3,100 hrs. Later…My Thoughts On Bambu Labs Printers… Fixing My A1 Recall Issue

I have always been a fan of Bambu Labs printers, ever since using the X1-C for the first time I still think Bambu Lab makes some of the best if not the best 3D printers currently available. However that doesn’t mean they are without fault. Not long ago they announced a recall for their A1 printer. The issue had to do with the heated build plate cable wearing unexpectedly fast. Bambu Lab recommended everyone stop using the printer until they received replacement parts. So that’s what I did, when that alert came out in February I just shut my A1 off and waited. Not long ago the part finally showed up, so today we see how hard the retrofit is and we talk about my other Bambu printers and the issues I have had with them after using them for more than 3100 hours.

[@StepPogger]

I was lucky that the cable of my A1 had no problems so I just kept using it until the replacement bed arrived after ~2 months after filling out the recall form (northern europe). The replacement was easy and the promised store credit (got me 10 spools of filament) was on my account the next day after sending them the pictures of the replacement. The customer service has been excellent and I see no reason why my next printer isn't from bambu.

[@blainehale]

I've been printing most of the month on my A1. I printed their quick fix. Got the replacement plate pretty dang quick (months ago) and I've been too lazy to install it. Still printing, still no issues. They handled the recall really well!

[@HappinessInSeconds]

I got my replacement build plate like 3 months ago. I never stopped using it while waiting either. Everything is golden.

[@Immolate62]

We have two A1's. The older one the bed came in late May. The other in June. We'd been using both printers constantly the whole time. Ironically, the bed on the older one stopped working a couple of days before the replacement bed came in, so it worked out great. The replacement bed for the newer one is still in the box. The recall was overblown, I think, but Bambu handled it masterfully. If they want to have some more recalls and give me free stuff, I'll take it.

[@ironplatypus7393]

yeah i used my A1 the entire time too. it has 1600 hours on it now. Been giving me some sass lately but overall 9.6/10 experience

[@ZeroNilNada]

I, too, used my A1 the whole time. I did inspect the cable to be sure it wasn't damaged and it looked OK to me. I now have a brand new bed in a box for the time my old one will fail.

[@neokokido]

Got an A1 at launch. Filled out recall form as soon as it was available in February. Got replacement bed in May and installed it a week or two later. Had to remind Bambu another couple weeks after that to get the store credit for doing the replacement myself. Used that credit to take some of the edge off buying an X1C combo, which went on sale for their 2nd anniversary the very next week. Bambu promptly issued another store credit for the difference though. All in all mostly pleased with the entire experience outside the 3 month wait for the new hot bed (TBF they estimated that time exactly on the initial form) and having to remind them to send me that initial store credit.

[@shinaikouka]

The only time I've had my filament break in the AMS is when the humidity started climbing up a bit or I tried to use filament that really should've been dried first. Now, outside of that, I have seen two issues with the AMS. The first is that the first stage feeders seem to be a bit of a weak link, and the worst part is that Bambu Lab considers it a wear part. So, you'll likely have to pay to get a new one. The second problem is a weird one. If I leave my printer on for some amount of time (not sure if there is a specific threshold), the printer and/or AMS will refuse to read the spool's NFC tag. When I insert a new filament, I just get "?" on the screen. If I restart the printer, it works fine. It might not be as annoying if the X1C started up as quickly as the P1P and P1S do.

[@wesdiezy]

My print bed took like 4 months. I just kept using it though and didn't see any issues.

[@vibingwithvinyl]

Holy scambot infestation Batman!

[@zjeepgozweeln]

i have an x1c that the AP board died 10 days out of warranty. I went back and forth with their support so many times just trying to get them to send me an invoice for one of the few parts they don't sell on the site. It took about 3 weeks to get them to ship a part that was in stock. I didn't even press them to warranty it. Pretty mid.

[@karmachameleon326]

My replacement bed had a faulty temp sensor - read 5-10 degrees too low, so my bed was consistently too hot. Took me good month to get past tier 1 support and actually have someone take it seriously. Second bed works great, back to printing with this fantastic printer.

[@LawnD4rt]

I got my replacement build plate in April. I wish there was a return label to send the old build plate back.

[@MegaEvolution-rs6qz]

Love this series every time! 🥰 Wonder what the next episode will be like though. Can't wait to see! Btw, could you check your inbox James? I've sent you one 🥰!

[@pausgaard333]

I got my replacement in the end of May in Denmark.

[@ThantiK]

I had a customer who had just bought an A1...some months ago, and he got his replacement in...2 weeks or so from the time they announced the problem. (I repair 3D printers for a living)

[@Mirorval]

0:21 WEEE

[@GonnerMeLeggies]

Interesting. My replacement heatbed came in a few months back. I did buy mine the day its orders want live thiugh

[@knightlko]

To be fair, sending to the print farms first makes sense seeing as Id bet they run more hours per week on em then most people would. Increasing chances of fires.

[@SkateSoup]

Thank you for being sensible and not using it like they asked while waiting for the replacement part. The amount of "nah bro, it's cool. There's nothing wrong. Any reports of issues are a plot by Prusa," I've seen on this topic the last few months has been so cringe. Companies do not spend the crapton of cash they have to on replacing a part for every one of these they've sold for no reason.

[@djbeasley4683]

This comes down to the fact that the cable should not connect to the plate in that manner. The entire machine looks so polished until you look at those connections. They should have an external connector for that cable.

[@lucidmoses]

Nice thing about those QR codes that bring you to a website is that when they want to stop supporting it then can just take the website down and force you to get a new printer.

[@mingyi456]

I mean you could just save the website as a pdf or screenshot it, so you can keep the information forever?

