Pre-Purchase A1 Questions

Bambu Lab A1 Series General Discussions
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Hello. I will be ordering an A1
in a about a week. This will be my first printer. If you all could help me with some info, I’d greatly appreciate it.

  1. Should I get the hardened steel hot end right from the get go?
  2. Should I get an extra plate? If so, which one?

I normally would wait to see how things go with the standard items, however with the Black Friday sale, I am thinking if you all suggest something I can get cheaper now, why wait.

At this time, once I get situated with some good prints, I will be focusing prints for my model railroad; 1/160 structures and accessories. So I believe PLA will be my mostly used filament for this. Down the road I think I very well may want to print PLA+, more probably nylon.

  1. Should I consider the P1P for the possibility of nylon printing? I’ve read the A1 can do nylon with some backyard Bubba mods.
  2. Not factoring in the nylon, how would you compare the A1 to the P1P in regards to beginner use?

Thanks :slightly_smiling_face:

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I have an A1 Mini, but the printing hardware is the same as the A1, just a smaller print volume.

On that first point, how large is the largest structure you plan on printing? Do you need the 256 cm^3 print volume of the A1 or can you get by with 180 cm^3 on the mini. If so, consider the A1 mini. Then if down the road you decide you need the P1P you have less of an investment in a printer that you replaced.

You only need the hardened steel hot end for more abrasive filaments. If you stick with the simple PLA’s or PETG, the SS hot end will be fine. Also, based on past history, I suspect Bambu Labs will put stuff on sale again before 2025 Black Friday.

I have found the stock textured PEI plate is fine for what I do. I have over 300 hours of printing on mine and the bed adhesion is still excellent. I did make the mistake of wiping it down it with isopropyl alcohol (what I used to clean the non PEI build plate on my Ender 3 3D printer). The next print failed as the part came loose (even though the part had a large flat surface area on the plate). Fortunately, scrubbing the plate with dish detergent restored the bed adhesion.

If you want nylon or other materials not recommended for the A1, go with the P1. I would stay away from 3rd party mods to print unsupported filaments. In the early days of 3D printing, modding printers was a big part of 3D printing. Today, buy the printer that does what you need out of the box.

If your RR is inside, I don’t see where you would need anything other than the simple PLA’s. If you need more strength, you can go with PETG (which the A1 supports).

I don’t have a P1, but I’ve watched a lot of YouTube videos on all the Bambu printers. I don’t think you’ll have any beginner or startup issues with either the A1 or P1. With the A1 (but not the mini) there’s a little simple assembly that needs to be done (the two pieces of the chassis need to be assembled and some wiring harnesses need to be plugged in). I believe the P1 is almost completely assembled.

One thing I would recommend is the AMS Lite (A1) or AMS (P1). Even if you don’t intend to do multi-filament printing, the AMS automates the filament loading. And, I’m willing to bet, if you have multi-color printing capability, you’ll find a use for it.

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Agree 100%.

If it is an A1 mini with AMS lite (which I own) versus a P1P without based on budget, A1 mini all the way.

With the A1 mini you can also purchase a SwapMod to automate big or repetitive print jobs.

I own an A1 mini with an AMS lite and 4 P1S printers each with two AMS units.

This is a great hobby.

When I got my first Bambu Lab printer, it was the A1 mini, I had owned a 3D printer before but, illness made it hard to use. The A1 mini was cheap enough to try that if I couldn’t use it, I could give it away.

I had immediate buyers remorse when I opened it as the build blade was so much smaller than I was used to. I plugged t in and printed the sample Benchy.

It printed so fast I thought the printer was pretending to be a child on sugar. It printed in less than 20 minutes, my previous printer took an hour and a half.

I was in love!

11 months later and looking at all the models in MakerWorld, easily 80% can be printed without issue in the A1 mini.

I never regretted its purchase and whilst I have 4 P1S printers, I still use the A1 mini all the time.

Personally the P1P isn’t a good choice for me, whilst you get the Core XY motion, the A1 mini is almost the same speed. The benefits of the enclosure in the P1S gives you additional materials you can print with that the lack of an enclosure means you can’t.

You only require a hardened steel nozzle if you are going to use materials with additives that require it, each filament tells you if you require a special nozzle.

You should grab the new smooth SuperTack build plate as it is meant to grip everything. You get a textured build plate, so a smooth one is a good alternative.

I mention the A1 mini above, mostly because I misread it.

Everything about the printer I mentioned for the A1 mini works for the A1 (full size), the size comments should be ignored for reference, the beautiful tear-jerking story I shared should be read with a tissue for the crying which will occur.

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Regarding the black friday, prices are not as much dropped as they seem to be. Most items are slightly discounted and some not even at all compared to before the sale. Personally I would never dive into a hobby buying all the accessories and most expensive hardware out there from the get go.

I got a free A1 a couple weeks ago and I have been 3D printing for almost 10 years. I do not feel the need for a P1P at all, 90% of my prints are PLA and the rest is PetG for hot environments. Bigger isn’t better either, especially if you want it for model railroads.

The AMS-lite is a nice add on if you want to do multi color or start a print without getting off the couch using one of the four mounted spools. If you are just getting started and need small things that are not functional, use PLA and get an A1 or A1 mini. I have never used Nylon: PLA and PetG have served me right and don’t need all the humidity faff.

But that’s just my opinion, if you have the funds and don’t know what else to do with it, going all in could be an option. But it is less bang for your buck

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Make sure you order the A1 Combo. The AMS Lite is a must have. It unlocks multi-color prints, easy spool swapping and auto-refilling.

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This. There are discussions here about Bambu’s “sales.”

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Thank you Microenh. I could get by with the A1M, however I do like the larger plate on the A1. After reading your all’s input, I will be going with the A1 instead of the P1P. If I do get into printing nylon, I’ll come to that bridge then… after all, having more than one printer isn’t a crime is it? ; ) I have a bunch of learning til I get to that point anyhoo. I appreciate your info on filament and plates. Yes, the RR is inside. I’ll also get the AMS Lite.

MalcTheOracle, Thank you. Just a fore-note; I did in fact farm out a print job after reading your post. I needed a tissue box cover/holder :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes: … hahaha, just playing friend. If I do need to cry in the future, I hope I have my printer by then so I can print the holder. Okay, back to seriousness; the Swap-Mod looks like it has all kinds of potential. Unfortunately it says it won’t be released in the U.S. until Q1 or Q2 of 2025. I’ll go with the A1.

Rossero, I did read that thread about the “sale”. I suppose I can look at it this way, prices won’t be cheaper than the “sale”, most likely. Also I get some kinda mystery box. I started to seriously begin to think about getting a printer this past spring and decided then to make up my mind by this time, for the Black Friday sales. Regardless of the reality of the sale, now is the time frame I set for myself. I’ll have to look more into the PetG as I have some humidity in my local. Of course I look more into all filaments anyway as I know dry filament works and moisture causes issues… gotta read up on all that.

Thanks JJTechPrints and asp_digital.

I greatly appreciate all the GOOD info. I am on a Discord server and I asked a few questions and too many answers with no explanations. That’s not good.

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There is an A1 (nit mini) version by a different team being created, the link is in the same o e I shared you, it may/may not have US shipping issues from day 1. I haven’t kept up with it, so if it is of interest p, take a look at the SwapMod link I gave you as the A1 link is in that.

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