Bambu Lab A1 Mini Review | Best most beginner friendly 3D Printer I have ever used.

[@FredDavison]

I bought one when they first came out and was blown away with it. It was my 8-th printer and is by far my favorite. I bought a second one immediately and they are all I use for anything that will fit. They have been running basically 24/7 since last November, without a hitch. I'm very pleased with it.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Even in the short time I have had it so far I feel the same way. It will be my go to for anything that fits which again is most of the things I print regularly. I haven't even had my other 3D printers on since I got it.

[@Just_Jesus_ef]

@@BusterBeagle3D Since I bought my X1C, my Prusa Minis mostly sit. It makes me sad cuz I love those little guys. LOL - And I just received my A1 Mini this morning!

[@Just_Jesus_ef]

Wow. that sounds good! I was wondering if I can run them for repeated use

[@BusterBeagle3D]

@@Just_Jesus_ef There truly is no Buster Beagle 3D without my first 3D printer so it was very sad to replace it. I put in it storage to pull it out at sometime. I didn't have the heart to part it out.

[@Just_Jesus_ef]

@@BusterBeagle3D I know the feeling all too well. My wife gets irritated at me sometimes.

[@p3trae]

Really great video. My wife just brought one of these home today, and you answered every question I had about it. Can't wait to set it up, it looks to be a very capable machine!

[@BusterBeagle3D]

I really liked it. I think you will as well.

[@erickdanielsson6710]

UPS delivered my A1-mini as I was watching this video... Now knowing more I am ready to open and set it up. THANKS!

[@BusterBeagle3D]

No worries. Hope you like it!

[@gothgammy666]

This review is absolutely amazing, thorough yet concise. I think you hit on everything.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Thank you for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@JustinnRC]

Anyone wanting this BUY IT , it’s amazing I have a normal A1 but they are basically the same but the A1 just bigger . It’s just a good printer it’s so reliable and so fun to use. 1:06

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Agreed. They are my go to machines now.

[@MultigrainKevinOs]

i am sold! at the time of watching this it's down to $200 USD / $250 Canadian only furthering the value proposition its offering. Thanks for the solid no BS review of the unit and who it might be best for, it ticks a lot of boxes for me as returning to 3d printing after dabbling in the dreadful early years with frustration.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Hope this second go round is much better for you. I'm thankful for all of the hard knocks learning I got early on with my older 3D printers but sometimes you just want it to work and this machine does that extremely well.

[@Afran3D]

It's on a sale for £169.99 for just the A1 Mini right now on their site and I instantly bought one. Selling my E3V3SE. Love the lil guy but man, at that price you can't say no.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Yeah. It's a really good deal at that price.

[@flower-space]

Same here! :p The price is just too good haha

[@charmarie9561]

Got mine for $200

[@Angwolf1966]

I already have a kickstarter X1C, but just bought one of these A1 Minis on sale for $199, and added a 0.2mm nozzle for it, as this will be my dedicated "mini" printer.

[@markparsons1398]

thanks - I was looking to get into 3D Printing and your review evaporated my fear of buying a low cost machine. Well done!

[@jaimeastin]

This low cost machine is the highest quality out there. At 200 bucks you just can't beat it. All other ones are hot garbage in comparison. If you bought it, I know you already know.

[@supergiantbubbles]

Nice review. Have you considered using fuzzy skin in your prints? It's an option in Bambu Studio. It makes the layer lines nearly disappear. They often look very close to injection molded. It will increase the print times a bit and you will want to play around with the parameters to get a surface finish you like that's also within the dimensional tolerances you need. Definitely worth it in my opinion.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the tips!

[@T1000-s6l]

I just got the combo with a parts kit and 4 roles of PLA of different colours for £410 delivered. I cannot wait to try it out

[@JoshuaWShanks]

Great in depth and thorough video!

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Much appreciated!

[@odeball22]

I have 4 3d printers. I've been doing this for 6 years. I'd say I'm pretty intermediate at this point, but I'd still buy this machine because when most of us picked up our first ender we thought it was going to be this and it just was not. If you want to learn more about 3d printing definitely do, but it's hard to beat bamboo right now.

[@Andy.H.H.]

Thanks Ryan. I just bought one of these and the only problem I've had (a few times) is the spool rubbing against the print head and causing an error. After I printed a spool adaptor, it all works well.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Yeah the spool holder was really the only thing I wish they would improve. Also you can turn off the tangled filament setting as well which is really what would cause that error even though it was just the spool rubbing against the frame.

[@Terry_Genereaux]

Great Video... I am waiting on my A1 Combo & A1 Mini to show up early Jan......

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Thanks. I think you’ll like it.

