Bambu Lab A1 mini AMS lite 3D Printer Review – It probably won’t get much easier than this

Summary and conclusion

Is it a tradition now? Here is my list of further notes, anomalies and comments in no particular order:

• When switching on or after printing, the printer plays a small melody, the sound output can be deactivated
• A microphone must be installed somewhere on the printer to carry out the measurement for Active Noise Cancelling
• A micro SD card must be inserted for printing
• The slicer does not have access to the SD card, so time-lapse recordings must be transferred manually via a reader
• The slicer aligns the objects preferably next to each other on the X-axis, as close as possible to the right-hand side towards the camera
• The A1 mini appears in the WLAN as “Expressif”
• The touchscreen is not anti-reflective and fingerprints are clearly visible very quickly
• The heating bed is insulated on the underside by a layer of silicone
• The diffuser in front of the LED lighting can be swiveled 180° to cover the camera lens
• If you activate the time-lapse recording, the print head moves each layer to the far left, which sometimes leads to small errors in the print image
• There is no official solution for collecting the filament residue from the color change, the printer simply “shoots” it off to the side

With one of the early firmware versions, the following warning was displayed with certain settings, which I have also seen with the Bambu Lab P1S.

Just doesn’t make much sense with the A1 mini, there is obviously no door to open. Apparently this small error was quickly noticed and fixed, after one of the first updates I no longer received this message.

When printing PLA (220°C/60°C), the moving motors draw around 85 watts. When the printer is switched on in idle mode, it draws 7 watts; if the stepper motors are energized after bed leveling but before printing, for example, the consumption is 18 watts. A noise level of 55.3 dB(A) can be measured at a distance of around 40 cm from the closed front during active operation. It takes 77 seconds for the nozzle to heat up to 220°C, the print bed reaches a temperature of 60°C after 276 seconds. At the peak, 135 watts were required to heat up both parts simultaneously.

Bambu Lab’s press material shows that the A1 mini only requires a footprint the size of an A4 sheet of paper. This may be true in theory, but in practice it is once again not the case. Without the AMS lite, you can call it a really compact 3D printer, but with the system you need just as much space as for a P1S, for example. The whole thing is quite bulky.

I also find it interesting that the AMS lite is numbered in the app. There is also a second, free connection on the printer. I wonder if there will be an 8-pin adapter for the extruder that can be used to operate two AMS lite?

Finally, I would like to return to the title of my test report. We have now arrived in an era of 3D printing in which plug & play status has almost been achieved. The A1 mini takes almost all the work off your hands and removes almost all the pitfalls for beginners. With the integration of prefabricated profiles in Makerworld, the Thingiverse and Printables alternative from Bambu Lab, “1-Click 3D printing” is possible. Currently, the A1 mini is offered for 319 Euro, with AMS lite for 489 Euro and I think it will be difficult to find a more beginner- and user-friendly 3D printer on the current market. The operation is modern and uncomplicated, the printing results are good to very good and the price is fair for the performance offered.

• Bambu Lab A1 mini (EU)
• Bambu Lab A1 mini AMS lite (EU)
• Bambu Lab A1 mini (USA)
• Bambu Lab A1 mini AMS lite (USA)

Everyone has to decide for themselves whether the small print bed is sufficient. Personally, I switched completely to the A1 mini for a few weeks for my test report and also took a look at my history of printed models, most of which fit into the 180x180mm installation space.

By the way:

With the code EXTR_IGORSLAB you will receive a community discount of 20% on your order from the filament manufacturer Extrudr! Thank you very much for the filament and the coupon! Again, there is no commission for me or IgorsLab on a purchase.

And for all those who simply can’t cope with the small installation space, the big brother will also be available very soon…

The test sample was provided by Bambu Lab without obligation. There was and is no influence on the tests and results. There was also no compensation for expenses and no obligation to publish.