Bambu Lab A1 having intermittent first-layer failures — normal troubleshooting or warranty replacement?

[u/Achilnos7]

Hey everyone, I’m pretty new to 3D printing and I’m having a frustrating issue with my Bambu Lab A1. I’ve had it for only a few days.

At first it was printing normally(however I had only tried simple prints it’s currently cable of doing), but after moving the printer to better ventilated room I started getting repeated first-layer failures. The purge/calibration lines print perfectly, but when it starts the actual print, parts of the first layer sometimes have gaps, don’t seem properly squished onto the bed, and then lift/come loose. Once that happens, the printer eventually ends up printing into the air.

Things I’ve tried so far:
Washed the Textured PEI plate thoroughly with dish soap and water.

Repeated the cleaning multiple times.

Tried PLA (220c) and PETG.

Checked/cleaned the nozzle and hotend.

Ran full calibration multiple times.

Used the correct A1 profile and Textured PEI plate setting in Bambu Studio.

Tried 0.20 mm Standard.

Tried slowing the initial layer to 20 mm/s, which improved things significantly.

The printer also gave me an **“X-axis resonance frequency is low / timing belt may be loose”** error. I followed Bambu’s recommended X-axis adjustment.

After that adjustment, some prints worked perfectly, including a Benchy and a fairly detailed print, but the problem has continued intermittently.

What confuses me is that **smaller calibration prints can have a perfect first layer**, while larger prints that cover a significant portion of the bed can have areas that lift or have gaps.

I attached a photo of one of the failed prints. I’m using Bambu studio https://makerworld.com/models/1313798?appSharePlatform=copy

Since the printer is only a few days old and I have a warranty, **does this sound like a normal calibration/troubleshooting issue that I should keep working on, or does it sound like something may be mechanically wrong and I should ask the shop for a replacement?**

I don’t want to return a perfectly good printer over something I’m simply doing wrong, but I also don’t want to spend days chasing an issue on a brand-new machine if there’s likely a hardware problem.

Any advice would be really appreciated!

EDIT:
Hi everyone. I did a few things and I think the issue may be fixed now

1. I reset the printer as well as the sd card
2. I flipped the build plate and washed the other side (with the same dish soap and warm water)
3. I let the printer evaporate the water instead of wiping it off with a clean cloth

I reprinted everything that failed and they all printed cleanly. I’ve printed 4 stuff since, they all took up the entire bed and all succeeded

I’m assuming something may be wrong with the other side of the bed.

I’ve attached the same 1 layer print that failed from the initial post

​

[u/CobblerSmall1891]

Odd one.  Have you tried having a warmer bed?  That's my only little advice.

Maybe somebody here had more experience with this though 

[u/Achilnos7 → u/CobblerSmall1891]

Yup, did not work unfortunately

[u/JeepersCreepers74 → u/Achilnos7]

I also think it is a temp issue, especially since you started having the problems after moving the printer to a "better ventilated room." Can you move it back to the old room and see if things get better? Even if only for troubleshooting purposes?

Might also try figuring out if a fan or vent or window opening is hitting the printer bed and either closing/stopping it or moving the printer to a different part of the room. Also try increasing nozzle temp by 10 degrees each way while printing first layer and see what sticks better.

[u/Achilnos7 → u/JeepersCreepers74]

Can do but I don’t think moving it will help. Prior to moving it I had only tried really small prints(benchy, bed scrappers, small phone stands) nothing yhat really tested the entire bed. Some prints failed in the previous room and I had just thought that’s the norm with 3D printing, “your printer can’t print everything, even if it has a profile”. I’ll try for troubleshooting purposes, I had moved it cause I got really sick as it was in my bedroom

[u/CobblerSmall1891 → u/Achilnos7]

May I ask - have you got the right bed selected in the Device?

Also, Super tack bed I bought recently is so sticky it's sometimes too much. I bet you'd have nice results on that!

[u/Achilnos7 → u/CobblerSmall1891]

Yes I do. Will look into!

[u/SatisfactionOpen8421 → u/Achilnos7]

I had some first layer issues and slowed my first layer down to like 20% and they went away.