[@shuster1921]

I bought the same 2 printers, now I'm binge watching how to videos😆

[@joelamaro4525]

I wish I got this before I got the Ender v3 SE. While I like the SE this thing blows it out of the water in every way but print bed size. And I’ve only a couple of times had the print bed be to small. For goodness sake the SE doesn’t even have WiFi. WTF? And I’ve yet to get petg to print on the SE. But the first filament I used on the A1 was petg and it worked perfectly first time. Nod fiddling. I will revisit the Ender and petg at a later date and use vision miner nano polymer.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Yeah if the size is an issue there is always the regular A1 as well. I think I might wait to see if they make an XL version in the future before I get another one.

[@MikeD0162]

Just purchased one yesterday, I did see this video prior to the purchase and everything he says is true. Great little machine. From a current owner BUY IT. You'll love it and if you have kids they'll love it too. BTW it's currently $199.99 for the Mini only. $349.99 for the Combo with the AMS lite. If it's in your budget get the Combo. That's on Bambu's website and at your local Microcenter. Have fun, I sure am.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Glad you like it. I also just came out with the video on the A1 with the AMS lite. An equally incredible machine.

[@StoneColdScott]

Great Video, my first 3d Printer is arriving tomorrow. It's a Bambu Labs a1 Mini lol.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Hope you like it!

[@flameboss555]

It took me a while but i finally buy my first 3D printer and it was A1 mini!! While i have 3D experience in both MayaBlender and Fusion360 but never study 3d printing before and just hope for my first print to not be dissaster.

[@keithpederson3629]

Excellent video. This is the first one that actually explained how to download a file and what the settings are. I was looking at the A1 but convinced me that the A1 mini is all I need. I see Overture has a PLA filament and easy PLA filament. Just wondering if it makes a difference which one to use? Thanks.

[@krakencoffeeroasters3727]

I believe it can do PETG just fine. Have one (Combo) on the way.

[@DeeDee-eb6fe]

Excellent review indeed! I still don't own a 3D-Printer, but i'm interested in that topic for over a year now. This machine might be able to make me order one 😂 I liked your opinion about why you don't need an additional AMS lite, but may i ask one thing: Is it possible to add another colour horizontally by pausing the printing process, change the spool and resume the job thereafter?? Thanx!!

[@BusterBeagle3D]

You can add another color vertically by doing that. That was kind of the way I used to make multicolor prints by varying the heights of different colors so you essentially make different steps of color. You just pause the print (usually in the software at a predetermined level) then change the spool to a different color. I know I said I didn't need an AMS but I actually do have one now to test on a new A1 I have soon. I haven't had a chance to test either but hope to get to it shortly.

[@BEASTBOOST]

One thing that’s surprised me about this printer is you can absolutely print 180x180 got a 180x180x120 print going right only layer shift I’ve got is when I tried to speed it up it’s fast it’s easy and print quality is insane

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Yeah. I never really try to push it to insane speeds. It’s way faster then my older machines so I’m happier with the speed and quality already so I don’t push it.

[@JensNeumann-t1f]

Amazing video! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences. Especially liked the part, where you imported a file from Thingiverse. Also very interesting, how you started with the DIY printer. I am totally new to 3D printing and ordered my A1 mini today. Thank you!

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Glad you enjoyed it! Good luck with your machine.

[@xDanielFernandez]

I have a table with these measurements: 140x50cm attached to the wall. Will I have any space problems to put this printer, or will the bed or the shaft collide?

[@powerschannel2155]

How do u code the files to go to the scrapper since I didn't have it on my last printer idk how to get it to do that I like how the bench models that it comes with does that I want all other prints to do it

[@prestongriffin416]

buster does your injection molding machines use carbon fiber? Preston

[@b3owu1f]

I just got one for 199. I am hoping the WhamBam Arctic plate is made for the mini size.. as that plate looks amazing. I did order the metal extruder gear just to have it and replace the plastic one it comes with not too far down the road.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Nice. The machine already comes with a great magnetic flex plate so I’m not sure what the WhamBam Arctic plate does to improve upon that but either way it’s still a great machine and I know you’ll like it.

[@b3owu1f]

@@BusterBeagle3D The Arctic (and other one.. forget name) supposedly allow lower heat or not as much heat while prints stay on the bed and require less/no glue? It looks interesting if it works. But there are a variety of plates. I just got the black PEI one with smooth on one side and textured on other.. has carbon fiber in it I guess. We'll see how it does.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

@@b3owu1f I used to spray a mist of Aqua Net hair spray on my older 3D printers every now and that's pretty much all I ever did for bed adhesion for the past almost decade and really can't remember more then a few out of the hundreds if not thousands of prints I have done where it came off. On the Bambu Lab machines I literally have put nothing on the bed and nothing has fallen off. Techinally if you are printing PLA I'm pretty sure you don't need any heated bed, it just helps it to pop off after it cools down.

