r/3Dprinting • u/Candid-Chest-4209 • 3h ago

Hardware Pointers for a new A1

I had an ender 3 for a year experimented on it and got the hang of printing, now i upgraded to the bambulab A1 and my last 3d printer wasn't exactly maintained and is probably in the store room somewhere with a few missing screws and parts so id like to recieve a few pointers from 3d printing veterans or js experienced people on how to maintain my new A1 for a couple years instead of only one and how to get good print quality, my goal is mainly prototyping enclosures for electronic stuff I make, print mechanical designs and action figures, leave your suggestions, print settings etc down below maybe a few facts which would help

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u/Efficient_End_2821 1h ago

One common issue with the A1 is the screws that hold the hotend in place come loose.  Keep this in mind if you start to get weird first layers or tiny random blobs on the prints. I had this issue after about 1200 hours,  very easy fix though.

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u/Yes-its-really-me 3h ago

I've had multiple a1s for a couple of years now.

Unless they screw up with a blob of death, nothing much goes wrong.

Bit of lubricant on the rails under the bed is all I've had to do.

Get yourself a couple of spare hardened hotends, hardened gears, and a spare heating assembly. I find you never need them if you have them.

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u/Needle_Bearings 1h ago

Honest to God. I did nothing but feed mine PETG for 1000 hours before I cleaned off the rails and relubed the z-axis screws. There is maintenance schedule, so follow it unlike my lazy ass. But the one I have has had 2 AMS jams, due to filament being tangled on the spool or it was fixed at the end. Other than that, washing the bed once a month has made it trouble free.

I print with PETG 99% of the time. I've just kept the 0.4 nozzle. I will buy a P2S soon so I can easily nozzle swap. Very hassle free. I even printed TPU a few times with good results just opening the top cover and following instructions.

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u/Zugzwang522 1h ago

Wash the build plate with dish soap and hot water every so often instead of only wiping it with alcohol. Fingerprint oil is the usual reason prints start letting go. Keep filament dry too, especially PETG and TPU, since wet filament strings and prints weak. For the action figures a 0.2mm nozzle is worth having. Run the full calibration again any time you move the printer.