After fighting with my Ender 3 S1 for two days and it changing its mind on what Z offset it needs between every print, this makes me really want to throw it in the bin and just spend the money on something that actually works. Great review as always.
I just went through the exact same thing with my E3S1 Pro. I could get one good print out of it then *something* would change and I'd spend the next 6 hours chasing what the issue was. Bought an X1C w/AMS, set it up yesterday and I have been cranking out my backlog of prints one after another without issue. Based on what I have seen, if you just want "set it and forget it" printing, any of the Bambu printers will fit the bill. I'll never buy another Creality product again.
Same here. If I had the extra cash, I'd get a Bambu instead. But since my Ender 3 V2 was a gift, and it's just a fun hobby for me, I can't justify spending the money yet.
I've owned an ender 3 OG, prusa mk3s (My workhorse) and a new a1 mini. The Prusa takes less messing and it is definitely more reliable i've found so far as the a1 is constantly changing its first layer height and inconsistant top layer but the prints (when they work) are great. Just as good as the prusa. The issue with the a1 which no one talks about is that having a pressure sensored extruder means that any melted plastic will mess with the first layer height. And the ams sometimes fails to load
CATIAV5FTW here… thanks for featuring the jet engine model ☺️ Looks like yours turned out pretty clean! One thing I’d recommend to fix the low pressure turbines rubbing in the back is to sand down the interfacing surfaces between the LP shaft and LPT spool. I’m working on tweaking the parts and profiles a bit to reduce the amount of support material as well. Also want to upload a profile where the support interfaces are PETG to obtain better surface quality on the supported features.
Can the ams lite do multi material printing. I’ve not found any information saying it can but have seen some videos where people have said it doesn’t as it can’t cope with heat difference
The AMS lite just feeds filament to the print head of the actual printer. It doesn't have any heaters, so the type of filament is irrelevant. The only thing it needs is rigid filament, which is why TPU is disabled.
Michael, that final comment of the video says a lot, you started as and remain (at least very close to) a pargon of integrity in an industry that often feels... I am not sure of the best term, slimey? grubby? when it comes to monitisation. Thank you for your effort, your forthrightness, and honesty. I hope you and your family have a safe and merry Christmas.
Agreed, I would like to see a full height print with this fast bedsliger with focus on the bottom and top end, maybe a geometric vase or a ringing tower.
Excellent review!! Thanks for showing noise level, TPU test print and actually personal thoughts. All other reviews of this machine seem to come from the same script pointing out only the good things. A follow up video in a couple of months would be great. Cheers
It’s hard to trust reviews when you know a large company with everything to gain is sending out “free” printers. While I like this review, and it does seem honest, he certainly earned his printer with the bit about giving away an A1 to a librarian.
In my experience, the artifacts you're seeing on the surface comes from variations in the filament. It's simply over extrusion and it can happen consistently over a whole spool or intermittently. If you got the same thing from one print to the other and it's different with a different spool, then the thickness of the filament is the only variable. Sometimes when I get cheap filament, I must change the flow rate by up to 5%.
Anker just lost any chance at making it in the 3D printer market. This is how you do a reliable, hassle free, stylish bedslinger for people who want to print rather than tinker and troubleshoot and on a good budget as well.
Really depends on their v6 color engine I think. It's set to (hopefully) be out first quarter and only work with their machines. The promise is no wasted filament for color swaps through the 6 retractable nozzles on the extruder. If they deliver on that it could be a game changer for them as it would make fast multi color printing possible even at low layer heights
I think Bambu should release a filament recycling system, that would pair well with their wasteful printers. I'd buy one as long as it's relatively affordable.
honestly I think the stock bambulab profiles are overtuned for flawless color changes. You can save soo much waste filament by tuning purge amounts down with a few tricks. I think bambus next innovation should be at least offering those filament saving measures as a stock option.