[@JJ_ExMachina]

The Bambu Lab A1 Mini is now only $200, making it the only one anyone should bother with as a beginner, in my opinion.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

On sale right now for $179!

[@Slashingthrough]

A1 or the A1 mini? Because it seems good the mini but looks also too small to print somethings.

[@LhynkalTheFool]

Thank you for the review, I'm waiting for my A1 Mini to arrive :D (1st printer). Quick question; should I do Dynamic Flow Calibration once per filament or more, and can I save the pressure settings so it remembers if I change filaments back and fourth? Cheers

[@BusterBeagle3D]

I would suggest every time you change the filament and periodically if the filament was sitting on the machine for a long time. Even if the filament is the same brand you never know if the formula or batch is exactly the same so it's not a bad idea to run it. I only takes a minute or so and it doesn't waste that much plastic..

[@Boodieman72]

I was looking at this printer but the type of plastic I need to print aren't supported.

[@kk-pz8gn]

what type would that be? thanks.

[@dandd575]

I have the A1 mini and love it!! wish i bought the A1 instead tho

[@BusterBeagle3D]

I'm testing a regular A1 as we speak. Spoiler alert. It's awesome.

[@larsscholz3762]

Great video! Thx, you got a new sub (and Bambu got an order :-) )!

[@supergaloecb]

Excellent review, you mentioned really good points, you have my like, just one question, I as a first time buyer that dont know what I would want to print, is the mini enough? some reviews say that they regret not going for the A1, so are there many bigger things out there that need the bigger A1?

[@BusterBeagle3D]

If the cost doesn't matter and you have the space then go with the A1. For me personally I don't typically print huge things but even if I did I have other printers that can handle larger items like the Longer LK5 Pro. The A1 was still on recall when I picked up this printer so I may have gone with the A1 instead but honestly have no regrets since again the things I typically print all fit on the mini.

[@supergaloecb]

@@BusterBeagle3D as I mentioned like first time buyer, I am kinda thinking about budget a little, like I might not use it enough to justify the extra $200cad, right now in the bambulabs website the A1 comes with the reinforced upgrades so no more issues, so I might bite that one, but still doubtful, thanks for the reply.

[@kk-pz8gn]

is there software that can cut a project in half to make it two different print jobs to overcome the small bed size? thanks

[@canadiangemstones7636]

@@kk-pz8gnYes, you can even have it print alignment pins and sockets, like a lego block. Don’t ask me where I saw it;somewhere on YT.

[@LoknAtstuf]

SO YOUR A1 MINI Q.R. CODE WORKED RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX? HOW DID YOU BIND YOUR PRINTER?

[@BusterBeagle3D]

I just downloaded the app on my phone and used the QR code and everything worked fine.

[@richlawrence4160]

Very difficult to scan, just have to gradually move is closer and further away till it just gets it. Seems to work when very close, maybe depends on the device.

[@Makeup360]

I did so reasech still so confused what laser machine will be best for my jewellery business I am using stainless steel and Gold plated jewellery what will you recommend??😊

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Wrong video but if I would recommend something it would be a fiber laser. If color is important to you then you would want what is called a MOPA fiber laser. I have only released one video on a MOPA laser so fat with another coming out shortly. It was a B4 60W MOPA fiber laser from ComMarker but if you only want to engrave and not do deep engraving you could use a 20W MOPA just fine.

[@Makeup360]

@@BusterBeagle3D yes honestly I am doing my research on B4 commaker 20w fiber laser for a while, do you think it will be a better choice than xtool F1 for jewellery??

[@mikeblaze3456]

The A1 is just as easy to use as the A1 mini, but it has a larger bed which you will eventual want when you find your mini bed too small.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

I have an A1 to test so I hope to get to that soon. However again I have been printing pretty consistently on my A1 Mini and have not come across a model that I typically print that doesn't fit on it. Some come close but nothing too large yet.

[@alfredgeorgebailey2064]

It's the Apple iPhone of 3D Printing...! i'm absolutely going to get one..!

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Hope you like it.

