this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2025
13 points (100.0% liked)

3DPrinting

19876 readers
85 users here now

3DPrinting is a place where makers of all skill levels and walks of life can learn about and discuss 3D printing and development of 3D printed parts and devices.

The r/functionalprint community is now located at: or !functionalprint@fedia.io

There are CAD communities available at: !cad@lemmy.world or !freecad@lemmy.ml

Rules

If you need an easy way to host pictures, https://catbox.moe/ may be an option. Be ethical about what you post and donate if you are able or use this a lot. It is just an individual hosting content, not a company. The image embedding syntax for Lemmy is ![](URL)

Moderation policy: Light, mostly invisible

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
andypiper@lemmy.world
j4k3@lemmy.world
GrayBackgroundMusic@lemmy.zip
13
Upgrading from Bambu Lab A1 Mini (lemmy.radio)
submitted 1 month ago by early_riser@lemmy.radio to c/3dprinting@lemmy.world
17 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I'm starting to run up against the printer's small build volume. This is my first 3D printer, and I was attracted to the easy out of the box experience. I actually intended to buy the A1, but got its smaller cousin by mistake. I could have sworn I clicked the right button, but everything from the emailed receipt to my order history on the Bambu Lab website says I ordered the mini.

I decided to keep the printer even though I knew I'd eventually outgrow it. I told myself this was my toe in the water for this hobby, and I'd re-evaluate in 6 months to a year whether upgrading to a larger printer would be worth it.

I bought the printer in November, and since then Bambu Lab has begun the enshittification of their products[^1]. If I upgrade, it will have to be to a different brand.

So I like the A1 mini's ease of use and no brainer setup, but don't like its small build volume, the new restrictions placed on it by the manufacturer, and the fact that the printer is not enclosed. A better camera is a nice-to-have but not necessary. Any suggestions for an upgrade?

[^1]: Follow-up question so as not to double-post, IIRC the A1 mini was not included in the initial enshittification rollout earlier this year. I put my printer in LAN mode and blocked outgoing traffic from its IP on my network as a precautionary measure anyway upon hearing the announcement. Have the changes made to the other products trickled down to the mini yet? Can I safely upgrade still or should I keep it isolated?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Bluewing@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

I ranked them pretty much in the order I have them. Snapmaker might be a tiny bit above the Carbon, but it needs to be see yet. It seems Qidi is also making it difficult to run vanilla Klipper on the new Q2. But they have been very good about open software in the past. Owners of the Q2 aren't complaining yet. So perhaps they are just slow. Again, YMMV.

What is really scary is Bambu's new H2 series. Bambu is building a new eco-system with them. And the waiting to be released H2 automatic nozzle changing system is going to break 3D printing I believe. Instead of a traditional tool changer like the Prusa XL or Snapmaker's version, Bambu is going to just swap the nozzles. Which makes for a far more compact and noticeably cheaper system. This appears to be the first real original idea Bambu has designed vs using already developed ideas.

No matter what you think about Bambu's business practices, you need to give them flowers for the disruption of the status quo and then delivering good hardware to back it up. It took several years for manufacturers to catch up with the AMS systems that everyone and their brother offers now. Bambu even got Crealty to up their QC and offerings. And now a new idea tool change system? It's about to get real for the rest of the field.....