Bambu Lab A1 Mini Review - Update After 9 Months!

After 9 months of using the Bambu Lab A1 Mini, it’s time for an honest review update. In this video, I’ll share how the printer has held up, the pros and cons, and whether it’s still a great choice for beginners in 3D printing.
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[@3DPrintDood]

➡ A1 Mini Printer - 3dprintdood.com/Bambu_A1_Mini ➡ Wyze Camera - amzn.to/49mAz3Y ➡ Filament Dryers - amzn.to/4fafU4h ➡ Popular Filaments - amzn.to/49r2ekb

[@TroyRudd574]

I have an A1. My 14 y/o grandson pretty much takes it over when he's here. Today, he's going to find an A1 mini under the tree, for Christmas! Today, he starts making his own toys! ho ho ho 🎅

[@growbro365]

wicked! start them young getting my daughter one this year for her 10th birthday cant wait ill actually be able to use my p1s 🤣👍

[@calculator_gaming]

thats so nice of you! i bet he's going to have the best christmas of his life :)

[@cryptobeetle]

I bought this for my son when they had a Black Friday sale and I have been watching KZbin videos ever since. I'm just as excited as he's going to be. Can't wait to work on projects with him. Your channel is great and am looking for it to the painting video.

[@edinaagnesban6365]

Same here ,can't wait for my son to open it at Christmas 😊

[@artofstorytelling9406]

Hi there , how much did you buy it for during BF?

[@cryptobeetle]

@@artofstorytelling9406 Same price it is now. $349

[@ohsniped3301]

How much was it for Black Friday

[@UnknownUserY2K]

Finally made the leap and ordered the A1 mini today! Can't beat their current Black Friday sale price. Can't wait to start.

[@cf-ry1zo]

How much was it on black Friday

[@UnknownUserY2K]

@cf-ry1zo discount is still available. Just the mini by itself. $199 but there is currently a $20 coupon so $179. Ordered today and apparently is supposed to deliver tomorrow.

[@andreamitchell4758]

​@@cf-ry1zothe mini is less now that it was on the BF cyber Monday sales The A1 and A1 combo are more though

[@badassboltz]

Where do you find the coupon?

[@andreamitchell4758]

@badassboltz I searched Google and it was in.a reddit post, it's $25 off $100 they text it to you I think if you search Google and put reddit in the search bar it shouldn't be too hard to find

[@zachsmith98]

I bought a Creality CR10S Pro 6 years ago and printed not super often over that time. It was great but I spent a lot of time fixing it and tweaking it. I think all in I’ve spent $1000CAD at least on the printer and upgrades. Recently, I’ve been having issues with it and I think the main board is on its way out. Was thinking of grabbing an A1 Mini because they’re currently on sale for $250CAD.. its crazy to me that for a quarter of what I’ve already spent, I can get a printer that I’ll never really need to touch, it’ll just work.

[@LynnMoore-x3l]

Ordering mine next week.

[@gaveintothedarkness]

I have one and I absolutely love it!

[@Gallery90]

I replaced my (Day One) Prusa Mini with the Bambu Mini. Then I decided to get an A1 as well (no AMS for either). Those two printers for about the same price of a replacement Prusa Mini+. I've been 3D printing for about 9 years and when it comes to the combination of print quality and ease of use, nothing I've owned in the past comes anywhere close to the A1/A1 Mini. The only downside so far was finding out that when the A1 gets working on a big print at high speed, either of my two printer tables go into permanent earthquake mode. So I had to order an actual workbench (which I should have done anyway).

[@jkeltonga]

I have mixed feelings with mine. Got mine last Christmas (2023). It worked great at first, but now it has adhesion issues. One project comes out perfectly, and the next becomes spaghetti. I have a box full of wasted PLA filament and projects. Not sure what the problem is, but I hope to find a solution soon because I am on the third attempt to print one project that takes 3.9 hours to print. Not very convenient nor economical. Edit: I just finished watching your video, and I didn't realize filament can absorb moisture. I am going to invest in a dryer and see if that helps. Otherwise, I must agree this printer is rock-solid in its build quality. But then, it is my first, so I have nothing to compare against except reviews like yours. Edit two weeks later: Since my last edit, I have printed a number of projects, and I have found what works and what doesn't work. So, it turns out that cleaning was a big factor in a successful print. After cleaning the plate, the same job that failed earlier printed successfully. So does a number of other factors: speed, temperature of the room, and project print settings. If the room is too cold, the print is more likely to fail. I had the room at 60 degrees F, and it seems that is too cold because there is no enclosure for the A1 Mini. Basically, the room is the enclosure, so I had to turn the temp up to 65 F. Another factor is the speed. I found that if I slowed down a job that had tall, slender objects it was more likely to succeed. And finally, I found that if I added brims and/or supports it would more likely succeed. Just a few tips in my learning experience I thought I would pass along. Using these tips for a successful print, I have been able to print a number of projects successfully, and the results are impressive (but this is my first and only printer). The A1 Mini can definitely provide a rewarding and satisfying hobby and I feel like I made the right decision.