Agreed - the ability to recycle waste into filamemt is very attractive; even just to use the recycled filament spools as support material when printing. This is both economically and environmental beneficial - I would pay the same as a bambu printer for a reliable recycling process/feature.
I've never owned a printer before this. Just used some generic PLA and printed a tolerance test print. For what I intend for this printer this is more then I could have hoped for. Looking forward to future builds.
@@zero00tolerance you have to print the ams lite support top mount. And the Z braces and dampener. But you can buy the screws set from them for a few $.
5:58 *Wrong, the A1 has only one Z axis stepper motor, not twin. Both lead screws are driving by one stepper like a cheap ass ender 3. You can even see the one single stepper motor during assembly, how did you miss this lol?*
Love my A1 mini, no regrets. A1 looks amazing but as a first time user with hobby needs and limited space, the mini is defo the right choice. Think if I ever upgraded I’d maybe aim for next gen/version of p1s to get something ‘neater’ and with an enclosure.
@@joeking433 Yes I wanted the AMS, so really just comparing the two. At the mo it's setup on a sideboard which is just the right depth. I think with the A1 it wouldn't fit in quite as well.
To be honest you got me worried. My budget 10 year old MKS based 3D printer produces literally flawless prints half of the time so I expected the A1 to be closer to 99% of the time. Knowing that there's not much to tune hardware-wise I'm really weary... EDIT: What was the Bambu's response to the repeatable print artifacts?
I recently bought an A1 and with some research it seems a lot of people are having trouble with PETG with A1 series. First few layers walls only. Just random things happening with blobs and strings in random places. Also slow starting print Gcode that takes 3mins or longer just hanging out doing nothing before print starts. If you can make a in depth video on Petg settings with the A1’s that might just be wrong in Bambu presets that would be amazing. I know a lot of new people are now in the Bambu echo system. Even me coming from Ender and Cura, Bambu is very different. Super bonus if you can figure out Bambu Petg-CF with long prints. Thank you for all the teaching. Amazing channel.
As usual, your content is clear, valuable and straightforward. I am new to 3D printing and started with a Kobra 2 a couple of months ago and subscribed to your channel and Patreon membership. You really gave me a leg up! I'm glad I started with this printer because it made me go down every rabbit hole available to get a deeper understanding of the underlying technology. As much as I'm a geek and love this, I'd rather be in my shop using my 3D printed hacks to make woodworking projects than becoming a 3D guru, thus the move to the A1. As part of my learning curve, I purchased a Raspberry Pi, an enclosure and camera, and OctoPrint Pi to manage my projects. I'm assuming that I will no longer need these if I get the A1. Is this correct? I'll probably try to sell my Kobra 2 with all the accoutrements and 3D add-ons I've printed, but don't want to sell something I'll still need with the A1. Bottom line, is there any usefulness at all to the Raspberry Pi components?
Now compare this review to the review of Prusia XL - its night and day! Printer can't print reliably yet somehow it is good. Bambu controls what reviewers can and can not say, as simple as that.
The Prusa XL cost a hell of a lot more and is not meant for absolute beginners like this is, totally different market aims. For the money it’s worth it, no worse than the Ender 3 is and far less messing required.
No company has ever controlled what I can and can't say. My Prusa XL was more negative because it deserved to be. The printer was hugely delayed, crazy expensive and performing poorly. This printer has slightly worse part cooling than the A1 mini, and that's about the worst problem.
Standard Bambu Lab concerns aside, this printer is quite interesting - rather than building a large(r)-format printer or going after the ripe-for-improvement IDEX market, they've apparently decided to dive into a much more crowded segment occupied by Creality, Sovol, Anycubic, and Elegoo. I wonder how that's going to turn out for them. Also, while I'm not one of the people who get upset at the thought of putting filament on the top crossbar of 3D printers, I do kinda hate having four full kilos sitting on top of a printer barely twice that heavy. Given that the A1 and A1 Mini are very much designed for people completely new to 3D printing, I can see users being extremely confused at why their print quality is getting worse and not connecting it to all the extra mass (and its location).
