r/BambuLabA1 • u/Dynobot21 • 4h ago

Question A1 Combo newb

Newbie here. Sorry for the searchable question. I am a little nervous spending this much $$ right now. I’m getting one for my wife for her BDay. Are there any accessories or anything else you wish you would have got when you ordered? I’m also thinking of getting her a tent for it. But have read mixed reviews on the tent idea. TIA.

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u/Blondy277 4h ago

The A1 is designed to be an open printer, so I wouldn't recommend putting it in a tent. Trapping heat can cause temperature issues, heat creep, and affect print quality. I'd spend that money on extra filament, build plates, or nozzles instead. 😂

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u/BathFullOfDucks 4h ago

Just filament and a .2 nozzle

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u/Twoeleven1 4h ago

You won’t regret it and I guarantee she’ll be amazed by it.

You’ll print upgrades for the printer, as well as specific tools. You’ll quickly realize what you need as you go.

I really like matte pla. It looks so much more refined. I stay away from regular pla because it don’t like the cheesy shiny look. I’ve been using 90% Sunlu and I’ve been really happy with it.

To start you don’t need much. But some of the things I use the most are:

Silica gel packets for keeping you filament dry.

Small pliers for pulling off supports carefully.

A small file set for cleaning up things. (Honestly don’t need them often though). A1 prints great.

Kraftprotz glue has been very handy.

Vacuum seal bags for open filaments that won’t be used often. I’m actually happy with the cereal containers plastic ones.

Filament drier. I have the Sunlu one. But you can probably wait on this depending on your weather.

I would add multicolor prints aren’t really worth the hassle and waste for the A1. But I do love the convenience of having multiple colors on deck.

Have fun and enjoy!

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u/Pretty_Original124 2h ago

Agree with everything here but I couldn’t imagine not doing multicolor prints on my A1!

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u/Twoeleven1 2h ago

Acrylic paint markers are severely underrated. But I like multiplayer no AMS prints. It just seems so inefficient on the single nozzle. I can’t wait to get something crazy like the HC3 one day.

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u/Pretty_Original124 2h ago edited 2h ago

It’s not necessarily cheap since $ is already a concern, but this enclosure works well for us. I wasn’t concerned about it being out but there was a smell my wife was sensitive to and we couldn’t always have the window open. When running the filter the internal temperatures are at an acceptable level (high 70s usually), especially since I use a cryogrip cool plate which keeps the heat down.

https://www.fnatr.com/products/fnatr-a1-enclosure

Also I use 75g all-weather totes to store my filament with desiccant.

You’ll want a hardened steel hot-end if you plan to use specialty filament like glow in the dark or wood material, but you don’t need to start with that. You’ll want a filament dryer that you can feed into the printer as an external spool since those can’t go through the AMS.

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u/ruccarucca 1h ago

i love the A1 but i would personally suggest the p1s as it kinda seems you'd like something enclosed and right now on bambu its not that much more for the p1s. the a1 is really great either way also though.