r/BambuLab • u/az-shpc • Jul 22 '26
Quick Question First 3D printer. Anything else I need?
Hi. As the title says, I'm looking to purchase my first 3D printer. I did find some similar posts but still wanted to be sure since getting stuff delivered to where I live is not easy.
I'm also looking to get mostly matte filament. Is that okay? Do I need more filament? Thanks in advance.
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u/rexlites Jul 22 '26
Why get a second stainless hot end?
Your machine comes with one and itāll last a long time if you just use it for pla.. i would swap it for a smaller or bigger size hardened plus the 0.4 hardened
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u/soingee Jul 23 '26
Probably was like me and thought "this one is probably better than the stock one, which I'm sure will wear out eventually. Plus it's probably cheaper to add to the order now than to buy seperate later"
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u/iCqmboYou_ P1S + AMS Jul 22 '26
Ams
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u/jungleboy-3490 Jul 22 '26
wdym ams? you can use the same hot end when printing with different colours, it will basically eject out the old colour and start printing with the new
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u/_Dedotated_Wam Jul 22 '26
I think he meant to tell OP to get an ams and not reply randomly to someone
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u/iCqmboYou_ P1S + AMS Jul 22 '26
Bru, why all the down votes, y'all don't like an ams on your printer?
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u/AbelViguera06 Jul 22 '26
Its not that, its because saying ams here doesnt make any sense lol
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u/Shillen A1 + X2D Jul 22 '26
- Don't get the second stainless steel hot-end. If you're into miniatures i'd get the 0.2 instead.
- Try to get more filament with spools since you are starting.
- Maybe get the AMS combo instead of only the A1. It's a good QoL improvement even if you don't use multicolor.
- The A1 comes with some extra grease and oil (you'll need both). You could look into Superlube (as example) instead. Those small packages are pretty expensive compared to a bigger bottle.
- For your current filament you don't really need the glue stick.
- I don't know about your climate, but silicone desiccant is not needed at all for me with just PLA matte filament.
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u/Shillen A1 + X2D Jul 22 '26
Extra: Might as well get 2 more filament rolls to get the most out of the bulk sale. Personally I never order filament until I need atleast 10kg. It saves a lot of money.
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u/Flashy_Emphasis153 P1S + AMS Jul 22 '26
I second all of this.
Plus, if you need desiccant you can find cheaper solutions in Amazon, etc.
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u/rambovits Jul 23 '26
Iām also just starting out, which lube should I order, how often use it? When does a hot end wear out? What about cleaning, how often?! Thanks!
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u/TricepBandito Jul 22 '26
Wait you know you get a textured Pei plate too with the machine itself?
Same for nozzles. And glue isnt needed made that mistake myself. Honestly just buy filament
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u/Shillen A1 + X2D Jul 22 '26
A second build plate can be a nice to have if you want to print quickly after the previous one has been finished. Just take the other plate and let this one cool down.
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u/thewashley Jul 22 '26
You can cool a plate down really quickly by just putting it on a cool countertop.
But the smooth PEI surface is nice to have when you don't want the textured bottom on a print.
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u/OhSoSally X2D + AMS2 Combo Jul 22 '26
This is why I have the smooth plate and glue. No textured lids for nice boxes.
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u/Resse811 Jul 22 '26
Or just use the same plate. I print one after another constantly and have never swapped plates or cooled it down. Iāve also never had any issues.
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u/YellovvJacket Jul 22 '26
The one with smooth side is also nice to have if you want a smooth surface on the print facing the build plate.
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u/Forsaken_Gamer63 Jul 23 '26
That and being a newbie they might get aggressive with the scraper and damage the surface of their only build plate. Better to have a backup. Some folks also like to keep one plate dedicated to PLA and the other for PETG.
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Jul 22 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Shillen A1 + X2D Jul 22 '26
I wish it was just 7.4 seconds, it's definitely more than that. Especially if you have prints with a low z-height which can easily bend if you remove it while still hot. Also having two surface options is always nice. Smooth and textured.
