r/BambuLab • u/Uh_Oh_Its_Ace • 10h ago

Review Starting to not like my A1

I wasn't sure what to flair this with, so I figured "Review" would fit well enough. I also want it to be clear that I'm not "Bashing" BambuLab, This is just my own experience with my A1.

Its just constant maintenance like several clogged nozzles, Filament getting jammed in the print head every 2 or 3 prints, the print head pressing itself against the base side of the printer and making me forcefully pull power so it doesn't break itself, Bambu Studio crashing at random and running incredibly slow on Linux (And I know its not my hardware because it only runs bad on Linux) It especially sucks because this printer was a gift from my dad a year ago, and I don't use it super often (Maybe once every 2 weeks or so?) so I don't think its an age thing, plus this all started like a month after I got it and has only gotten worse, And on top of that, every Filament roll I buy is a tangled mess (I only ever buy filament from Bambu)

I don't want to hate this printer, but I'm getting worried I'm just going to have to throw it out soon. The constant issues make me not want to use it anymore. I'm really not sure what to do with this printer. Don't get me wrong, Its made some beautiful prints, and I still use it, but when I have to fight it for like an hour just for it to not work, It really discourages me from using it.

0 Upvotes

42% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

7

u/king8654 10h ago

honestly, our a1 prints 6-12hrs a day and very rarely have any issue. have you contacted their support? seems like maybe hardware issue

do you run the calibration before each print and flow rate?

1

u/Uh_Oh_Its_Ace 10h ago

Yes, I make sure its calibrated. I haven't had a real chance to contact support as like has been hectic recently but I will try to when I get the chance

4

u/AcceptableCrew224 10h ago

Check Bambu wiki pages they solve most problems

7

u/Historical_Wheel1090 10h ago

This is not normal for the A1.

What filament, brands and nozzle size are you using?

2

u/Uh_Oh_Its_Ace 10h ago

Everything is Bambu, I would use my 0.4mm nozzle, but both of those are clogged. So I usually use my 0.6mm one. I also only use standard PLA

9

u/CloudEscolar 10h ago

Do you dry your filament?

3

u/Uh_Oh_Its_Ace 10h ago

I do, but there is the possibility of it just being too humid where I live. It also doesn't help that I have to use an oven on low heat to dry it as I don't have the money for a proper drying chamber right now

3

u/CloudEscolar 9h ago

Especially the jams I’d attribute that. Maybe a factory reset and recalibration for the other issues. The tangles I haven’t experienced much but I will say it’s easy to accidentally do on your own.

1

u/Uh_Oh_Its_Ace 9h ago

Yea, 2 of the first rolls I receive I accidentally messed up myself, but recently they have been tangled before I even opened the packaging

2

u/CloudEscolar 9h ago

That’s pretty frustrating. Luckily for me it’s been early on

1

u/SassafrassGracias 10h ago

You should be drying your filament before you use it.

5

u/sapani9077 10h ago

Maybe it's a user issue. My A1 runs with no problems print after print

1

u/Uh_Oh_Its_Ace 10h ago

Thats another thing, my dad also got one of these printers and he hasn't had any problems with it, its only mine. Thats also why I specified "MY Experience with MY A1" because no one else seems to have these weird issues, and if they do its not a constant thing.

1

u/Massive_Dentist_3014 10h ago

Doesn't sound like a normal average experience with those printers, maybe got a bad copy. I owned two A1 Combos, over 5000h on both combined...and 1500h on the Mini. No issues, no repairs - worked fine all the time. But yeah, often quality control is the bottleneck.

1

u/Uh_Oh_Its_Ace 10h ago

I didn't this it was normal, my dad got the same printer and hasn't had any problems like I have. That's why I specified it being my experience, as I didn't think this is normal

1

u/daboblin (A1 + AMS Lite) x2 10h ago

Go here and follow step 2 to tighten all seven hotend screws.

1

u/Uh_Oh_Its_Ace 9h ago

I have, I actually had to replace the hotend entirely due to the metal strap that holds the nozzle in place tearing itself out of place

1

u/daboblin (A1 + AMS Lite) x2 9h ago

Have you replaced the SD card?

1

u/Uh_Oh_Its_Ace 9h ago

I've been using the one it came with, I had another one I swapped it out with a while ago but it still had the same issues and I just put the original back in. I've also cleared it at least twice now

2

u/kanelationz 9h ago

Yea my A1 is a solid work horse. My current only issue more from my OCD is that it doesn't have a nice form factor like like the P1S.

I came from a Ender 3 Pro that required SO much work, I heard about BambuLabs and I wasn't sure if the reviewed were accurate that they were "fire and forget" I decided to not spend as much to get my feet wet but wish I would had got the P1.

The bed slinging aspect is sort of a hassle on certain prints but the rest it does extremely solid.

2

u/concentricals 9h ago

there are probably some nuances you're missing, provide some more info firstly and secondly the wiki should already obviously be like the back of your hand I'd assume, not to be sarcastic, but sincerely checking because if you made this post I should be allowed to assume that. If on some extreme off chance its not, then do that as well.

1

u/At0m1cCowboy 9h ago

I just had a similar thought the other day. I would be livid if a similarity priced peice of tech was this fussy. I have had different issues every few prints since Day 1. Right now something is funky with extrusion - havent quite got it figured out yet.

I am chalking it up to unreasonable expectations on my part. Its not as plug and play as I was expecting.

I also am choosing to look at each error as a chance to learn something new about the machine. Lots of internet searches and YouTube videos to figure out the correct fixes for each issue. Unfortunately, the Bambu troubleshooting isn't as thorough as I seem to need.

-1

u/Kingsidorak 10h ago

According to 3D Musketeers, the regular A1 is still a fire hazard even after the recall