I bought the A1 mini about 3 months ago - mostly so when the grandkids came over we could do stuff. And then I found all kinds of things I could do on it and had a blast myself. But so far, I have not outgrown the A1 mini - i.e. the kinds of things I'm doing are very practical - made some hinges, figurines for kids, storage for tiny stuff, solving little problems. My filament reserve army is growing by leaps and bounds - and my next problem to solve is storage for all of the filament spools!
I just got the Mini and it will absolutely do everything I want for tabletop gaming. I am also already saving up for an A1 combo cause there is so much more stuff I would love to do now that Ive gotten my feet wet.
Looking to get one of these but trying to decide on the A1 stand alone unit or the A1 mini with the AMS Lite. Both are roughly the same price. I like the idea of multi color printing but don't like how MUCH longer it takes and the amount of wasted filament. Any advice you can share?
If you can, I’d try to save for the A1 with AMS combo as your only printer. If you can’t, I’d probably go with the A1 mini with AMS, as long as you don’t need the larger build volume. If you’re just going to print little trinkets and doodads with some functional prints then the A1 mini will be totally enough for you, and the AMS is a game changer. Even if you don’t do much multicolour printing, the ability for just have 4 of your most frequently used filaments available at all times is awesome. I have a P1S and an A1 mini and I print commercially and I DO need the build volume of the P1S, but barring three of my most popular sellers (large items that use the whole bed), everything else can be printed by the Mini.
@@Hey_Its_Yosh I'm most likely going to with the A1 mini with the AMS Lite. Just thinking of the practicality of either having a smaller build volume with multi-color or a larger build volume with no multi-color (they are both the same price). My main dilemma is how much more time each print will take and and how much more expensive it will be. I don't plan on printing helmets or anything too huge. Just looking to dabble with 3D printing as a fun hobby. Thanks for your input, it's really appreciated.
@@Hey_Its_YoshThanks for sharing your experience! After watching all these reviews I'm even more on the fence as I went from wanting to buy the P1S with AMS to the A1 Mini and now the A1. The attractive thing for me with the latter 2 are the noise levels as apparently they are much quieter with no rattle. The P1S does have the appeal with a neat enclosure and AMS stacked on top, although some say the tech is actually better in the A1 so I'm confused AF at this point since I wanna place it in the corner of my desk where I work/game/study 😂
@@YaNeK92 if you want to put it on your desk where you work and play games then 100% get the A1. Having both, the A1 series is clearly a “next-gen” product. It’s INFINITELY quieter, during setup it calibrates to cancel out its own stepper motor noise and you can literally hear it making itself 4-5x quieter as it goes along. Once it’s all calibrated basically all I hear is some bearing noise and a minor amount of fan noise (but I print PETG with low fan). The P1S is a pretty loud machine, though it’s helped by the enclosure. The quality is at least as good as my P1S. A1 nozzle wiping system is better, and the purge system seems to be more consistent at not getting stuck in any way compared to my P1S. The interface on the A1 is a million times better than the P1S, so if you’re interacting with it on your desk that’s a nice to have. Some people say they prefer the AMS Lite over the AMS, but I personally like that the AMS is its own dry box and also fits nicely on the printer. There are some mods to make the AMS Lite sit I on top of the A1, but I don’t really think hanging that much weight off the gantry is a good idea. There are also mods to enclose it though, so that’s cool. Anyways, lots of words to say get an A1 over a P1S unless you print exotic materials.
Can you buy the a1 standard set up then add full colour at a later date.its a genuine question. My 12 year old son wants one for Christmas but i didnt want to spend the combo price just yet.i would have wanted to add the full colour at a later date.
Thanks for the comparison. I was looking at the A1 Mini myself, but now I agree with your review and comments. I am going to get the A1 because of the print bed size.
Hi there! 😃 I'm between the a1 mini with ams and the a1 alone. Would you recommend to get the a1 without the ams? The a1 mini looks way too small for me
I have had an ender 3 for about 3 years. I am going to be getting the A1 with ASM here this week. I am excited! Good short and sweet size vs cost comparison.