[@dougal6569]

If you were unaware of the problem of moisture, I wonder if you are also aware of the critical importance of a super clean (finger-grease-free) build plate. If you have the standard plate for the A1 Mini, dish soap and water is ideal for cleaning. If the build plate is clean, first-layer adhesion can be good and therefore spaghetti much less likely.

[@xSirDingo]

Make sure you are cleaning your build plate once in a while, oils on the plate from your hands and from previous prints will affect adhesion. Clean with soap and water or isopropyl alcohol. I like to use soap to get everything, then every few prints do a quick wipe with isopropyl to keep it fresh.

[@Gallery90]

@@xSirDingo Agree. My primary cleaning is over the sink, and using a couple of paper towels to dry and transport. With dish washing, you know everything is going down the drain, not just getting redistributed. And a quick wipe with IPA before a print won't hurt at all.

[@jkeltonga]

@@dougal6569 Thanks. Cleaning the plate definitely made a difference.

[@jazb4317]

Clean plate, calibrate. If that fails up the plate temp.

[@brotenderX]

That Rick bust in the background is sick! Is there any way I could get that file?

[@pesto12601]

My A1 is truly amazing... it just... works!

[@emmabentley7945]

Picked this up for Christmas this year , minus the AMS lite , cost me £169 a total bargain and I'm new to this , thanks for the video. Xx❤

[@alphadanger2223]

Same, I bought during the new years sale for £154

[@stefanastley]

@@alphadanger2223 Ditto. Coming from an Ender-3 thats caused me major stress and anxiety on anything taking longer than 3-4 hours to print, I am expecting this to be a gamechanger.

[@alphadanger2223]

@@stefanastley I have an ender 3 I bought a few years ago and used a handful of times because it’s so tedious to manually adjust everything to print. The a1 mini has been great as it just works and the quality is great too. Able to make all my prototypes without worrying about the printer

[@ataa510]

I am thinking to buy, is there a physical store I cam buy in london? I don't want it to be delivered

[@alphadanger2223]

@@ataa510 I don't think so in the UK? though i didn't check thoroughly. in the USA they have a few physical stores with them. I will say shipping was very fast only 2 days when i ordered and it arrived in good condition. but always some risk with shipping

[@billhyden8574]

Got mine for Christmas and has been great until last Sunday. It knocked a print over and my wife noticed while I was gone . She didn’t know what to do so she just cut the main power off . Fix cleared the nozzle but now it pushes the nozzle into the build plate when trying to print. New at this so any help would be appreciated

[@chanter3978]

Did the price go up or was it on sale a month ago? The only one I see on amazon is $530.

[@necrosanct7467]

Really would love to see a painting video, I got a mini for my 9 year old without AMS so painting would be great to learn.

[@SheenaRushBeauty]

I am so excited about ours. My son got one for Christmas as a newbie in 3d printing. He is 10. We just got the single color option for $175. I want to see how much he gets into it before we upgrade. Where can I find a video on more of the setting details to maximize our A1 mini?

[@moschidreamer]

I think if all prints fits in the build volume, no upgrade neccessary except for the AMS Lite. I own A1 and A1 Mini. I love the A1 Mini more than the A1.

[@moschidreamer]

Yes, I share the same experiences. Even the A1 does in 2% miss bed leveling. The A1 Mini works all the time. But one think, the filament tangles around the spool holder beam when spool is fully new and the printer arm lowers to bed (without having AMS). If you know this it´s no problem.

[@richlawrence4160]

Agree, have this problem. Have to experiment with some of the modified spool holders out there.

[@Slurgical_3D_Terrain_Channel]

I have a X1C and just recently A1. I will eventually get the mini so I can print tabletop game miniatures and free up the other two printers for terrain and the X1C for custom work that needs exotic materials.

[@mileswelch5136]

How well do fdm printers handle game minis?