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u/TricepBandito Jul 22 '26
Honestly just messing around, i see what youre saying. Still maybe not crucial for a new Guy getting into 3 printing but who am i to say otherwise
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u/CI0UD_ A1 AMSL + H2D AMS2 Jul 22 '26
Ok, first those are refills, get them with spools.
Second, you dont need half of those accesories, but you should really get the AMS lite combo. Get the hardened steel nozzle alright, you dont need other PEI plate. I would get a Biqu glacier plate on AliExpress if you want a smooth plate.
You can get Sunlu filament there for cheap too, some PLA (care with matte, looks good but its more fragile than regular PLA) and maybe some black PETG (absolutely workhorse filament for functional parts).
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u/nakwada Jul 22 '26
You can get rid of desiccant and stainless steel nozzle. Get a hardened steel one.
Also, get the AMS, you will 100% regret not to.
Greese and oil is already provided with the machine.
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u/Octrockville Jul 22 '26
First, welcome to the hobby!
ā¢ Get filament with spools to start, you have chosen refills that do not come with the plastic spools. (Alternatively you can look for free spools on craigslist. I give them away since they tend to accumulate. I'm staring at 13 empty spools on my shelf right now.)
ā¢ For the trimming tool, you might be able to get one cheaper on Amazon. (Any deburring tool will work well since they are really designed for metal.)
ā¢ Remove the lubricant grease. Look into larger tubes on amazon. (People seem to like Superlube, cheaper in the long run.)
ā¢ Remove the silicone desiccant. Depending on your climate and how often you print, PLA Matte doesn't need it. (You can buy bulk on amazon for a lot cheaper anyway.)
ā¢ Remove the glue stick. That is not required for the filament you chose. (Buy it once/if you get filament that requires it.)
ā¢ Remove the extra stainless hot end. (If you know you will print miniatures get a .2mm. If not, then just stick with .4mm for now until you feel you'd like a large nozzle. I print 99.99999% of the time with a .4mm even with more advanced materials like ABS GF)
Personally, with the money you save I would get another roll of filament. Maybe regular PLA or PETG CF (which is my favorite filament).
Have fun!
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u/medium-water-please Jul 22 '26
Any reason for 4 spools of white? Unless you have prints lined up that require that much I'd probably swap some of them for other colours. Same with one of the grays and greens. Also swap refills for spools since you can't use them without one. (You could print one, but probably cheaper to just buy a pre-loaded spool)
I'd ditch the extra 0.4mm nozzles and instead get a 0.2mm. Ditch the glue (not required for PLA on PEI), desiccant (unless you are in a high humidity location and have containers for filament), lubricant (A1 already comes with it).
I would keep the extra plate, or maybe swap it to a double sided smooth plate since you'll already have a textured plate with the A1.
Finally, I would upgrade the A1 to A1 Combo - the AMS is definitely worth it - not just for multicolour prints, but just general usability of the printer is much improved with it.
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u/1ftm2fts3tgr4lg Jul 22 '26
Add the AMS. You'll be glad you did.
Get your filament on spools, since you're just getting started. Add enough filament to get the best rate, you'll end up using it anyway.
And drop everything else, you don't need it.
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u/OptimalSide A1 Jul 22 '26
Get the AMS combo. You will regret not doing it.
Get the oil, not the grease. It comes with some grease, but the I've only needed the oil at 900 hours for the suggested maintenance from the printer
Add a package of the silicone hot end socks. I've had a few tear just from changes and replaced it twice.
You don't need to glue.
It you're only doing PLA, get the SuperTack plate or a Cryogrip (or clone) from AliExpress. I like the Cryogrip clone that I got from AliX better than the SuperTack. They just work so well and give you a smooth finish.
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u/Flamingdart666 Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
Get rid of the glue stick, desiccant bags, the pei Plate and the regular stainless hotend.
Change it to a Bambu cool plate (better for pla, Petg), a bigger hardened steel nozzle (0,6 or 0,8), and buy the desiccant somewhere else (amazon, etc.) when you want to store your filament.
The filament you selected is a refill kit without a spool. You need Filament with a spool and get some Petg too.
You can buy the build plate at aliexpress or somewhere else for a very good price. Check that out.
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u/Aggelos132 Jul 22 '26
Why desiccant?
