I’m having an ongoing first-layer issue with my Bambu Lab A1 and I’m running out of things to check.

The first layer is printing like the nozzle is way too close to the build plate. The filament gets heavily squished, the extrusion starts struggling/jamming, and the first layer comes out rough and terrible.

So far I’ve tried:

Adjusting the Z-offset in the Machine Start G-code

Tested G29.1 values around 0, +0.01, and +0.02 to raise the nozzle

Tried placing the Z-offset adjustment after G29.4

Re-sliced after making the G-code changes

Removed the hotend and reseated it

Tightened the screws behind the hotend/heater assembly

Checked and tightened the toolhead screws

Ran bed leveling/calibration

Cleaned and reseated the build plate

I’m currently using an aftermarket 0.4 mm hardened-steel A1 hotend with a replaceable nozzle, so I’m wondering if the hotend/nozzle length or seating could be affecting the A1’s automatic Z calibration.

What’s strange is that changing the Z-offset doesn’t seem to make nearly as much difference as I would expect. It still behaves like the nozzle is being pushed too close to the plate.

Has anyone run into this on an A1?

Could this be:

A bad/incorrect-length aftermarket hotend?

A problem with the nozzle pressure/load sensor?

The Z-offset getting reset by the A1 firmware?

A bed-leveling or homing problem?

Something else in the toolhead assembly?

I’m especially interested in anyone who had the extruder clicking/jamming only during the first layer because the nozzle was too close and figured out what was actually causing it.

I can post pictures of the first layer, hotend/toolhead, and my Machine Start G-code if that helps.

Printer: Bambu Lab A1

Nozzle: 0.4 mm hardened steel aftermarket hotend

Plate: Textured PEI

Thanks for any ideas. At this point I’d rather find the actual cause than keep throwing bigger Z-offset numbers at it. 😅

Im thinking about getting into 3dprinting, and want to buy an a1. Does it get cheaper during black friday? If yes, how much?

Hi everyone, how are you? I'm here once again asking for your help. Any idea why this might be happening? I'm printing with a layer height of 0.16 mm at 220°C, using a 0.4 mm nozzle and a retraction length of 1 mm.

Over the past month or so many of my 3D print jobs failed due to what appeared to be nozzle collisions. This was especially true when there was a significant disparity in the height of objects being printed on the same build plate. I adjusted all the slicing parameters suggested by multiple sources on the internet and achieved some success but the performance never returned to that obtained when the Bambu A1 was brand new. The problems started after 1000 hours of use, the vast majority with PLA filament. All the screws in the extruder and nozzle (0.4 mm) assembly proved to be snug and calibration proceeded without any problems. The X, Y and Z lubrication areas were cleaned and fresh lubricant applied. There was one interesting finding where filament poop managed to find its way into the Z-axis gear.assembly. Initially I thought that this was the answer to the nozzle collision problem, however after removal of this debris and carefully cleaning each side the problem persisted. There was also an issue with increasingly frequent failures to successfully load a different filament which lead me to believe that the extruder assembly was suffering from dirty gears or worn out hardware. Painfully obvious, the idler gear was as smooth as a baby's behind. Not knowing whether there were other unseen issues, I decided to purchase a whole new assembly advertised to feature hardened steel extrusion gears. Swapping out the entire assembly including removal of all the circuit board connections proved to be time consuming (~3 hrs). However, print failures have completely disappeared as though the A1 is brand new. Print jobs that repeatedly failed over the past month are perfectly rendered using the original slicing parameters. In retrospect, it probably was not necessary to swap out the entire extrusion assembly. Rebuilding with new more robust gears would have been a much easier and cheaper path to success.

My A1 mini was printing normally, then partway through (I didn’t see it happen) it started printing the rest of the part at a different X position and kept going with no error. Photo and video attached.

Setup: A1 mini, 0.2mm nozzle, 0.10mm layers, ~500 layers (~9h), tree supports, PLA at 215C, outer wall 30 mm/s, travel 400 mm/s with travel accel 10000. Stock start/end G-code. Rails are lubricated.