[@bretts2356]

Regarding the small bed size... if you want to print something bigger, can't you just cut it in the software and print it in multiple runs and then glue it together afterwards?

[@smokinloon3676]

A friend of mine made a iron Man helmet on his. He just cut it into a lot of pieces and assembled it afterwards

[@richlawrence4160]

Yes, the bambu studio has this cutting feature and optionally adds keys to help align the bits.

[@blakev3934]

You should start an aquarium channel! 😂my man… great job at this new joint

[@donnaheitmann6187]

Thank you! I am so new to this, so any tips are so helpful!

[@TheBladereddragon]

I absolutely LOVE my A1 best printer i have ever owned .

[@richlawrence4160]

Agree with your comments, first printer for us, works great and loads of medels available in maker world that just print from the phone or tablet. But the big issue is that the printer is locked to one account so cant share it within a family. It also has 3 apps: Lab, studio, and maker world, all on the same account, but each needs separate authntication to log in (including SMS one time code). Very annoying.

[@truraza]

One of the limitations for video may be the available processing power on the printer themselves. Maybe if they incorporated a separate video processing board (if they don't already) would be a solution.

[@JTs3DPrints]

Thanks for the great review, sounds like info I have heard from many happy owners. Are there any folks here who own the A1 and the A1 mini and can pipe in which is their favorite of the two, differences, experiences between the Mini and full size A1 with AMS? I would love to hear from folks who own both units! One thing I did find out owning the small Xsmart3, Q1 Pro, and my larger Plus4 is that my tiny Xsmart3 runs non stop no issues and I think reason it works so great is due to fact that it has a small 180 bed which just is plain solid as a rock...........my other printers run great, but something about my tiny Xsmart3 that I absolutely love... sounds like the mini A1 works great for much the same reason, solid small build..........it does make a huge difference when bed is not part of the equation. Thank you.A

[@CC-nt4zi]

“The maintenance is straightforward” what kind of maintenance does it need? Can you make a video on it?

[@NikoPL]

Basic lubrication, cleaning and other stuff. Everything is written straightforward on bambulab wiki 👍

[@Anakena3]

Great review ! do you think you could share the links for the objects that you are displaying during the video?

[@RealSnail3D]

I don’t mind the mini camera at all. Totally functional for checking on prints imho

[@jerrygorman5030]

What was that purple/grey screw together thinamachingy?

[@ramonpadilla2607]

Mine is arriving today, not my first 3D printer though. I wonder why you are painting prints if you have the AMS. Not a critique, just want to know since you have been printing for quite some time.

[@richlawrence4160]

Just guessing, but loads of waste especially for small details like eyes etc, and only 4 colours - it is not mixing them for PMS standard. Painting gives wider options and better finish.

[@ramonpadilla2607]

@@richlawrence4160 I didn't see it that way, thanks for the reply.

[@kimmajor4301]

Just wondering if you start with the mini with AMS, and you decide down the road to go with A1 will the AMS work on the A1?? Great video

[@endercurse4699]

On the website n other videos the ams lite is compatible with both A series printer

[@ChitosVids]

Are their any temp resistant filaments that this printer can use? Stuff that van sit in the sun on a hot day?

[@lewyx8459]

Petg filament

[@BadSpock]

I wonder if the mini is more reliable because it has a smaller build volume. If you used an a1 or p1s and only did small things in the middle of the bed would they be equivalent in reliability

[@Ordlnary_Gamer]

Probably because it uses a traditional cantilever design compared to Corexy on p1 and x1 printers.

[@liszcgsedt]

One month later: A vendor lock sets in. Orca? Forget. Whenever a subscription model of some sort may come. Or cloud quotas (by all means, pay more or a monthly fee)...

[@TharkonOfficial]

How many "thats honestly" or "I honestly" can you count?

[@JRB007FREEDOM]

I decided to jump on the A1 Mini combo a while back when they dropped to 349.00 at Micro Center. It almost stripped the X belt on the first run along with almost breaking the arm off for the filament cutter. The bearings were rough, but cleaning and lubing them fixed that. The Z screw and nut had 0.356mm of backlash which according to Bambu should have been near 0 . The new assembly they sent me was great. It was quite the pain in the butt to install the entire Z assembly. Within a hundred hours I had to tighten all the screws behind the hot end. When attempting to level the bed and address the warp in the bed i discovered the build plate adjustment screws were all tighter than tight. Which was okay once I backed them out to where they should have been set from the factory. This was my 9th printer from various manufacturers. Needless to say my first Bambu experience was not great. My one creality unit the K1 Max was stellar in comparison. But to be honest at about 1200 hours i had to tighten the screws that hold the heat sink to the extruder on it.

