Hey guys! Looking to buy a new printer and Ive narrowed it down to either the A1 With the AMS or the p1s standalone can you guys give me some reasons to go for the A1 combo over the P1S?
Thanks
Not fully complete, but these are the reasons I could come up with quickly off the top of my head.
Reasons to prefer the A1:
Dynamic Flow Calibration means the A1 performs better than my P1 for some filaments (looking at you Overture Professional, WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS?!). I use too many different filaments to manually calibrate them, so this is super useful to me.
The AMS lite handles most cardboard spools (though it doesn’t handle some plastic spools without adapter) and is more reliable compared to the AMS-regular.
Lack of enclosure can be a feature for PLA? That’s a stretch.
The nozzle change on A series is fantastic. 30s swap (A) vs 15m (P) and getting thermal grease on my fingers.
Touchscreen built-in.
Reasons to prefer the P1:
Enclosure means more filaments are possible to print with
P Series is a bit faster.
CoreXY vs bedslinger
Expandable beyond 1 AMS
1 Like
I will mention that the p1s is a LOT faster, I don’t have an a1 to compare to, but https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxpaqZRId-M&t=12s&ab_channel=LiamRay10
it can be pretty fast… that video was 35k acceleration 750mms movement
Might effect your purchasing decisions, but the A1 is not available to purchase right now while Bambu is in the process of producing new heat beds after the recall they recently had. The US store shows a lead time of May, so you might have to wait a while before you can get one.
I know that the A1 is currently unavailable but treat this as if it were available right now.
Another thing that I’m thinking about is that there is a chance of a P2 releasing and that could potentially lower the price of the P1 series
I believe your budget is $600 from reading the other post, correct? If so, then the simple answer is go with the A1 Combo with AMS. If you can stretch it a bit, then that opens up the possibility of the P1S, but leaves you without the AMS.
If you do not plan to go beyond PLA, PETG, or TPU then the A1 Combo with AMS would be a perfect solution. I survived most of my 3D printing life with only printing those, so you’d be mostly set. I guess technically you can kind of print with ABS, ASA, PC, etc, but you’re going to have a bad time since they really need an enclosure. I suggest the A1 with the AMS due to how crazy handy the AMS is for simplifying your filament handling. Plus you can do multi color prints which are rather fun and can have great utility for adding text to printed parts; Example: If I’m making an angled jig for cutting wood, I’ll add text to it with the angle I’m cutting at so I can easily identify and reuse in the future.
If you plan on expanding beyond PLA, PETG, or TPU and would like to venture into more engineering types of filament such as ABS, ASA, Nylon, PC, etc. then the A1 is not for you. You cannot reasonably upgrade the A1 in order to print those more technical filaments and so you’d be stuck without being able to advance. The P1S would position you so that you can print those filaments since it’s enclosed. The downside is that it’s a quite a bit more expensive than the A1 so you may not be able to afford the AMS combo up front. You can always add it at a later date, but you’ll pay a bit of a premium over purchasing it up front.
So really the defining factor for which one to get mostly relies upon what filaments you would like to be able to print reliably. Both machines are amazing and you’ll be happy with either purchase.
2 Likes
Thanks for the feedback! so far I’m leaning towards the A1 mostly because of the AMS light
Also does anyone have any feedback on print quality differences between the A1 and P1S?
Quality is the same from what I’ve seen.
About P1 being faster, it depends on the material used. If you print PETG or advanced materials, you will have to slow way down both printers. P1 will have the enclosure advantage for advanced materials.
However says you can’t print ASA on A1 is kind of wrong.
You do need an enclosure to have a better experience but you technically can print with it: (around 7:45)
Another advantage for P1 over A1 is less size occupied on your bench/desk because the bed is moving on A1. You will need even more space if you leave your AMS nearby and not mounted on top.
Thx for sharing your information!