Bambu Lab A1 versus A1 Mini print quality

[@augustopaixao8911]

It's incredible the quality that this machine have.

[@Xalantor]

I love what you do here. I just saw an ad for the bamboo lab black friday discounts and am currently binging your videos before buying. I cannot have a resin printer due to ventilation so your videos fantastic.

[@LLJW4]

Cheers! Would love to see A1 vs P1

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

I have no plans to buy a P1 so probably not going to happen. :)

[@LLJW4]

@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors cheers for replying! They are really nice, much better than A1 in my experience. I've used the screenshot from your A1 settings to make myself a wee profile anyway cheers again!

[@TripleJAu]

​@@LLJW4 would be interested to see your results

[@Senjo5663]

Curious as well on this for a P1 or P1S. Been looking at the CoreXY printers for my next one.

[@theshrimpfather13]

commenting for the algorithm, lol recently a co-worker has asked about 3d printing, he's interested in minis for his DnD. Said he's seen/read that fdm wasn't a very good option, told em to check out your channel.

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

Thanks!

[@FamBoren]

A very good comparison of the two best printers out there.

[@BelfastBiker]

just ordered Sunlu Meta and your profile for my A1 Mini. Fantastic salesman. :)

[@RagManXX]

Been looking at the various A1 printers, but haven’t decided which to buy, or if I’m even ready to get another 3D printer since my last one died. Thanks for this comparison video. It’s helpful in deciding which to get, if I get back into the 3D printing world.

[@Koraki5115]

I was looking forward to this video

[@Utome77]

I love your settings for Miniatures with sunlu meta, but on furniture I got a lot of stringing with the meta but then I use sunlu pla+ and I had perfect results :)

[@Whateverworkz]

Love your videos thanks to you i have made some amazing minis!

[@LukasPQP]

Hey, thanks for the video!

[@Myfs740]

always great videos

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

Thanks!

[@dalecipperley40]

Thank you for making this video.

[@ELIASFA3]

Thank you very much for these videos! Quick question, how does the A1 Mini behave when faced with supported prints? (miniatures with supports)?

[@ToddRumbach]

I was lucky enough to get the Mini (Combo) in the very first batch over a year ago. With the firmware updates, it gets better each time. It's noticeably quieter than the A1. It's quick enough to put out terrain, so no 'need' for a 2nd printer.

[@nickbutler7935]

I've enjoyed a couple of your videos today and just got a copy of your config ( sorry about the small donation). You've also got a 'Sub'. I'll explore the store later and will definitely look forward to the new settings when my new filament arrives. Cheers from the U.K.

[@Agastui]

Great review!

[@dirkheinz7284]

As someone who mainly does smaller scale minis (10mm and 6mm) I would love to see what quality you are able to get on those vs the 28mm ones.

[@pranavasthanaDelhi]

Good information, thanks!

[@alsadaj1834]

Thanks for the video.

[@MattWardIT]

Looks great!

[@sujan001]

wow recently I was thinking about buying one of the two A1 printers and now you created a video about it - awesome!!! I never thought that the A1 mini is the winner amazing really 👍 winner not because of better quality but because "same" quality for a lower price

[@danielcraciun4106]

I own an A1 mini and the quality of my minis (that are not always designed with FDM in mind) on a 0.4 mm nozzle is fantastic. I can only guess what the difference would be with the .2 nozzle

[@kimmotoivanen]

Though *_I_* don't like closed source printers, we got A1 Mini for my son from anniversary sale. On ender 3 V2 clone, even with dual Z, Orbiter 2, BLTouch-copy and A1 heater and nozzle (tool-less change, no leaks), printing is a bit tinkering. Z-offset seems to always change (might be due to A1 nozzle or the mounting) and layers are not easy to get smooth (again, might be due to sharp A1 nozzle making it delicate for flow, while ordinary V6s and volcanos have wide flat nozzle tip smoothing away). A1 Mini is _wicked_ fast, accurate (even more with 0.2 nozzle), silent when not cooling full blast (can't print during night in the same room) and fairly well working. So far only concerns are: - constant pooping (flow calibration? Like it's reading a book 😅) where some poop can stay attached to the nozzle (toilet section could be deeper to take it all) - sock getting loose, so it drags against build plate and wears out, messes with Z-offset and allows filament to be pushed inside the sock, gluing nozzle to heater. I'm *not* thinkin about P1🙈

[@JhustineProvido]

I have both. I have a little more hours on the A1. they're both great printers for the price

[@c0dexus]

Oops, I just ordered the A1 a few days ago and I was hesitating with the mini. But on the other hand, I also need a printer with a larger bed size...