[@RA-dq4ro]

You appear to be one of those people who makes mistakes and blame others then call it out as a bad product

[@Spartanic89]

Did you get the $350 version or the $200? Whats the difference?

[@eddtru]

The difference is the AMS Lite accessory, for automatic multi filament printing.

[@NikoPL]

I mean if you got 200$ one you don't have AMS but! You can print a manual one. I actually made a gcode where on color change the printer will cut the filament and pause to give me a time to pull out slightly old color and put in new one. Someone would say that I need to babysit the printer 24/7 but most of the times I'm just using multicolor for keychains only and small figurines. So yeah AMS was kinda useless for my use case - that's why I didn't buy it

[@georgerenner7345]

You need to get your power cord up and away from the gantry. I use a 12$ Boykeep camera that is PTZ, infrared, light etc. from Amazon. I have it on a different table [reduces shaking of the video]. I don't mount extra weight to a single arm gantry device that way. Also I use 4L cereal boxes with rollers and CM4-10 connectors [ I don't have an AMS. Why do you paint items if you have an AMS?] and with desiccant in the boxes I usually have them down to 15-20% overnight, no dryer needed. Stored and ready to go, just connect the Bowden tube and print. I agree with you on most items. I wish it had a bigger bed, but the A1 is still having issues with the heat bed. They don't want to admit to it but a LOT more people are having adhesion issues on the A! vs Mini. Also, don't touch your plate, lol. If you are interested in what I have setup, contact me.

[@Up_the_Pugs]

Pokemon are for sure going to be printed when I get this.

[@mandibarcena6667]

4:32 The printer is nice, but man, those nails are nicer. Where did you get it done? 😀

[@JKtheSlacker]

The cameras suck on 3d printers because the processor inside the printer can't support anything better. The price would go way up if they upgraded to a processor/chipset that would support good quality video. I don't mind the camera on the A1 Mini because it lets me check for crazy stuff at a glance. Engineered to purpose, I suppose.

[@jclosed2516]

Hmm.... Maybe Bambulab could make a better mainboard for "enthusiasts". That way you could upgrade your printer for a price that is acceptable for those that want a faster type. Of course they must offer that replacement with the explicit notice that they are not responsible for damage caused by these kind of modifications. Some people have more money than sense sadly... I honestly think they will not do that, because reliability and ease to use are the main target for this brand, but nevertheless...

[@Gallery90]

I would suspect that most of the problems could be solved by better firmware in the camera module itself. One of the camera problems is rolling shutter, which can be managed internally. Also, the distortion can be fixed the same way. It would would not be shocking if a higher quality replacement camera might cost $10 - $15 more than the stock camera, *IF* they haven't put too much video control on the main board. (Some of those Bambu people used to work for DJI. This should not be a heavy lift for them.)

[@whitecollarworkshop]

How long do you leave the filament in the dryer before putting it to use?

[@dougal6569]

There are different time and temperature specifications for the different filament materials. Manufacturers publish the details. But several hours in the moving warm air is the general idea. Some materials are particularly sensitive to moisture, or absorb moisture quickly. PLA not so much. After drying the reel, you should think about storing it sealed away from damp air, so it stays dry. That is more important here in England (or in Oregon) than it would be in Arizona for example.

[@coloradocornbread6996]

They say it's the mainboards that can't keep up with more than 1.5fps, otherwise the cameras are actually pretty decent 😆

[@jasonpurcellau]

if you are going to use filaments with stuff added to them like sparkles etc you are going to get more clogs over time and will need to clean the nozzle.

[@LoknAtstuf]

WHAT IS GOOD FILAMENT? THEY ALL HAVE THE SAME DESCRIPTIONS

[@jazb4317]

Bambu branded, esun, sunulu. Other good filaments also. The random cheapest one Amazon with only 20 reviews is probably not a good choice unless you are willing to be a guinea pig for it.

[@MuffFlux]

Great video!

[@Gadnokopele]

I've had the A1 for about two weeks, as time of writing this. I just submitted a form for refund. The printer did work, flawlessly for the first 10 or so hours. Then it started knocking and breaking prints. All the troubleshooting provided, was not helpful. I advise everybody not to buy into the Bambu hype and buy those printers. Or if you do, and it starts misbehaving, do not waste time and open a support ticket to send it back to them.