[@lucidmoses]

@@mingyi456 Well, I don't know about you but my time machine no longer works and since you discover you needs these things After the fact that, that specific doc/manual/driver, etc or what ever is very unlikely to have been downloaded. Heck I just updated the firmware on my router a few days ago and there were 21 files for that specific make and model. Did I download them all? No. Have you downloaded all them for your router?

[@Tevon93]

How does taking down a website force you to get a new printer? I don’t scan a QR code every time I print something

[@MakerAventuras]

That comment makes no sense. What difference does it make if it is a QR code or a URL? If a company wants to stop supporting a product, it doesn't matter how they provide the support for you, they'll just stop and that's it. The QR codes make it easier on the user and are an extra step for the company (more work).

[@FryGuy1013]

The filament breaking inside the AMS is probably my least favorite thing about my bambu p1s. At least it's not as obnoxious to fix as when the same thing happens in my Creality CR-10 and have to break out the wrench and push things through the extruder gear.

[@jimmanis6717]

Get a dryer, brittle filament is wet filament.

[@swagswap]

I have an A1. The plate arrived about 3 weeks ago. Then the heat sensor broke during the first print. I guess I'll use some of the $120 to order a new one. Honestly, kind of sick of my A1.

[@xena744]

Have you messaged support? My replacment bed came with a damaged cable, I sent them photos, it took them a month to reply but they shipped a new one out. I ended up getting an ams lite with the £111 discount code the sent.

[@brandonbrown3600]

​. A month to reply? Creality is faster than that wow.

[@Neo7CNC]

In SC.... HOT - Can confirm.

[@RIPBlueInk]

I've been trying to find a consumer grade full colour 3d printer. There was one that came out but it seems to have vanished. It's available used, but getting the filament and ink for them seems to be impossible now😢

[@MumrikDK]

There is no such thing as a functional consumer grade FULL color 3D printer. Even the ones with multi-filament support usually only do four spools at a time and waste most of the plastic.

[@jessriddle9204]

Where did fan showdown go??

[@xero110]

I guess you forgot, but could you please show how the cable failed in the next video?

[@Petch85]

Cane anyone remember if we have tested any counter rotating fan designs. If so... what video?

[@marios2liquid]

If you were to buy another enclosed printer which one would you buy? Another X1C or P1S?

[@jeremyschorzman636]

Was this recall also for a1 mini?

[@swagswap]

No, just the A1

[@GalileoDavinci-dp2yt]

Get well soon...we need fan reviews not printer reviews.

[@wasseristnassss]

Where is Fanshowdown?

[@declangallagher1448]

My A1 beats my Ender 3! That's not a high bar to meet though.

[@deltacx1059]

I just have a cr10 max.

[@ttshar]

Without a doubt, Bambu Lab printers are the best. They might not be the cheapest on the market, but they are certainly the best. I also have a question, which model of Flir thermal camera are you using? Thank you very much.

[@BurstingVeins1]

There wasn't really anything wrong with the old cable for the most part, there was just enough people with issues from shipping packaging that they wanted to get ahead of the potential issue. Fires were only a potential after thousands of prints where the rubber on the cable might wear down. There was basically no risk to keep using the printer, which I did until I got my replacement. It always printed fine. They said in the February notice that replacement plates wouldn't be available until May, and I got my plate the first week of May I think.

[@kimmotoivanen]

Nope, old cable was faulty in design and materials. Compare to new cable. If some were damaged in shipping, well, they designed the boxes. Not testing the product does not give right to blame users (Apple tried that too) 😅

[@amrhamed9553]

anyone else saw that Weee LOL

[@vmoutsop]

Damn, how many screws does it take to replace the build plate? What ever happened with just 4?

[@Etacovda63]

if it had only 4, it would be relying on clips, which would get brittle and break. Better to have a bunch of screws.

[@vmoutsop]

@@Etacovda63 instead of all the other screws just make pegs that slit into the same spots and provide the additional support needed? Duh

[@wowza-]

Maybe having more than 4 is better. They don't just add extra screw holes for fun.

[@vmoutsop]

@@wowza- No, they don't add more screws for fun. They add more screw holes because they are lazy and wouldn't take the extra time to design it in such a way to minimize the screws and save themselves the cost of the screws and the labor to install them.

[@Sziklapeti]

weeee

[@Vash.Baldeus]

My issue with Bambu Labs: - Proprietary firmware - Max size of 10 cubic inches Especially since I want to get into printing helmets, that size does not work for me, since I do not want to print those helmets cut.

[@BackPackGearsYT]

so what did u get or thinking about getting?

[@attreauh]

Good luck getting the bed replacement. Bambu will absolutely not support this recall or replacement in any way! I have an original A1 and its out of service due to the bed problem. They won't fix it, they wont support it, I'm stuck with a $700 loss on this printer.

[@wobblysauce]

It is just a power cable, could replace it yourself.

[@kimmotoivanen]

It's AC and temperature sensor (not sure if there's also accelerometer, or does it use the one in print head). Do you have AC cable rated for such movement? There are quite many countries where installing and modifying AC powered parts is not exactly legal.

[@shawnmichaelis1609]

is this sped up??? kinda weird looking

[@Lan_ny]

Is this entire video sped-up by ~30% Seems to fast at 1.0 and .75 is better but too slow

[@TheRattleSnake3145]

I would think that most people that have printers, have more than one.

[@mafofpv4394]

I dont. And none of my friend have more then one. So no.

[@TheRattleSnake3145]

@@mafofpv4394 follow any printer group the come back with what you find.

[@analogicparadox]

Terrible assumption

[@TheRattleSnake3145]

@@analogicparadox go to any printer group then tell me what you find.

[@TheRattleSnake3145]

​@@mafofpv4394Join a printer forum and then tell me what you find out.