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

It will do great for you, I love my full size A1s. :)

[@nobodyimportant8811]

I liked the comparison

[@miguela.migallon8405]

Which one would be better... One A1 mini or the FL Sun T1 pro? Thanks!!!

[@JulesHatton]

I got your print profiles and some of your miniatures as a test and the results are amazing. A quick question... do you use any kind of filament cleaner to remove dust on the way in or just feed the filament as normal? I've seen some people swear by filters, and other say they cause more trouble than they solve with a big chunk of dirt and dust eventually finding it's way past the filter and causing a massive clog.

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

Almost every clog I have ever had was due to filament cleaners/filters. I don't use them anymore.

[@kubenoz]

You're really liking this printer I see. Qidi x-smart 3 is another small form factor alternative for people to check out. Less locked down ecosystem; already enclosed, kinda like the x1 from bamboolabs. Both are good though.

[@EQ2Cordanim]

What do you think causes the stringing on the full-sized? It's constantly stringier than the Mini...just kind of strange as I thought they were virtually the same hardware 🙂 Awesome video, though...may try to get my K3 dialed in with a profile for some quick FDM minis 🙂

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

The aren't the same hardware, the mini has a single screw and linear rail (preferable) vs the dual screws and no linear Z rails on the full size A1, plus more mass.

[@stevenwhite7763]

I am still using Ender 3 and found that changing "Wall Ordering" to "Outside to Inside" has made a huge difference in quality.

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

It does, but it makes overhangs worse, so it's a tradeoff.

[@TheTeknikFrik]

Looking at the cloaks and swords, it seems the full-size A1 has some kind of z-banding issue where the surface does not look perfectly 'flat'. Like @12:04 - there's a lot more artifacts going on along the layer lines on the left model. The right model has more ringing on the cloak near the boot, though.

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

This was consistent across all full size A1s we have in house and also confirmed on two others we do not own when running the same profile and filament. Remember, the A1 has a much larger bed and thus more mass/inertia to deal with on direction changes which is the likely culprit compared tot he much smaller/lighter A1 Mini bed.

[@Immolate62]

@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors which is why you should get a P1 to find out the results when the bed is unslung.

[@HARDYSFISHINGADVENTURES]

Id like the A1 mini just for minis i have an anycibic mega wish is just way to big for my work area

[@davidwitte8076]

A great comparison. I just don’t understand why there’s such a difference. Could a slower plate speed help?

[@charlesslaton5924]

That's really interesting. I've got the A1 and have been using your profiles with a 0.2mm nozzle and I haven't had that much stringing or those little zits when printing small figures. I wonder if it's a filament thing? I'm using Hatchbox PLA grey.

[@RupertFoulmouth]

I thought the print heads and software for the two machines are the same. To what do you attribute the difference? The biggest challenge in a test like this is you are only testing one example of each? I appreciate the video and the work that went into it.

[@markpicklesimer75]

Thank you for another great video! I currently have an Ender three pro that I do all of your terrain on. I’m thinking about getting another printer in order to print miniatures. I would like to stay with the filament printers. Do you have a suggestion on the best PLA printer?

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

Bambu Lab A1 Mini

[@tomohalloran5217]

I'm finding the ambient temp is a major contributor to the stringing on my A1. On days over 25 I seem to have no stringing then anything under stringing increases

[@nillerh8236]

Thanks for the FDM profiles, the miniatures are very nice and good quality. I do however struggle with miniatures needing support, I currently use the tree auto setting in bambulab, but it is very hard to remove the support from the miniature. Do you have settings for supports I can buy?

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

Nope, none of my miniatures requires supports! :)

[@davidwitte8076]

You can find minis that don’t need support to help with this. Also heat it up to help with the removal of supports.

[@CreationDominion]

Have you tried tree slim or organic? Make them as small diameter as possible

[@SeanArteaga]

Fantastic! Can you explain how you set up your supports for these minis? Do you do the filament for supports? If you do, what filament do you use? I have an A1 mini, with the 2MM hotend. Do you have a profile for D&D scale minis for the A1 mini?