[@blackknight3443]

Looks very decent...I am really want to spam pokemon and other figured..and I have a baby and can't really have resin printer...what's rhe max height you can get??

[@losien1]

At this current price tag there isn’t any reason to even think about selling it. You just buy it whether you need it or not :D

[@JhustineProvido]

my A1 mini has 1000 hours on it. it's my most reliable printer.

[@michawasiljew6620]

I bought mini with Ams and it works but I wish I got saved more money and buy Prusa with mmu

[@LoknAtstuf]

just bought a 3d printer yesterday ... after wanting one 10+ years ago LMFAO i didn't buy it for myself however my daughter (13) wanted one spent 48 hrs researching was stuck between Creality Ender 3 v3 SE and a couple of other EASIER and FRIENDLIER more modern ones - with auto table leveling auto feeding auto this and auto that looking at the Ender one i figure it might take a whole day to assemble and figure how to use it looking at the easier ones like Bambu Labs and others like Bambu I bought the Bambu Lab A1 mini with a few rainbow filament spools off Amazon just prior to midnight of this posting yesterday. LOL I think it was after seeing one of your other videos along with 2 other KZbinrs, YALLS REALLY DO HAVE INFLUENCES! 1 Most used Brands

[@scottyd035ntknow]

Cameras suck on these printers not because the camera is expensive but adding the hardware to run and broadcast them is vs the potato components on the A1 and P1 printers. One of the reasons the X1 is so much more is the actual mainboard components. At least with the P1 you can actually see what is going on though. The A1 mini they might as well not even have included one. But at $179 right now without the AMS you just cannot beat the A1 mini. Like... nothing else even begins to approach it.

[@Memertoad]

I’m curios why you say the a1 mini better than the a1?

[@NikoPL]

It's just better to maintain - you know everything is as easy as removing a few screws and replacing the belt for example

[@ThePCPitChannel]

“How moisture the air is” :D

[@ThatRandomDude914]

Engliiiiiish

[@ShorseyCakes]

A1 mini is great till it's not. The second you have to start replacing parts. The entire thing comes crashing down. For an "entry" level printer it has the worst tool head. They don't sell full replacement tool heads. The wiring is awful, the way it attaches is awful. The fact you have to pull the heater to even remove it is awful. Yes this is a great out of the box printer but the second it starts getting wear and tear and you need to replace things on it. It becomes a complete nightmare. It's almost not worth to even attempt to repair it without cheap. They sell it. Plus they have one of the worst support desks I've ever had to work with.

[@fattyMcGee97]

I own a Neptune 4 Max, I have it nicely tuned and upgraded to the point of giving consistently good prints. I am not a beginner with 3D printing as I have suffered through the old Ender 3 days. I just bought one of these for £155 (no ams, i legit don't care about ams). I bought it because it feels so pointless firing up such a large printer if all I am going to print is some little 50mmx50mm or whatever model / part. I hope that my experience is as good as yours!

[@boss_acg]

WITH THAT BEING SAID!!! 😂😂😂😂

[@janenglund]

@3DPrintDood You said that your A1 mini is more reputable than your A1 or P1S. I thought A1 and A1 mini are pretty similar. Why is the A1 with smaller build volume more reputable?

[@dougal6569]

The impression was given that the Mini had been more reliably unproblematic than the larger A1. Especially because the bigger A1 addresses the only issue found with the Mini (size - the clue is in the name 😄) I think a user-experience comparison is needed for completeness

[@3DPrintDood]

Feel better?

[@dougal6569]

⁠@@3DPrintDood At 2:10 you say that the A1 Mini is “more reputable” than the A1. Could you please explain just what you meant by that comment?

[@BusterBunnyOG]

It looks like you have nail polish

[@gorg45pro]

Yo, can someone leave a message on this comment when he uploads how to paint easily?

[@BigBadDodge4x4]

@ 3:56,, What in red neck, Jamaka is going on here?? Your family get togethers look banging! What are those buckets for? I feel like we just missed some competition event...

[@kennethoros4043]

it 200.00 your thumbnail looks like you bought million dollar purchase.

[@3DPrintDood]

Sounds like a compliment to my thumbnail hahaha

[@brants7131]

X1>A1>P1 P1's are trash

[@ThecoolGamer-623]

i watched your video this morning and was the second comment on that one