable residue on the build plate. I buy a gallon at a time off Amazon as no one local to me carries this product. I hope this helps someone as many have helped me get started. Thanks for reading! More to come.
The Horrible Cameras of the A1 Series: I, along with the entire “A1 Users Association” (sarcasm), have noted the horrible cameras on these printers. I see on Maker World creators making mounts for this camera and mounts for that camera. I think I may have a suggestion that is both high quality and cost effective. You may want to look at this option Amazon Official: Blink Mini Pan-Tilt Camera | Rotating indoor plug-in smart security camera, two-way audio, HD video, motion detection, Works with Alexa (Black) . This is a smaller Blink camera that has tilt and pan and digital zoom (on your phone’s Blink application. It costs $40. It comes with its own housing and can be mounted on a tripod if needed. I set mine on a file cabinet with an elevated view of both A1 Minis. It has 1080p resolution. I live in a very rural setting and I have 11 blink cameras both inside and outside the house. This was an easy addition. For a new user, you will need a “module” which is what talks to your WiFi router. I am unsure if you need to subscribe to anything as a new user. But whatever security camera system you have, see if they have a small pan and tilt camera like this and add it to your network. As a bonus, when we are away on trips, I can unplug and replug it in somewhere else for added security. I hope this helps someone. Thanks for reading!
To Cereal Box or Not to Cereal Box: I have read the ongoing debate as to the best way to store filaments. Here are my observations. I use cereal boxes. There, I said it! LOL I use them for several practical reasons. One-I can easily see the filament color, and to some extent, the amount remaining on the spool. Second-I can control the humidity better in a smaller volume container. These are the Pros. Another advantage is that I can store them almost anywhere; up on a shelf, on the ground or wherever, and I can still see the color and the amount of filament. Now the Cons-each cereal box does come with two desiccant packs, but I also add one “Dry Tote” dessicant pack (found on Amazon). They run $7 each. Yes, when combined with the box (Amazon @ $6 each) it can become expensive. I also have one Accurite Humidity/Tempurature gauge (Amazon @ $11 each) that I randomly place in different boxes and it reads consistently at 21% humidity. I do not have a gauge in every box! Just one that I randomly place about in a box. I have seen many failed print photos on Maker World complaining to the creator, but I suspect it is water in the filament. I have never had a failed print due to excess water in the filament. I also never leave them out on the spool for more than a couple day. My room humidity reads 39%. If you live in an area of higher humidity, then leave the filament on the spools for a shorter period of time. Perhaps my way is a tad expensive, but these are one time costs and not repetitive costs and it works for me. Note: When my “Dry Totes” desiccant pack window turns from blue to pink, I just put them in my reloading case dryer to 3 hours and it goes back to blue. I have read that you can also use food dehydrators, but I will let you fight that out within your family. 
Because I run three desiccant packs per box, I don’t expect anything turning pink for a while, maybe even over a year. We will see, I hope that this helps someone and thanks for reading.
Hi, It is great that you share your experience. To make it readable, I would suggest breaking up the walls of text into paragraphs. Each paragraph should have no more than 5 lines, as a general rule of thumb.
I was going to totally skip your post but decided to read the first sentence and then reply to share the above suggestion.
Perfect Prints and Unjust Creator Ratings
I have seen several low star ratings for models with the comment that the print failed, or a picture and a note saying “Why did this happen?” Then the creator gets a low rating. From what I have seen, it appears to be lack of calibration, moisture laden filament, partial nozzle blockage, or some combination of these areas.
So here is the thing. Do not leave you filament on the AMS for days or weeks at a time no matter what your region’s humidity is at. Give them a rest. Think of your dry box (whatever kind you may have) as a spa treatment for your filament! My dry boxes run about 19%-24%. The room humidity runs about 35%-42%.
No, you do not need a humidity gauge is every box. Just rotate one around in your different boxes as they should all seal the same. Save some money, eh?
The important humidity gauge is the one in the same room as your printers. Expect increased humidity during seasonal times of the year and check it often. Compare it to the one in your filament box (I would insure it is visible from the outside).
These examples should cut your failing prints down to almost nothing! See above comments regarding plate cleaning. Plate + filament concerns should almost eliminate print failure. Just remember, the creator doesn’t run your printers. You do. I hope that this helps someone and feel free to comment. Thanks for reading!
Thank you! I have a question though. I just started with my A1 Mini and it printed the tugboat perfectly. Now, however, I get a bunch of “stringy” looking filament. Is this an adhesion issue? I should add that this started when the “starter” filament ran out and I started using the external spool with Overture PLA filament.
Thank you.
If you haven’t done so, wash your build plate with dish soap and hot water and let it dry. As to your filament, dry it. Then dry it again. I had a lot of trouble with Overture PLA in the beginning. Also make sure your settings are correct for that filament. Since Overture doesn’t have RFID tags you have to set it up manually. Bambu Studio has selections for Overture PLA.
Thank you, I’ll wash and dry the plate. I’m using the Overture PLA setting. How do I dry the filament? It doesn’t appear moist.
It won’t look “wet” like it had been dunked in water but the material may have absorbed humidity from the environment during manufacture/shipping/storage that could affect printing performance. Some filaments like PETG absolutely require drying and proper storage with desiccant. While PLA is relatively insensitive it is always good practice to dry a new roll of whatever. Simple filament dryers from brands like Sunlu and Creality are fairly inexpensive ($30-$40 on Amazon) and will be good enough for this. Filament drying and storage is a whole subject in itself. Everyone has their own methods and practices and arguments are not unusual. You’ll find lots of posts about it here on the forum.
Thank you! I will look into getting a dryer. Thank you again, still getting used to all of this.
Thanks again! Since I am new to this, I accidently ordered a white roll of PETG and a black roll of PLA. I cleaned the plate and switched to the PLA filament and it is going great now!
Thank you. Will do for future posts and information.
Overture sometimes arrived heavily moisture laded. Dry for several days then try again. Make sure to set up filament manually as Overture has no RFID chip.
A1 Mini with 2 AMS HTs here, no drying while printing on the A1 Mini.
Maybe this got overseen on the Mini ? 