I agree with everything you said my reasoning for buying A1 mini is I already have a core XY printer with a 240 mm French bed and an enclosure so all I need it for is for smaller multicolor printing
It has the same hotend speed, however because of the core xy build causes the acceleration speed to be double of the bedslingers. It makes more of a difference during big prints, but for small prints there isn’t much of an advantage, other than the enclosure. If you mostly print PLA, PETG, or TPU, go with the a1 with the ams lite for multicolour. However, if you use harder to print things like ABS or ASA, use the enclosures like P1S and X1-C. The normal ams system is also enclosed, so filaments dry out slower. It’s a personal choice though.
After watching all of these reviews I went from wanting to get the P1S to the A1 mini and now to the A1 😂 The only thing is that i wish the A1 had an enclosure and a nicer looking AMS stackable on top. How would you rate them all in terms of loudness? And also tech improvement between all 3? Cheers!
Yeah, I'm in the "I shoulda got the A1 instead of the Mini" boat you describe. I wasn't at all sure whether 3D printing would be fun or useful to me, or just be the frustrating time-sink it was when I first tried it out 15 years ago. But the A1 Mini is awesome and I'm loving it, but I've got some ideas in mind that will require a little bigger print volume. I'll be upgrading to the A1 soon, and hoping that selling the Mini on eBay works out.
Thanks for you video. I don’t want to spend more and thinking about mini but with you video… yes i does make sens I will end with regretting getting a mini vs regular A1… so A1 here I come
I agree with his conclusion. From my experience if you are able to spend a little more go for the A1 with the AMS. I got the A1 mini with no AMS and am now kicking myself for not going for the bigger build plate combo. I love my A1 mini but do feel like im missing out on the multi color print at the very least. 😅
One of the main differences is the P1S comes with an enclosure. Keeps dust out and can print materials that need to be temp controlled while printing. But if you’re printing PLA, the A1 is a good solid choice!
I actually disagree. Most of people won’t print more than 180mm unless you really love carton models, but FDM is not that good anyway. And the AMS lite is not good as it doesn’t have dry feature. I’ll say for most people A1 mini is sufficient and people who print often (weekly if not everyday) should go AI combo or even P1S.
i got the a1 mini and theres an app that you could get with it and the app has told me that it cant build alot of models it says they are incompatable i regret getting the a1 mini
They don't do amazon because they are not stupid lol. I see people returning stuff they broke all the time. I swear, some guy was on his 3rd/4th motherboard before he realized he wired the power supply wrong.
I had years ago a Cetus3D Mk3. The A1 looks very similar. The Cetus was also praised like no other. Well, it was a piece of shit. It worked for a few months and then it got worse and worse. The question I have is why should I go for the A1 and waste my time and money? Yes and I make my own models
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I bought the A1 mini about 3 months ago - mostly so when the grandkids came over we could do stuff. And then I found all kinds of things I could do on it and had a blast myself. But so far, I have not outgrown the A1 mini - i.e. the kinds of things I'm doing are very practical - made some hinges, figurines for kids, storage for tiny stuff, solving little problems. My filament reserve army is growing by leaps and bounds - and my next problem to solve is storage for all of the filament spools!
How much do you think the extra arm in A1 improves the printing in comparison with the mini? THANK YOU
I just got the Mini and it will absolutely do everything I want for tabletop gaming. I am also already saving up for an A1 combo cause there is so much more stuff I would love to do now that Ive gotten my feet wet.
Which plate does the a1 mini have after you purchase it?
Textured PEI plate. Works amazing
Thanks for making the video short and simple!
which Bambu lab printer should I buy? coming from an Anycubic Kobar2 ??
Looking to get one of these but trying to decide on the A1 stand alone unit or the A1 mini with the AMS Lite. Both are roughly the same price. I like the idea of multi color printing but don't like how MUCH longer it takes and the amount of wasted filament. Any advice you can share?
Go all in on multicolor printing! You may think you don’t need it but it’s SO MUCH FUN
If you can, I’d try to save for the A1 with AMS combo as your only printer.