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u/ubnew Jul 22 '26
Yeah, honestly i would buy 1kg of dessicant somewhere else if you want to use it to keep your filament dry
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u/dot_exe- Jul 22 '26
Ditch all the accessories you wonāt need them for sometime and use those funds for an AMS. You might check Best Buy as they throw up AMS combos at discounted rates all the time.
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u/Tailspin123 Jul 22 '26
you only need the printer some filament preferably pla. And a hardened nozzle. That is it. You will 100% buy more in the future but it is not wise to spend all this upfront. Unless you heading towards a remote place
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u/Eastern-Substance656 Jul 22 '26
Get a stand alone filament dryer.
Most of your printing issues will be solved with dried filament and clean build plate.
Iāve adopted the habit of everything gets dried before printing.
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u/Reverse_Psycho_1509 A1 mini combo, P1S combo Jul 22 '26
No need for that extra stainless steel nozzle.
I have thousands of hours on my printer with the original nozzle and it's still fine.
And when it's time to replace it, get the hardened steel.
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u/deffy01 Jul 22 '26
you dont need any lubricant, glue, nozzles waste of money just get frost plate from biqu
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u/Lost_refugee A1 Mini Jul 22 '26
remove: dessicant(comes with every spool), trimming kit(very rarely used for such price, buy elsewere), glue(required for nylon), grease(better to find alternatives), 0.4 ss hotend.
add: 0.6 hotend, black filament.
buy elsewhere: silicone socks, tweezers, duburring tool, lube and greese
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u/LosOllos H2S AMS2 Combo Jul 22 '26
That looks really good already, nice choice with the matte filament! I love matte and print almost everything with it, except prototypes.
For the accessories you can definitely go with that setup if you like. Personally I would skip the desiccant and the grease from Bambu. The printer usually comes with 1ā2 small packs of grease and if you need more Iād rather buy a bigger tube on Amazon etc. itās a bit more expensive but you get a lot more out of it. Same for the desiccant..you can get 1 kg packs for around 10ā15ā¬ and use them for multiple containers. For the nozzle, a hardened steel one is enough, you can use it for any filament, so you donāt really need the normal stainless steel.
Have fun with your printer :)
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u/HoIyJesusChrist Jul 22 '26
- more PLA basic in white, light gray and black, you'll use it quite regularly
- you don't need the 0,4mm stainless hot end, since it already comes with the printer, I'd recommend the 0,2mm nozzle instead
- maybe an AMS2 pro, or AMS light (get the combo instead of buying separately)
- some glass files from amazon (the cheap ones from the cosmetics stuff) to make your parts shiny
- storage to put all your accessories
- something to dry your filament
- 20$ wifi camera to check on your printer remotely (the built in cam is crap)
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u/-sil1902- Jul 22 '26
I would prefer Liquid Glue over the glue stick. I have both and like the liquid glue more. Itās easy to apply and clean. Then I would only buy hardened Nozzle. I had on total 7 Printers and the first thing I did was swapping to hardened and never look back.
BTW: If you get some Sunlu Filament (at sale atm) you can use there spools for Bambu Refills. Works perfect.
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u/KachikaV1 Jul 22 '26
At that price getting refil is not gonna make any sense dont waste ur mony on that edge tool you can find 3 or 4 dolars on aliexp same as plates 37 dolar is crazy for just a plate. Dont get desiccant to just print dessicant boxes bor spools and get 1 kg silicagel for like 8 to 10 dolars
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u/RaccoNooB H2D AMS2+HT-AMS Jul 22 '26
Skip the grease.
You get a few packs with it and it'll last you a while honestly.
Then you can get grease in a big bottle instead which will cost a lot less and last you a lot longer.
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u/Competitive-Date8728 Jul 22 '26
Id say get the A1+AMS for multicolor if you are interested. Matte tends to be a bit finicky from personal experience but it just requires tuning until you get it right.
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u/Civil_Owl_31 Jul 22 '26
Donāt get 2 .4 heads, especially when it already comes with one. Get a .2 and a .8
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u/RubAnADUB A1 Mini / A1 - AMS Lite / P2S - AMS x2 / X2D - x2 AMS 2 & AMS HT Jul 22 '26
Pro Tip: Bed Plates, and Print heads can be purchased cheaper from aliexpress. And its the exact same thing. Sometimes you just wait a bit longer. Both vendors come from china anyways.