[@richlawrence4160]

Excellent review, informative on many aspects as well as clear and concise. We bought a mini, and it does set up and work easily as everyone says. Not mentioned is the need to lubricate it, I only statred to look because the tool box included packets of lubricants. Complexity not mentioned is the need for: Bambu studio, Bambu lab, Bambu handi and maker world software, all separate, but share a single user account. At every log in to each of them, need to wait for a one-time authentication code via email, no single sign on or switch from one to the other. The biggest pain/issue that no one has mentioned is that it is a single user set up only, two people can't use it. It can be “bound” to multiple devices (PC, tablet and phone) BUT they all must use the same Bambu account details and have access to the single email. Options are to share log on details or set up a fake email and Bambu account that all users share.

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Yeah at the time of the review I had not had it running for enough hours for machine to tell me it's time to lubricate the rails. It tells you that after so many hours. It's really easy to do. As for the log in for the Bambu Studio I think I have only ever logged into them on my machine once and then once on the app on the phone. I'm not sure why you seem to need to log into them every time. I have closed the program and even restarted the computer and machines but it hasn't been needed. Maybe there is a remember me checkbox or something but again that has not been in issue for me.

[@richlawrence4160]

@BusterBeagle3D it is annoying. Even switching from one Bambu App to the other, needs the login and email certification done again. Allows only 1 minute too, which is insufficient time to get to other device, turn it on and open email (OK I am a tech Luddite who does not mix apps across devices). The single user per printer is very inconvenient, printer is bound to spouse's account, we don't share IDs, so need to start again with fake email and set up in both spouse's Mac and my Windows, grrr!

[@WTF_BBQ]

Can you use CURA slicer for this printer ?

[@BusterBeagle3D]

You can. However as a Cura user exclusively for years I feel the pain of trying something else but there are many advantages to Orca slicer which is what this is a version of. Plus some of the advanced features of this machine may only work with their slicer. However you can still run gcode from Cura if you like.

[@758Redwhulf]

GREAT VIDEO!!!

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Thank you. Glad you liked it!

[@bkkorner]

Cool video, thanks!

[@MrNobodysSanctuary]

Great video! Thank you!

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Glad you liked it!

[@MickDundee-c7d]

Great video! Please don't use Grid infill pattern. Use Gyroid insead. 😁

[@pyalapak]

Interesting and knowledgeable

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Thanks for watching!

[@Jansen-Hessels]

RTFM. Don’t pull it out of the bag. Instead unpack manually, see first page quick start guide.

[@b.quentin7097]

Looks there are no more free gifts / mysterie boxes even with A1 Mini Combo as of august 2024.

[@Gert-DK]

A heat gun, a cool tool!!!

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Honestly I use it far more than I thought I would.

[@Gert-DK]

@@BusterBeagle3D Yeah, it was just wordplay. HEATgun and COOL tool. I use it too.

[@tiarerush1895]

Do you want to sell it to me like you did the commarker lol.

[@baloghdave123]

Actually Orca Slicer is a fork of Bambu Studio. Great video otherwise :)

[@BusterBeagle3D]

Good to know. I stand corrected. Since I had used Orca slicer well before I had a Bambu Lab machine I guess I assumed it was a branch like many companies did with Cura slicer for years. This only makes Bambu Labs as a company even more impressive.

[@Lurker1222]

Fyi. The mini no longer comes with the free model gift. 😢

[@richlawrence4160]

December 2024, A1 mini, we received the free clock gift. (Old stock or they do still do it?)

[@remotepinecone]

I couldn't remember why I didn't buy this printer there are so many variables. but when you said cloud I remember. NO INTERNET = NO PRINTING = NO THANKS

[@BusterBeagle3D]

You don't need to print over the cloud or wifi. It's easier for many that way but you can still print directly from a micro SD card.

[@Lurker1222]

Now its 199 lol

[@BusterBeagle3D]

I bought it for $199 as well. For a short time after the re-release of the regular A1 it was $149 which was a steal but no longer. As for the free project they send out I don't think it was ever a given and not sure what I'm going to do with my boat but it was nice anyway.

[@NoMercyFtw]

Yeah any ams is a waste unless u dont care about it or have more $$$ than sense

[@BusterBeagle3D]

It’s nice that the option is there and depending on what you want to print it could be cool but for me I’m content with the awesome printer by itself.

[@joelamaro4525]

A friend of mine bought the AMS and paid off the Bambu AMS and his next three bambus he bought (and then some) on his first day at a festival. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@NoMercyFtw]

@@joelamaro4525 so he must have been severely overcharging for prints

[@joshwhite4412]

Lets see, the ability to multicolor print (which I understand this is probably what you mean by not caring.) Filament runout replacement. Etc

[@NoMercyFtw]

@@joshwhite4412 yeah I get it you can use it for other spools of other types of filaments making it easy accessible or using pet g for the interface layers, but for how much people are charging for them

[@sandrachen709]

May I have your email pls? For some tech questions. Thanks!