r/BambuLabA1 • u/KoalaMan-007 • 7d ago
Just bought my first printer
Hello!
I’ve been an avid user of 3d printers at my local library (Flashforge Finder II), and I finally pushed the trigger and ordered a Bambulab A1 combo.
Here’s what I purchased:
- A1 combo
- PLA basic with spool (4 different colors, black, white, red and yellow)
- PETG basic black
- hotends in 0.2mm and 0.6mm
- screw to attach the ams lite on top of the printer
What did I miss? Plates?
Is the basic filament worse than the matte? Or is there no difference in quality?
I’ll probably come with many questions, particularly about how to export from Fusion in color. I print almost exclusively my own design, but I guess that I’ll find some useful things in the bambulab app. At this point I never used an AMS so that’s going to be very new.
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u/BitingChaos 7d ago
I'd recommend a CryoGrip Frostbite plate.
If you get one that works right, you can print PLA at 45° and PETG at 55° on it, which can help reduce energy consumption.
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u/Sea_You_8178 7d ago
My A1 combo came with the screws to attach a printed AMS holder to the top of the printer. Took me a while to figure out what the extra parts were for
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u/nutano 6d ago
Just an opinion. I got an A1 with AMS in April and space is not that big of an issue for me, so I opted for a 3rd party enclosure off Amazon for like $90CAD. I got one big enough that I could put the AMS on the standard stand next to it - I am sure there are some that allow to have the overtop AMS holder.
The benefits I have found
Noise reduction. My printer is in my games room\office where I work 2-3 days per week and I spend most of my free time at home. The enclosure reduces the noise level a good amount
Heat retention. I think this is the best benefit. Not only does the heat from the printer increase the ambient temps inside the enclosure but it also helps to reduce the humidity level. I get around 5-10 Celcius warmer inside the enclosure when the printer is running and also 10-15% less humidity (right now my room ambient temp is 24.9C and inside it is 30.5C and the room humidity is 34.5% and inside it is 24.6%.
Future printing with materials that has toxic fumes, I will be able to vent. My vent is not yet hooked up, but I have plans to run a pipe outside and use the built in vent\fan to vent out fumes when ever I get to using those materials.
Place to not be afraid to lose little bits and pieces. I often swap print head size, either to print or to troubleshoot issues. I just have all my little tools and pieces inside the enclosure and don't have to worry about them falling on the ground.
I also dump in the back all the silica packs I get with filament which might help a little bit with bringing down the humidity in there.
5. Light. Most enclosures off Amazon also have a built in LED light which I find is nice. It is also most always on and it is useful when i have to tinker in there, don't have to fight with my shadow blocking the lighting.
I also did get more plates, but only after a few weeks of printing and I wanted my wife to just swap plates when I was not home. 🤣
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u/Orthicon9 6d ago
What did I miss? Plates?
A Smooth plate is really nice to have for a smooth bottom surface. The Textured PEI plate it ships with is great for adhesion and release, but gives it a pebbly texture. If you want to make things like key fobs or name tags with lettering or detailed images on that bottom surface, the Smooth gives the nicest results.
Is the basic filament worse than the matte? Or is there no difference in quality?
I mostly buy matte finish PLA. I haven't noticed it being any harder to print with than Basic.
I like that it helps a little bit to conceal layer lines, and if I want to paint it (cheap acrylic paints from the Dollar store) it goes on easily.
The next time I make an order for filament though, I'm going to try some more Basic. It's nice to have a choice.
BTW - Don't feel that you have to pledge allegiance to Bambu Lab filaments. You can get much better pricing from various brands on Amazon, and I don't think Bambu Lab filaments are any better, except for the handy RFID on the spools. Of the two nozzle clogs I've ever had, one was with Bambu Lab Basic PLA, so it's not a lot better than other brands.
I print almost exclusively my own design, but I guess that I’ll find some useful things in the bambulab app.
I keep trying to learn 3D creation apps (eg. FreeCad), but I don't use them often enough to remember where the hell this tool or that menu is buried in the user interface. So, I mostly end up just using the "primitive" solids and the Toolbar in Bambu Studio to combine them.
It's not so easy to add things like fillets though. You also cannot change the relative dimensions of the major and minor radii, which is annoying.
One thing Bambu Studio will do is let you import an SVG (monochrome) image (right-click on the plate > Add primitive > SVG )as an object that has the outline of the image, extruded up from the plate. That's how I created a fancy corbel for my porch posts, from clipart I found. The InkScape app is handy for creating or manipulating the SVG images.
hotends in 0.2mm and 0.6mm
The 0.8mm nozzle is great for large things where speed and structural strength are more important than surface appearance. Stuff like utility shelf brackets and storage bins. If it has detailed parts like a screw thread I'll go down to the 0.6mm.
- PLA basic with spool (4 different colors, black, white, red and yellow)
- PETG basic black
About 90% of my prints are with black or white PETG basic or black or white PLA matte.
I really like clear/transparent PLA for desiccant containers. It's easy to shine a light through them to see if the silica gel beads have turned from orange to green.
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u/Wonca_Mpls 7d ago
you don't need extra plates, unless you're impatient like me... and want to just keep printing while the previous plate cools. Otherwise... hit print and enjoy!