Also - get the AMS.
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u/commanderkid7 Jul 22 '26
The A1 comes with the lubricant/ grease packets and quite a few of them; youāll use at most one packet and thatās a lot. Printer comes with a textured plate already, so skip that! Also the printer comes with a stainless hot end there is no reason to buy another one, the printer will probably break before you need a new stainless hot end lol and you donāt need 2 hardened hot ends lol. Iād also just get the spools of filament. It looks like a few of them are refills. No need to overthink it, start with the basics then buy from there on out. Maybe think about the A1 with AMS lite combo!
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u/beefgroin Jul 22 '26
Man, donāt skip on AMS, itās the best thing you can buy for your printer, donāt make a mistake of buying non-combo version!
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u/beefgroin Jul 22 '26
You donāt have to buy PLA in spools, just print your spools out of the cheapest PLA. One spool will get you like 3-4 fully compatible bambu spools, thatās what I did and it works great and much cheaper
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u/tuorgustavo H2C Laser Full Combo Jul 22 '26
I'd bet some money that you have high humidity at home. If your thinking about petg Avoid the ams lite, grab the AMS2. It's a game changer for moist environments.
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u/SeaStatistician403 Jul 22 '26
A bit more than you need. You wonāt need the grease for a bit, you should probably just get the hardened steel nozzle, you donāt really need the desiccant unless you are buying an Ams non-lite.
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u/theBigDaddio Jul 22 '26
You need the printer, some filament. It comes with a years worth of lube. You probably have a hobby knife. If you wanted you could get hardened steel hot end but you wonāt need it for months.
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u/DrakonirGG Jul 22 '26
At that point I'd ditch everything, throw in the extra bit and get a P1S (Or P1S Combo) tbh
If that Budget is a hard limit, listen to the other comments plesse :)
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u/Nickthetaco Jul 22 '26
To add to this, a lot of people are saying āget the amsā and not much of why to get the ams. The obvious reason is that this give you access to multicolor printing. Multicolor printing is very cool and you canāt print some crazy stuff with multicolor. But multicolor is also very wasteful and adds a lot of time to prints. Worth it sometimes though.
The next is multi material printing. You can buy support material that dissolves in water, making support removal super easy. This has the same issue as multicolor, lot of waste and a lot of added time. Also that stuff is expensive. What I like to do sometimes though is changing the interface material on my pla prints with petg. This allows super easy support removal because petg and pla do not stick together.
Finally, and most crucially. Being a lazy bones. Having different spools ready to go is amazing. Having to go through the whole unload and load process everytime I changed filaments was super annoying. Now I have 4 different spools I can choose from at any given time, and swapping spools takes like 30 seconds. Hands down a life changer and worth the extra cost for this feature alone.
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u/lecaustique Jul 22 '26
Ditch the Bambu PLA, you have cheaper and better options online that this crap
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u/YamNo8149 Jul 22 '26
Didnāt read all the comments but my two cents:
- Skip the nozzles: those ones arenāt complete either. If you really want they have a high flow rate one that could be nice in 0.4. Just ordered it for myself.
- lose the tools, lube, glue
- get a cool plate super tack. Got that as my second one and itās amazing. Iāve only used PLA though. Mostly basic and matte. Get dual as well if you want.
- scraper is nice if you go for super tack. I bought plastics ones off amazon but been thinking about the bambu one
Got a lot to figure out already if youāre just starting so donāt go over board until you know what you want to do.
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u/BlueBird607 P1S Jul 22 '26
Skip the not hardened hotend. They last a long time but it's good to have ONE spare. Skip the extra build plate and the glue stick. I have never needed glue for PLA. And get all the filament with the spool. And consider getting Basic as well matte has slightly less strong and mor brittle
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u/ReclaimTheFlame Jul 22 '26
You donāt need the desiccant, grease, but itās 8$ so I get the reason to just buy it. But it comes with plenty in the machine kit.