If you can’t, I’d probably go with the A1 mini with AMS, as long as you don’t need the larger build volume. If you’re just going to print little trinkets and doodads with some functional prints then the A1 mini will be totally enough for you, and the AMS is a game changer. Even if you don’t do much multicolour printing, the ability for just have 4 of your most frequently used filaments available at all times is awesome.
I have a P1S and an A1 mini and I print commercially and I DO need the build volume of the P1S, but barring three of my most popular sellers (large items that use the whole bed), everything else can be printed by the Mini.
@@Hey_Its_Yosh I'm most likely going to with the A1 mini with the AMS Lite. Just thinking of the practicality of either having a smaller build volume with multi-color or a larger build volume with no multi-color (they are both the same price). My main dilemma is how much more time each print will take and and how much more expensive it will be. I don't plan on printing helmets or anything too huge. Just looking to dabble with 3D printing as a fun hobby. Thanks for your input, it's really appreciated.
@@Hey_Its_YoshThanks for sharing your experience! After watching all these reviews I'm even more on the fence as I went from wanting to buy the P1S with AMS to the A1 Mini and now the A1. The attractive thing for me with the latter 2 are the noise levels as apparently they are much quieter with no rattle. The P1S does have the appeal with a neat enclosure and AMS stacked on top, although some say the tech is actually better in the A1 so I'm confused AF at this point since I wanna place it in the corner of my desk where I work/game/study 😂
@@YaNeK92 if you want to put it on your desk where you work and play games then 100% get the A1. Having both, the A1 series is clearly a “next-gen” product. It’s INFINITELY quieter, during setup it calibrates to cancel out its own stepper motor noise and you can literally hear it making itself 4-5x quieter as it goes along. Once it’s all calibrated basically all I hear is some bearing noise and a minor amount of fan noise (but I print PETG with low fan). The P1S is a pretty loud machine, though it’s helped by the enclosure.
The quality is at least as good as my P1S. A1 nozzle wiping system is better, and the purge system seems to be more consistent at not getting stuck in any way compared to my P1S.
The interface on the A1 is a million times better than the P1S, so if you’re interacting with it on your desk that’s a nice to have.
Some people say they prefer the AMS Lite over the AMS, but I personally like that the AMS is its own dry box and also fits nicely on the printer. There are some mods to make the AMS Lite sit I on top of the A1, but I don’t really think hanging that much weight off the gantry is a good idea. There are also mods to enclose it though, so that’s cool.
Anyways, lots of words to say get an A1 over a P1S unless you print exotic materials.
thanks alot, how is the smell just with the normal filament's? i mean as it don't get as hot as the niche filaments
Can you buy the a1 standard set up then add full colour at a later date.its a genuine question.
My 12 year old son wants one for Christmas but i didnt want to spend the combo price just yet.i would have wanted to add the full colour at a later date.
Yes you can, you can get the standalone printer and after you can get the ams lite for multicolor
@ thanks for the reply much appreciated
I just prefer the A1 for the small footprint allowing it to easily fit where I need it to be.
Thanks for the comparison. I was looking at the A1 Mini myself, but now I agree with your review and comments. I am going to get the A1 because of the print bed size.
Hello. Agreed with your points. Can you tell me, where can i find the stl's for the cat and mario prints? Thanks a lot!
Hi there! 😃 I'm between the a1 mini with ams and the a1 alone. Would you recommend to get the a1 without the ams? The a1 mini looks way too small for me
Get the A1 with AMS and don’t look back!
I have had an ender 3 for about 3 years. I am going to be getting the A1 with ASM here this week. I am excited! Good short and sweet size vs cost comparison.
I have an x1c and use that for large prints. Been thinking about getting a mini with ams lite for my .2 nozzle smaller detailed prints.
Just getting into this. Wondering what you think on where to purchase PLA from? Whats good what’s bad? Do I need PLA+?
I would buy Sunlu on amazon! ➡ Sunlu Filament Kit - amzn.to/3XSvYmd
I agree with everything you said my reasoning for buying A1 mini is I already have a core XY printer with a 240 mm French bed and an enclosure so all I need it for is for smaller multicolor printing
Speed wise, does the A1 compare with the X1C and P Series?