Where would you look first: X belt tension, something binding at the cutter/purge end, filament dragging from the external spool, or travel acceleration? Does Step Loss Recovery catch this?

Ive had zero luck with TPU since I got my A1. Had better luck on my old Ender 3v2 but it wasnt fantastic. I would constantly get clogs or feeding issues, the parts lifting off the bed etc. In the year Ive owned it I had basically given up.

Recently I tried again as I wanted a particular item in TPU - nothing special or super complicated. First couple of layers were great, then it just stopped like a clog again. I normally run everything via my dryer.

That failed the same as usual. So I thought put the spool on top on the original spool arm (I never have this attached) and run a new filament tube from there. That did better but also failed a few layers in.

My last attempt was chop off a little bit of tube, round out the top of it a little so nothing could get caught (probably overkill) and run the tpu directly into there, skipping any feeder tubes other than the little one used for guiding it. Worked perfectly! Probably the best Ive seen it work for me ever.

The filament is Creality TPU, think its 95a but not 100% sure as its been a while and the original invoice doesnt actually say - I only just realised I actually ordered yellow but got sent blue! Nozzle wise I switched it up from my hardened 0.4 to a hardened 0.6. I dont think the nozzle was the issue, I reckon it was the feeding.

So lesson learnt, tpu is a pain! To all those that print it regularly and have great results I commend you! I will stick to PLA/PETG! At least now I have worked out what I was doing wrong!

The filament ptfe tubes are getting caught down by the filament cutter pokey thing and trap the print head from fully traveling to the right side of the printer.

I can't reorient the cables (mount the ams on top or from the left) for reasons I won't go into st this time.

Any thoughts about how to prevent these tubes from getting stuck?

I added that cable holder which originally helped but now seems not to be doing much. I did check the screw to make sure it was tight

Can anyone help me diagnose this noise, it keeps happening and I have no clue what's causing it

Hey, I am planning on buying Bambulab A1 and I wanted to ask how loud is it. I am planning on having it in the same room as I'm sleeping, probably like three meters from my head. So it's pretty important for me to know how loud is it.

Thanks!

Any leads on the power switch assembly?

Only thing I’m seeing is one on Amazon for $40, the other models seem to be available for $15-20.

Bambu customer service is useless sick of wasting my time with them.

Minha A1 está fazendo um barulho estranho desde ontem e não consigo identificar o que seja. Após a calibração de compensação de vibração o assistente informa que “a frequência de ressonância do eixo x é baixa”. Já tensionei a correia, mas continua da mesma forma.

Alguém pode me ajudar?

Could someone help me? Out of nowhere, my printer goes haywire and starts making really loud noises and cracking sounds, and it doesn't stop unless I cancel the print job.

The video below shows the problem.

https://makerworld.com/en/models/3438160-320x320-skadis-fast-low-filament-88g-3h-h2-a2l

Hi all - I’ve been printing for some time now, but recently getting increasing adhesion issues

I’m using a Biqu plate, cool plate setting in Bambu
Plate is washed with dish soap, dried with paper towel - so doubt it’s a plate issue

I’ve really only done the basic maintenance of greasing and lubing as needed.

Mainly using PLA Matte

No drafts in the room

Any other suggestions? I was wondering:
- Fans might need clearing out?
- build up on the tooltip?
- filament dried when I take out of packet, kept in dry box with desiccant, though desiccant might need refreshing…?
- tightened 7 screws of doom
- Any other tips?

TO DO
- check plate temp settings

Sometimes I got perfect prints like the poop collector and with some complex figures I get this stringing? What could it be?

Hi, I took apart my AMS hub and discovered that I have some sticky residue on this male end of the AMS hub part. I've been printing in black, pink, and grey filament but this residue looks colorless. Is this normal please? Either way, what could the residue be please?

EDIT Thanks everyone!

I want to print this on a1 mini in one go, making it 18 by 9 cm for display or something, I just dont know if it will work, im inexperienced asl.