I've seen some others mention the underextruded line issue and I think a firmware update fixed it for them. Or in some cases it seemed to somehow just fix itself. Best and worst thing to happen really. Problem solved but can't help others with it.
"Printing on blue painters tape" ... oh man, I completely forgot that was a thing we did back then. My little Fabrikator Mini came with a couple pre-cut sheets of tape to print on. Then BuildTak came out and it was a major upgrade for my printers at the time.
Printing PLA on painters tape, and ABS on a glass sheets with ABS slurry. I feel nostalgic about it yet I also really really don't miss those times :P It's weird to look back on how primitive everything in the 3d printing world was just a few years ago.
Also learn how to do basic 3D modelling! It's not hard, there's good tutorials and free software. And once you can make your own objects, 3D printing becomes something of a superpower.
Right now in the UK the P1P I can get for £549.00 (I have seen for £457), The A1 with AMS is £509. I'm torn on which to purchase, this is my first 3D Printer. Agree I lose the colour option with the P1P, but I can add that at a later date with the AMS, but which is the better for first time and value for money. Bed Slingers (A1) or XY (P1P)?
If you are only doing PLA and multi colour printing the A1 will be a better fit. Where the P1 is better is with materials that need an enclosure, like ABS/ASA/nylon. You can make your own P1P enclosure, but the better option is probably a P1S, which is of course more expensive.
@@TeachingTech Hey thanks for the reply. Since I'm only just starting out I'll go for the A1 for now, then when I start to advance more I can start to move into those materials.
Shame the print quality isn't quite there. There always seems to be a fly in the ointment *somewhere* with 3D printing! But the price and features are incredible. Might be worth waiting a bit for the firmware to get some updates.
I've sent the bracket stl to bambu lab for them to test. I've watched Stefan's review and his print quality looks better than mine, so maybe there's something slightly off about mine that I can fix.
I wonder if they are struggling to scale up core-xy? Anyway, I think in CNC Kitchen's interview he said the XL would be part of the second gen range, so maybe a little while off yet (March?)
This is pure speculation on my part, but I feel the features seen on the A1 are considered gen 2 for Bambu Lab and this tech can now be rolled out on upcoming machines.
i gotta say. i am not liking the quotation marks and the 'sort of' like there is something wrong with this machine. (btw you need to ask them for a V2 and review it instead)
I can't fault Prusa for helping out the hobby, but they have to be sweating a lot right now after resting on their laurels for so long. The main argument for buying a Prusa has typically been reliability, but now you simply can't justify the price or resale value. Not to mention, you no longer have to put up with the obnoxious "Prusa 3D by Prusa Joeseph Prusa is Prusa God Prusa 3D Prusa Research Josepf" narcissism branding.
Maybe stupid question, but does the volume on A1 goes down if I'm not printing that fast? I need something quiet, mostly printing small racing cars which doesn't need that fast printing :D
What's the total height with the AMS mounted on the top like that? Can't find that info anywhere but I have a specific place in mind and it would only work with that on top...providing it can fit in a space 80cm tall!
Just ran a tape measure for you. I got 750mm from the base to the top. With the highest components being PTFE that could be squished down a few cm if needed.
Thank you for another great and thorough review! This is THE REVIEW that all should watch. 3DPN just read the Press Kit and called it a video, but yours goes in depth, as expected. One thing that should be tested, and so far no one tried: printing a TALL object with the AMS Lite on top of the A1, because a benchy is too short to be affected by this heavy load on the top, even on a bed slinger, I guess if you plan on printing tall objects frequently, a bed slinger is simply not the ideal option, anyways
I did print more than just the benchy with the and on top, but admittedly nothing really tall. I might return that vase and pin a comment if there are any red flags.