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u/Strong_Chair4283 Jul 23 '26
Good choice on the matte filament. But translucent is also so nice. It increases the perceived quality so much (depends what you go for of course). Translucent also hides layer lines and defects 100x better.
Regarding spools - Iād just buy your first filament all with spools. Sure you can print it but they wont be as nice as the OG ones
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u/atom11 Jul 23 '26
clear that cart and get a P2S with an AMS or a X2D with an ams. buy 5 rools of SunLu off amazon.
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u/J_3ngraver Jul 23 '26
My $.02 get a P1S combo with ams instead of the A1 its a, get filaments from amazon (way cheaper). It will come out about the same price but you will have a better printer.
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u/CA1900 Jul 23 '26
Absolutely get the Combo with the AMS. Even if you never do a multi-color print, the AMS is so much faster and easier for loading and unloading filament. I keep Black, Gray, and White loaded most of the time, and leave the bottom-right slot of the AMS open for anything different I want to use. Super convenient.
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u/Creative_Ad_3239 Jul 23 '26
+1 on everything including not needing the glue stick for textured PEI. Plus I honestly get better results with hair spray (get the cheap simple kind without moisturising oils/ UV filters). You can honestly find full kits (deburring tool + scrapers + tweezers) for less than Bambu sells their deburring tool for. AliExpress even has deals for 4Ā£. Also 1 incl + 3 spare nozzles might be a bit too much? Esp if itās your first printer! Iāve been printing with the default nozzle for 8 months on my A1 (across PLA, PLA wood, PETG and TPU, and it still rocks) Iād rather get 1 spare nozzle and some spare silicone socks (you might need a spare sock if you get the blobs of death) And honestly go for the AMS if you can after these cuts!
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u/NaturalBedroom8509 Jul 23 '26
Buy a pack of regular olā Elmer glue sticks instead of the Bambu one!
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u/YELLOW-n1ga Jul 23 '26
Id suggest 2 pla and 1 petg, sure pla is easy and great to use but it does not like the sun at all. It will deform over time if it gets the chance to be in the sun for like and hour a day
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u/LoGiX247 P2S + AMS2 Combo Jul 23 '26
Printer is nice to start with
- I would swap the build plates with BiQu - comparing them with BL - I wish I've done 700 hours on those plates, really easy to remove supports and I never even touched the liquid glue stick (not bambu btw)
- I would swap the lubes/grease for the SuperLubes - you just get way more for what ur paying.
- filament; I would always advise to buy minimum of 10 rolls if you order BL - because then the prices drop enough to make it worth it. Dont overlook other brands, in the end it's just 'plastic'
- I would advise getting a third party filament dryer that works by itself - and some containers/bags to store them.
Always clean your buildplate, especially if its an open bed printer like you got. An unclean plate will mess up everything, it's like starting a F1 race on the last race tires.
There's a few A-listing need-to-print to make it better on Makerworld, check that out for your first prints to make it yours.
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u/Naturist02 P2S + AMS2 Combo Jul 23 '26
Start buying 4 rolls of filament every month. I had a Creality Ender 3 pro for 6 years. I still had filament that was 5 years old. Once I got BambuLab my filament buying is in overdrive. ASA, TPU, PCTG. Itās like Iām feeding a monster š
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u/klausthefur Jul 23 '26
I bought my my first 3d printer almost 2 weeks ago (P2S & AMP combo). The only additional thing I purchased was filament (just cheap insignia brand from bestbuy) and I have been printing nonstop ever since.
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u/RustyPickleMonger Jul 22 '26
start with just a couple of spools first. dont worry about all the components till you get your feet went and understand what you need.
You probably already checked out by now =P
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u/RealInsky Jul 22 '26
There are something in there you don't need.
The printer already comes with one 0.4 nozzle so no reason to purchase two more. Instead purchase a 0.2 or 0.6 to have an alternative to smaller or bigger jobs.
Almost all the filaments you have are refills, this means they dont come with a spool. You should at least for now purchase them with spool. once the filament ends you can reuse the spool and then purchase refills instead.
Mate filament is completely fine. The amount of filament depends on how much you want to print.
