I want to Purchase an A1 / A1 mini

Bambu Lab A1 Series General Discussions
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  1. I have read alot on the forums here about the encouragement to get an A1 mainly due to the print volume. Is there any other reason to get a A1 over a A1 mini?

  2. I am not planning to get the AMS system because I don’t need multiple colors. What else do I need to purchase to be able to print the day of delivery? Filament (with or without spool?), plates, nozzles? Anything? The product page isn’t clear for me. I am interested in the .2 nozzle for finer detail.

  3. I will mainly be printing miniatures or battletech type terrain. Is PLA matte filament going to work or do I need to consider something else?

Thank you for your time.

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  1. No, just size.
  2. It has everything you need to print immediately including a few spares. But it may come with as little as 250grams (1/4 normal size) of PLA Basic filament which will be on a normal-sized reusable spool. Otherwise it will print out of the box. It does not come with a .2 nozzle.
  3. PLA matte is fine for terrain. If you are going to paint your miniatures you might want to test some different PLA’s to make sure that your paint of choice will stick to it first, but you should really ask in a mini dedicated forum as there may be some other technical details that make miniatures better in basic (glossy) filament that I’m not aware of.
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Thank you for your response.

As I look at the build of the mini - I am a little concerned about the cantilever design vs the dual column support of the A1. Is the A1 more stable?

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I have 2 A1 minis and an A1.

Both are pretty well designed machines. The mini’s are very, very nice for the price.

The main reason for an A1 mini in my opinion, is its cheaper to get 2 of them (than 2 A1’s.)

I prefer the way the build plates install on the minis, and just prefer the small plate altogether for 90% of everything I print.

I don’t notice any print quality difference between them.

The mini’s do take up notably less space compared to an A1.

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A good second reason is the ability to automate it like a conveyor belt should you choose.

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They are both excellent and in my opinion, the A1 is a better place to begin. I use an X1C and added the Mini recently. Although the Mini is fantastic, you may discover that the larger build plate would be important.

You won’t be disappointed with either and don’t forger the filament. The .2 nozzle may be out of stock, though.

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How many hours can an A1 print(not in farming situations)?

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I absolutely love my A1. My first 3D printer, and I took advantage of the sale back in October. Now I can’t stop yacking about it at work. Through show and tell, I’ve actually peaked the interest of some of my co-workers. Good stuff! I’ve not used a Mini, but it is adorable! My suggestion? Go with the A1. I’ve learned that it is way too easy to outgrow stuff, especially when you become enthused beyond all hope. Sure you can cut objects up and use multiple build plates, then start glueing your model together, but that chews into the time you can be printing something else, and the filling and sanding is a momentum killer. If you plan only on printing smaller trinkets, then save yourself some space and expense and get the endearing Mini… just be warned that you may be spurred on to bigger projects right out of the gate! In any case, you will have a blast! Happy holidays all!

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My A1 had well over a thousand hours on it before it wet back due to the recall.

My A1 mini has around 1,500 and is still going strong, just one new nozzle required which I believe was my fault rather than defect or wear and tear.

My P1S printers do most of my printing these days, I use the A1 mini for certain projects and TPU 95A.

The A series are workhorses with or without a print farm setting.

My printers are for hobby needs only.

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I have the x1c, A1, and the A1 Mini. In my opinion customer service is a joke. I’ve had nothing but issues out of the A1 Mini, the A1/x1c are both phenomenal.

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The A1 allows bed heating up to 100C unlike the A1 Mini which has an 80C limit. The increased bed temperature enables printing more material types.

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Thank you for your advice to all. I truly appreciate it. I have made my choice - A1 Mini. I do not need the large print area. My interest for printing is for hobby objects like miniatures. I also look forward to the ability to create pieces that fit together.

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I bought the A1 mini on sale and immediately sold my Ankermaker as there is no comparison. I bought it to take to public displays about 3D and it is perfect.
I then bought an A1 because I kept finding stuff to print which was too big for the mini.
The two printers are identical in quality and ease of printing.
Now I’ve got to grips with Studio I have never regretted any of my choices. I will not buy an AMS as the waste of filament is dreadful.

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But don’t forget the AMS isn’t just for multicolour. If you run multi hour prints then the AMS backup spool option is a real benefit. In that mode it saves filament.

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Quite a lot of the waste can be reduced by optimising your print workflow to suit the AMS (correct orientation, purging into infill, printing by object if different objects have different colours), and doing multiple prints… i.e. same purge amount if you print 1 or 10 copies of something. IMO it’s worth the trade-off… being able to do multiple colours unattended, and filament backup.

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The A1 comes with a .4 nozzle. The filament needs a spool to mount the printer (the printer comes with a detachable mount), some come with a re-usable spool but double check that.