Man the price for that kind of features and performance is pretty crazy, bambu labs may have some issues but there's no doubt their really pushing 3d printing forwards
why does nobody use the FLUSH INTO OBJECT feature?! does nobody print anything they intend to paint or something they don't mind being random colours? y'all so wasteful... i don't get it.
@jozsefienciu2325 HI i need some help, i change the heating element on my printer the factory temp initialy was 250 degree after the change the max temp at the nozzle it's only 235 degree how can i get the 250 because the heating element it's good up to 260 thanks.
With the A1 recall: do you think the A1 mini is worth it or better wait for the A1 update expected in May? There are other alternatives as the Ender 3 V3 KE that seems has a better qualiy printing than the A1 and lower price and bigger community for troubleshooting. Most of you would tell me that I am comparing different kind of products but at the end with all the poops generated by the AMS lite I do not think the multicolor option is a choice and the other features are very similar between A1 and Ender V3 KE (adding the accelerometer and nebula cam) for lower price. Please, any comment to this?
I wonder if the AMS lite uses the same cable as the regular AMS... AKA wondering if you could chain a AMS lite to the end of a regular AMS (on a x1 or p1 printer) even if it's just 1. I wonder if it could be done for rolls that don't fit well in a regular AMS..
can I purchase the AMS Lite separate from the printer? I looked for it on the site but couldn't find it. Thank you for the great review. I will be purchasing one.
Last week my family in Canada received a defective A1 that immediately showed a recall message on the LCD. Bambulab Canada have not registered the recall with the government database. They have not contacted the family to provide a replacement or pick up the defective item.
I am trying to decide between the A1 and A1 mini the price difference in my opinion is not all that much ($150 Aus) so I want to go for the better printer not including build volume as I could live with the mini's smaller volume
Hello and thank you for this superb video, I also own an A1, can you tell me 2 things? 1) why does the print head remove after the 2nd layer at the rear left of the plate to then resume printing? 2) How can we modify the fan speeds in bambu studio because even in filament + edit the speed it doesn't change anything, I run at 80% all the time, thank you very much...
the price point is too low , i think they committed long term to a few choices to hit that exact price point , i think there will be no other AMS system for at least 5 years , they might iterate on the design , but i think they committed to the suppliers for the servos ,the steppers , the linear rails ,plastic parts ,Molds and other stuff ,becoz only in huge bulk and long term contracts that they can get parts that cheap to hit that price. suppliers will give you insane prices if you commit longtime , sometimes 1/50th the price for bulk long-term parts i dont think they will change their extruder system ,nozzle,bed,screen ,Motor drivers, or steppers anytime soon , they wont at least for their cheap lineup .their cheap lineups will always use the same parts ..... its a smart move but very risky that or they found an abandoned warehouse full of parts laying around someplace
Have you tried testing on a non-wobbly desk? Seeing the desk wobble like that makes me wince. I know, input shaping should be able to handle a wobbly desk. Still, the less work the shaper had to do, the better quality it should be able to deliver.
Can the A1 use the purge into object feature like the x1 can. It really lowered my waste considerably I just add another model or print so that something is being used with the waste I just go to objects, others, and click purge into this object. also there is purge into infill and try to save as much as possible. Thanks again TT
must say i have only had my BL A1 for a couple of weeks i must say i have not very must ringing or ghost to be honest its such a small amount its almost invisible i have just put my ams up top but there is extra parts like legs to print that make it way more stable. great video as per normal :)
I noticed the prusa with muti nozzle color changing system.. seems like a much better solution Wish it didn’t cost so much.. Thinking about the A1 I design and print lots of things in tpu Is there a good way to add pla into a mostly tpu part? I know the AMS doesn’t work with tpu
My experience on the noise level of the A1 vs the A1 Mini is quite the opposite of yours. I was amazed by the quietness of the Mini and fairly disappointed of the A1. On my A1 the fan is a bit louder than on the Mini, and the movement sound is much louder, primarily on the y-axis. I have seen other videos stating the same, but according to Bambu Lab it is within the specified limits. So I will keep the Mini as well and print smaller items on that and only use the A1 for larger items. And by the way even if I ordered my A1 within the first 30 minutes of release there was no mystery box.