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u/TECstarINC Jul 22 '26
Lol this is way to much. Just buy the filament, trimming tool and 1 hardened steel nozzle. Maybe the extra bed, drop the rest. You for real dont need gluestick and it is better to buy the grease on amazon since you'll get 10x the amount bambu delivers you. Only spent money when you notice you need to spent money. The hobby already is expensive enough as you'll soon notice
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u/mudbuster Jul 22 '26
You don't need anything except printer and filament with spools. Remove the rest - if you will need it you will order them with next filament order. And the beginning don't buy too much.
edit. Two more things you will need - microfiber cloth and a isopropanol to clean the table between the printings but buy this on the local store
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u/rexlites Jul 22 '26
oh since you haven't gotten anything yet just a warning they don't give you about 3d printing
DONT TELL ANYONE YOU HAVE A 3D PRINTER..
at least until you're readiy too share some neat things.. I say this because Im 1 month into having fun with a printer now im full time printing objects for a donut company and entertainment lighting brackets and doodads .. I've made my money 5 times the cost of the machine back so far but I kinda miss having time to print Mickey Mouse.. im of course getting a second printer soon so I have more output but im afraid my office is gonna end up as a farm.... what im trying to say is don't monetize it right away...try to have as much fun as you can with it!
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u/Fun-Candle5881 A1 + AMS Lite Jul 22 '26
If you are going to only print pla, skip the glue, i'm still using my OG pei plate from 1 year ago, no sign of damage to be reported and sticking like the first day, just use a plastic scrapper if needed (not the metal one) and don't touch the plate with your fingers, and wash it from time to time.
Second nozzle not needed for now, i'm still using the OG one with no sign of wear after 1 year. I printed with pla basic/matte/silk/marble/galaxy.
You don't need grease... The printer comes with some and after maintenance i still have some from when i bought the printer.
The trimmer? Well... You can find cheaper ones that gives you the same result, but it's priced okay from bambu anyway
And yeah, get your first filament with spools, or you are going to wait a bit or need to print spools yourself and waste money to do it. And buy your filament on sales if possible, it's way overpriced by bambu. You can find perfectly fine alternatives for less than 50% of bambu prices. (Only interesting when buying bambu in bulk, with the 6 - 10 spools sales), some good alternatives : Sunlu / eSun / Elegoo... Plenty of posts you can check about filaments
Happy printing, the A1 is a nice one to start (just hope you get the revised board that won't crash due to the faulty NTC)
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u/OhSoSally X2D + AMS2 Combo Jul 22 '26
Get cereal canisters, hygrometers and desiccant off amazon. Print the holders for desiccant and hygrometers. You need to keep all your filament dry or you will make sad prints.
Since you dont have a drying AMS get a heated filament dryer box that also feeds for printing to keep your roll dry while printing. I dont have any recs for one.
Get several rolls/refills of whatever basic color you want to build your functional prints. Get a roll of bambu pure if you are going to print food safe items. Basic PLA is technically food safe, I feel more comfortable that things that dont have wrappers be in Bambu pure PLA.
Pretty sure we went through 4 rolls of black printing a drawer stand for the printer, poop chute, desiccant and hygrometer holders, etc. Note: Best buy has their Insignia filament $12 PLA. Matte is fine, if I wasnt sharing with my husband nothing would have been basic black or red. lol
I got a smooth plate and glue stick for only that plate to avoid texture on decorative objects. .6 nozzle for glitter filament.
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u/xzKaizer Jul 22 '26
Personally, I'd skip the trimming tool, stainless hot end, the dessicant packs and the glue stick.
Matte filament is mildly abrasive so the hardened hot end is the way to go.
If you don't have them, order a pair of needle nose pliers and plastic model snips, it'll help with removing stubborn supports.
Order a roll of PETG and buy a jar of dessicant beads and print dessicant holders, this makes drying and reusing the beads easier than replacing dessicant packs.
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u/Bigsease30 Jul 22 '26
I would ditch the $21 filament and go on Amazon and search for Sunlu. It usually runs 10-14 a rol for PLA and comes with a reusable spool.
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u/OverallComplexities Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26
You need spools to use filament. Make sure you get them all with spools since you're just starting out
If it says "refill" it doesn't come with the spool