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

None of my miniatures require supports, everything I sculpt is specifically made for FDM printers! My Bambu Lab A1/A1 Mini profiles are linked in the video description.

[@SeanArteaga]

@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors Thanks, I found the profiles, purchased them, and will try them out. No supports? Wow, nice job. Do you have a link to your minis? Things are kind of hard to find on the main website. Thank you!

[@terraxcell]

Are these all your minis??? They’re great might want to snag a few off your site.

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

Everything you see on this channel is our products :)

[@eaman11]

Dho, maybe it's just the fan, try to clean it or get a new one on the A1. That's for the stringing, the details are expected with a smaller printer.

[@Wallack]

Should details be different?is the same printer just different bed

[@eaman11]

@@Wallack The A1 mini has less moving mass and shorter belts. Also the kinematics are different, the Mini has linear guide on the Z axis, it's a cantilever with just one motor.

[@chriscollett6875]

Great help thanks. What do you think about Bambu's new PETG HF filament for minis? Would your PLA profile work for it too?

[@Immolate62]

PETG has a higher heat profile without the additives, so the PLA profile isn't going to work for it.

[@chriscollett6875]

@@Immolate62 Thanks and yes, this has been my experience. However, I found Bambu's profile for the PETG HF 0.08mm FDG A1 Mini 0.2 nozzle setting produced really good 28mm pre supported figures. I found that printing the same unsupported minis but using the Bambu's support - tree(auto), tree slim supports option produced a support frame that was hard to remove without damaging the mini.

[@andrewmoore5712]

I can understand why the A1 mini is better in one way, as the mini has less bed mass to move around

[@r.girouard5886]

Any chance you're using a special type of build plate?

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

Nope.

[@bassbeats92]

Keep it up!

[@TristanGora]

You need to show supported minis.

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

Why? None of my miniatures require slicer supports :)

[@spearwy7240]

Do you have a Bamboo P1S? I'd love to see what print settings you come up with it.

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

Nope.

[@mikeforeman6943]

Did you print the minis one at a time? Would printing multiple minis cause more stringing between them?

[@schlehrbear]

A1 I love mine

[@exil3dlivecom]

Is everypne else getting stringy models on their A1 or is this just a filament issue with this posters filament

[@ShonuffCor]

Awesome vid..unfortunately I watched it AFTER i got the A1... but meh, i'm good with it.

[@ShonuffCor]

In counterpoint to this...I will say using SUNLU PLA does string for me... but if I buy Bambu labs PLA Matte+.... I get cleaner minis than the skeleton in your vid from the A1Mini. Sunlu strings for me no matter my config.. but the A1 works flawlessly with the bambu PLA+

[@SamuraiMujuru]

Are there any terrain profiles for the A1/A1 Mini? Also, is there any plan to make profiles and such for the P series printers?

[@Nefandi007]

I print terrains with the same profile, but at 205.

[@Wallack]

Hey man. I had my a1 (not mini) for 3 weeks now. Always use gyroid pattern for infill. I have a question, why 0.08 instead of 0.04?you can get that with the 0.2 nozzle. I will print once i get the pla meta at 0. 08 06 and 04 to compare.

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

Because .08 produces cleaner prints than .04, especially for overhangs.

[@Wallack]

@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors really? I will try. I have the. 2 nozzle but I dont understand why 0.08 is better than 0.04 like it makes no sense but if is better, then is overall better, also faster

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

Thinner layers deform from radiant heat easier, and also are more difficult to build up cleanly when printing overhangs.

[@Wallack]

@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors but the other areas would have worse detail right?

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

@@Wallack just do some test prints and see for yourself ;)

[@SneakyJoesENG]

I've been working with titancraft DS server community to get a good FDM profile, and did share a few with them. We can collab if you want. Been printing FDM minis at 0.05mm for almost 3 years now (shоrts for last example)

[@jcbraun887]

Where? Your channel has nothing and neither does titancrafts. Would be cool to know where to see such discussions

[@SneakyJoesENG]

@@jcbraun887 Please check again in shorts. In the past didn't upload those to media channel but stored at personal. Antispam blocked it, but you can find it at Mikhail Turusov personal channel

[@SneakyJoesENG]

@@jcbraun887 Titancraft's disсord. As for demo - check shorts.

