this post was submitted on 29 Aug 2025
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3DPrinting

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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?

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[–] fufu@feddit.org 1 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Required build volume? Multi Material needed? Want to print any fancy filaments? Out of the box product or hobby engineer? Any other requirements?

[–] early_riser@lemmy.radio 1 points 1 month ago (1 children)

I'm definitely an "it just works" guy, and I am by no means an engineer. For me the printing is the hobby, not the printer.

Multimaterial would be good, but only if it doesn't have to purge between colors. I bought the AMS lite along with the mini, and while it's convenient when I want to print something in a different color, only having one nozzle means a truly multi-color print takes orders of magnitude longer to finish unless the print itself is completely designed around the limitations of the single-nozzle setup. Having said that, if the MMS can also act as dry storage that would be a plus even if I primarily use one filament per print.

It's less about specific build volume and more what I can fit into the existing space while providing more build volume than the Mini's 7x7x7 inches. I'd say the overall footprint of the printer has to be less than 60 cm on a side, since the table my current printer is on is 60 cm deep.

Enclosure is also a must-have.

[–] fufu@feddit.org 1 points 1 month ago

Sovol sv8? Formbot Marathon?