It has the same hotend speed, however because of the core xy build causes the acceleration speed to be double of the bedslingers. It makes more of a difference during big prints, but for small prints there isn’t much of an advantage, other than the enclosure. If you mostly print PLA, PETG, or TPU, go with the a1 with the ams lite for multicolour. However, if you use harder to print things like ABS or ASA, use the enclosures like P1S and X1-C. The normal ams system is also enclosed, so filaments dry out slower. It’s a personal choice though.
does the A1 actually come with the ams lite? or is that an add on?
It’s an add on known as the combo
You know what would suck? Getting an A1 mini and then after a year finding out that you DO want to print something a bit larger.
I got a a1 mini as a upgrade weeks ago and I’m about to buy the A1
Exactly..
*FYI:*
Bambu printers are available on Amazon in Australia 🦘
Really?… weird!
@@3DPrintDood Yeah it's real bro
After watching all of these reviews I went from wanting to get the P1S to the A1 mini and now to the A1 😂
The only thing is that i wish the A1 had an enclosure and a nicer looking AMS stackable on top.
How would you rate them all in terms of loudness? And also tech improvement between all 3? Cheers!
The P1S is LOUD and the A1 is def more quiet!
Yeah, I'm in the "I shoulda got the A1 instead of the Mini" boat you describe. I wasn't at all sure whether 3D printing would be fun or useful to me, or just be the frustrating time-sink it was when I first tried it out 15 years ago. But the A1 Mini is awesome and I'm loving it, but I've got some ideas in mind that will require a little bigger print volume. I'll be upgrading to the A1 soon, and hoping that selling the Mini on eBay works out.
Your videos are so useful for us new to the hobby. Thanks for what you do.
Thanks for you video. I don’t want to spend more and thinking about mini but with you video… yes i does make sens I will end with regretting getting a mini vs regular A1… so A1 here I come
Can the mini print big dragons? Lol that what i meed to know. My son loves them
I agree with his conclusion. From my experience if you are able to spend a little more go for the A1 with the AMS. I got the A1 mini with no AMS and am now kicking myself for not going for the bigger build plate combo. I love my A1 mini but do feel like im missing out on the multi color print at the very least. 😅
That make sense, I am trying to upgrade my ender 3 to either A1c or P1S, do you think there will be a substantial difference between these two?
One of the main differences is the P1S comes with an enclosure. Keeps dust out and can print materials that need to be temp controlled while printing. But if you’re printing PLA, the A1 is a good solid choice!
imo just buy the bigger one, and add the ams later__?
You say the A1 is faster than the A1 . . . Bambu Labs disagree, they says the A1 mini prints slightly faster than the A1.
I actually disagree. Most of people won’t print more than 180mm unless you really love carton models, but FDM is not that good anyway. And the AMS lite is not good as it doesn’t have dry feature. I’ll say for most people A1 mini is sufficient and people who print often (weekly if not everyday) should go AI combo or even P1S.
But for a little more.....next thing you know I am looking at the carbon!!
i got the a1 mini and theres an app that you could get with it and the app has told me that it cant build alot of models it says they are incompatable i regret getting the a1 mini
They don't do amazon because they are not stupid lol. I see people returning stuff they broke all the time. I swear, some guy was on his 3rd/4th motherboard before he realized he wired the power supply wrong.
For only $60 difference I could buy 2 A1 mini, tough dilemma.
Make sure you get multicolor
out door price.....plus tax
I had years ago a Cetus3D Mk3. The A1 looks very similar. The Cetus was also praised like no other. Well, it was a piece of shit. It worked for a few months and then it got worse and worse. The question I have is why should I go for the A1 and waste my time and money? Yes and I make my own models
Why so much anger dude?
@@3DPrintDoodHe's salty he bought a piece of shit
don't buy any 3d printer at all if you value your time and money, its not for you
I had many years ago a Creality Ender 3. The Cetus3D Mk3 looks very similar😂😂😂😂😂