[@sneakyjoe]

@@jcbraun887 kzbin.infoi7gEyMS5bpE KZbin's antispam is ridiculous.

[@SneakyJoesENG]

@@jcbraun887 Updated message.

[@creedswiftclaw2396]

Do you recommend basic auto treat support or is there more I should do in the settings? I downloaded your Bambu lab profile and am just curious.

[@creedswiftclaw2396]

Tree Support*

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

None of my designs require slicer supports so designing settings for them would be a waste of my time.

[@Sorrior]

How do you think the x1c compares to these two for minis?

[@Immolate62]

X1C has no x or y travel on the bed, so it will avoid issues related to that. Other than that, none of it's higher end features are really going to matter when printing PLA unless the flow calibration makes a difference. I've never found flow calibration to matter when using stock filament profiles on the P1P and P1S though. I say that, but you don't know until you try.

[@justinbouchard]

is there a "best" colour to use to print mini's?

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

PLA is naturally clear, so to color it/make it opaque various additives are mixed in that can affect final results. IIRC black and red(?) were colors that produced slightly lower results, but that was before pressure calibration on machines like Bambu Lab, so it may not be an issue anymore. I only use gray as that is what I found gave the best results ten years ago.

[@justinbouchard]

@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors thank you so much for that amazing answer :)

[@ThePapaVader]

Do you have a profile for the X1C?

[@hippopotamus86]

Why do you think the A1 mini is giving better results than the A1?

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

They do the same for large models like terrain pieces. Where the difference shows is on tiny detailed models. They may share the same extruder/hot end design, but the machines themselves have a lot of mechanical differences. A single Z axis screw is better than dual because the dual screws can 'fight' each other. Also, the A1 mini has a linear rail for the Z axis which the full size does not. Finally, the larger bed of the A1 has more mass and therefore more inertia to overcome vs the smaller bed of the A1 Mini.

[@hippopotamus86]

@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors Makes sense. I ordered the A1 before I saw your video. Probably fine for my use case which is prototyping mechanical parts. As long as the prints are consistent then it's fine.

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

@@hippopotamus86 I can't advise on that as that isn't the focus of this channel (tabletop gaming terrain and miniatures.)

[@Hellvine]

@@hippopotamus86 If you're prototyping mechanical parts you may want to upgrade to an X1 Carbon

[@hippopotamus86]

@@Hellvine There are little advantages to the X1C than the P1S, I use the P1S's to print the parts in bulk though. Between the P1S's, the parts are spot on and consistent in dimensions, the A1 however seems skewed. I've not looked into the skew correction yet, or if it even has it. I probably shouldn't have got the A1 and just got another P1S instead.

[@punkreeperful]

Now I'm curious ender 3 v3 se vs a1 mini using your 0.2 profile. Maybe just a shorts video comparison

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

Not even close. I tried for months to get my V3 SE to print good minis, but it just isn't possible with the Sprite extruder. The Ender 2 Pro (followed closely by other Bowden-feed Ender 3s) are the best Enders for printing minis. I have multiple videos and custom Cura profiles for using Bowden-tube Enders to print minis on this channel.

[@albertsaxony8092]

Where can I find the cleric mini shown at 7:50? I looked all over for it on your DriveThruRPG page but didn't see it listed.

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

It's coming in our new FDM miniatures Kickstarter after first of the year :)

[@albertsaxony8092]

@@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors Excellent, looking forward to it!

[@mattmackenzie4636]

Id love to see what some of these minis look like when painted.

[@Tombof3DPrintedHorrors]

Check our website!

[@ninjatango]

Algorithms suck!

[@Kaiei3D]

I found A1 full size when print sometime will go to clean print head while printing, sometime is cleaning by move nozzle to the left filament cutter and some time will cleaning nozzle by go to right upper corner of the print bed, actually this effected sometime printing result not so good, I feel the nozzle no need to be clean while printing result will better, did any on A1 user meet this problem? can I adjust to setting to avoid this?

[@mattlberge]

I know it isn't something you'll buy, but man I wish I could see a P1S comparison. Your profiles worked pretty well for me on the p1s, but I would have loved to see what someone like you could do

[@user-asa187]

Would love to see some results on a P1S. Wanting to pick up something enclosed for printing engineering materials, but I’m not sure if PLA will print with the fidelity of an A1, in a P1S.