5 месяцев назад
So you never got an answer from Bambulabs what the problem was with those prints?
I have a request: I thought Core XY is better than bed slingers. I have an Ender 3S1 that has caused so much frustration with first layers not working and thinking the auto bed leveler meant no more paper and spinning the corner wheels. I spent way too any times and tries with the paper and the springs that never felt right - do all those nightmares go away with this? I saw some knobs on the A1 - do I have to bed level? I am waiting for a more affordable xy printer - no review answers why go back to a bed slinger. Most people are former bed slinger users who are traumatized as I am with past experiences running paper over all 4 corners endlessly chasing the perfect first layer attempt - I wish more was said about this issue.
Core XY is not better, but it has some advantages when you are printing very fast. If you're printing thin tall models, the shaking bed of a bed-slinger might dislodge them.
@@kaasmeester5903 I thought it would be better in terms of bed levelling and not having to worry about bed coming out of alignment. My auto bed leveller does not really accomplish anything on the creality ender 3 s1.
@@tomsop I'm not sure if that's an inherent problem with bed-slingers, or that core XY solves that problem. I've had no issues with automatic bed leveling on my Prusa MK4, it's been consistently outstanding.
Great review! But one important point to improve the quality some more: Use a stiffer table! In the video you can clearly see it shaking quite violently, most definitely spoiling your results by some margin.
Another great video and I love my Bambu printers (I have an A1 and an A1 mini only because of the trick BBL pulled by delaying the release of the A1). But I am unhappy the way they did the nozzle cleaning on the A1. The A1 mini was prefect but with the A1 they decision to go cheap ( would have gladly paid a few more dollars for the mini way). In stead of the $6 replacement parts they have opted for a system that wares a hole (eventually I am sure) in the build plate and ware down the nozzle. So now it's a $30 or more proposition to replace those and not $6. Also the A1 mini was pretty darn quiet for a 3D printer, the A1 there are a lot of bumps, bangs and scrapes you don't hear with the mini. But still miles ahead of any other 3D printer on the market, those are just little things that annoy me.
It seems like a pretty good printer. That benchy in the video has the same two "horizontal zones" as the two that we printed at the local Microcenter...
I'm hoping to get this printer quite soon - but have no need for the AMS system. Without all that weight above - and just a single standard spool, would that go a long way in improving print quality?
Enjoy your content and appreciate your thoughtful approach to providing neutral bias and appropriately detailed information. I own several 3D printers including the X1C as well as Voron, Ratrig, and (heavily modified) Creality printers, all of which use single spool finament feed systems. I take minor exception when reviewers credit filament waste to the printer. Multi-color filament printing comes at an obvious cost, but I am not convinced that this cost is attributable to the printer. Thanks again for the consistently reliable and informative content.
Considering the tech is almost identical, it's a natural conclusion that the reason for poorer prints is either the filament used or a software (inc firmware) issue.
I have been running 2 enders for 2 years I just switched to the a1 and while I had my enders running well I'll never look at another even if it was free the a1 is absolutely amazing
Question: Can the multiple feeders be used to automatically switch filament when one feed's run stops? I would think this would be a great way to handle larger print jobs when you have limited filament left on a roll... just let it run out and the printer could switch to a secondary roll (potentially of the same kind of filament). Curious if this can be done automatically with the A1.
I really dont understand why Bambu wont make a filament making machine for us to recycle our plastic waste. They either need to come up with a better design or give us an affordable filament machine.
Probably because making a filament extruder that is accurate enough to function is really really expensive. Consistently making a long strand of plastic that is exactly 1.75mm in diameter is very difficult. The market for a machine to recycle filament is massive, but there is a good reason why you don't really see them around.
